Petroleum industry terminology

ISO 1998-1 1998 Petroleum industry — Terminology — Part 1 Raw materials and products... 

During primary production, the pressure is greater in the reservoir at the locations from which oil is being drained and lower near and in the wellbore. As oil moves toward a producing well and then into the bottom of the well, the reduced pressure it experiences can cause dissolved gas to be released. When this happens to a light oil, the gas normally separates from the oil. In the case of some heavy oils, however, the gas remains dispersed in the oil as an in situ oil foam [46], In petroleum industry terminology this is called foamy-oil production, and can be associated with increased primary oil production compared to what would be expected from non-foamy-oil production. It is thought that the formation of foamy-oil delays the formation of a continuous gas phase (increases the... 

A variety of technical terms are used throughout this manuscript. Most of these terms are familiar and known by those who have worked in the petroleum industry for a few years. The purpose of providing this glossary is to focus on the terminology and definitions which are the most useful when describing fuel performance problems. 

Schramm, L. L. Foam Terminology in the Petroleum Industry in Foams Fundamentals and Applications in the Petroleum Industry Schramm, L.L. (Ed.), American Chemical Society Washington, DC, 1994, pp. 487-535. 

This glossary provides brief explanations for important terms in the science and engineering of foams in the petroleum industry. The petroleum operations in which foams may occur encompass aspects of so many different disciplines that there exists a large body of terminology. This selection of frequently encountered terms includes scientific terms related to the basic principles and properties of foams, as well as petroleum production and processing terms used to describe practical foams, their production, and their treatment. In addition, cross-references for the more important synonyms, abbreviations, and acronyms are included... 

The petroleum industry, like many other industries, has developed its own terminology. The terms used in this chapter reflect those commonly used in the petroleum industry. They are consistent with those adopted by the Division of Petroleum Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. These terms include the following ... 

In the petroleum industry, the gasses and liquids recovered from nature are typically referred to as upstream, while the refinery streams within the refinery and resulting petroleum and petrochemical products from the refinery are typically referred to as downstream. This terminology will be used through the rest of this chapter, which includes separate sections on upstream and downstream-specific GC-MS applications. 

---