The surface pipe through which oil travels from a well to processing equipment or to storage.

The flow of fluids within a pipe.

A well flowing oil at irregular intervals.

Injection of gases or liquids into a reservoir to force oil toward and into producing wells.

A plug in the flow line at the well head which has a small hole drilled through it through which oil flows, and which keeps a well from flowing at too high a rate.

To let a well flow at too high a rate.

The unit weight of fluid, e.g., pounds per gallon.

Also called a rotary help.

See rotary helper.

A well which produces oil or gas without any means of artificial lift.

The state in fluid dynamics of a fluid in motion is determined by the type of fluid (e.g., newtonian, plastic, pseudoplastic, dilatant); the properties of the fluid such as viscosity and density; the geometry of the system; and the velocity.

Thus, under a given set of conditions and fluid properties, the fluid flow can be described as plug flow, laminar (called also newtonian, streamline, parallel, or viscous) flow, or turbulent flow.

The surface pipes through which oil travels from the well to storage.

Process of separating, or breaking down, an emulsion into oil and water in a vessel or tank on a continuous basis (i.e., no interruption of flow of emulsion into the tank or vessel).

Compare batch treating.

A special coupling device inserted one or two joints above the bottom of the casing string that contains a check valve to permit fluid to pass downward but not upward through the casing.

The float collar prevents drilling mud from entering the casing while it is being lowered, allowing the casing to float during its descent and thus decreasing the load on the derrick or mat.

A float collar also prevents backflow of cement during a cementing operation.

1.

A piece of cloth, rope or nylon strand used to mark the wireline when swabbing or bailing.

2.

An indicator of wind direction used during drilling or workover operations where hydrogen sulfide (sour) gas may be encountered.

3.

In swabbing or bailing, to attach a piece of cloth to the wireline to enable the operator to estimate the position of the swab or bailer in the well.

The coagulation of solids in a drilling fluid, produced by special additives or by contaminants.