Oil & Gas Glossary 1.0

2. a device used to support a pipeline.

See casing hanger, tubing hanger

A hanger used to lock instruments into seating nipple (pressure/temperature bombs, etc.).

2. a device used to support a pipeline.

1. a circular device with a frictional gripping arrangement used to suspend casing and tubing in a well.

A device used to hang sucker rods on the mast or in the derrick

A device set in tubing, particular collars, to facilities the landing of pressure bombs (recorders).

A circular device with a frictional gripping arrangement of slips and packing rings used to suspend casing from a casinghead in a well

An arrangement of slips and packing rings used to suspend tubing from a tubing head.

A small attachment on the rod-transfer equipment that picks up the rods after they are unscrewed from the string and then transfers them to the rod hanger, or reverses the procedure when going into the hole. See rod-transfer equipment.

A device placed or hung in the casing below the blowout preventer stack to form a pressure tight seal. Pressure is then applied to the blowout preventer stack to test it for leaks

N: a collar or coupling of tool steel, threaded internally, that can be used to retrieve pipe from the well on fishing jobs; the female counterpart of a taper tap. The die collar is made up on the drill pipe and lowered into the hole until it contacts the lost pipe. If the lost pipe is stuck so that it cannot rotate, rotation of the die collar on top of the pipe cuts threads on the outside of the pipe, providing a firm attachment. The pipe is then retrieved from the hole. Compare taper tap. It is not often used because it is difficult to release it from the fish should it become necessary.

To release pipe that is stuck in the hole by running washover pipe. The washover pipe must have an outside diameter small enough to fit into the borehole but an inside diameter large enough to fit over the outside diameter of the stuck pipe. A rotary shoe, which cuts away the formation, mud, or whatever is sticking the pipe, is made up on the bottom joint of the washover pipe, and the assembly is lowered into the hole. Rotation of the assembly frees the stuck pipe. Several washovers may have to be made if the stuck portion is very long.

1. to force pipe or tools into a high-pressure well that has not been killed (i.e., to run pipe or tools into the well against pressure when the weight of pipe is not great enough to force the pipe through the BOPs). Snubbing usually requires an array of wireline bocks and wire rope that forces the pipe or tools into the well through a stripper head or blowout preventer until the weight of the string is sufficient to overcome the lifting effect of the well pressure on the pipe in the preventer. In workover operations, snubbing is usually accomplished by using hydraulic power to force the pipe through the stripping head or blowout preventer.

A long, hollow cylinder, usually steel, through which fluids are conducted. Oilfield tubular goods are casing (including liners), drill pipe, tubing, or line pipe

The large wrenches used to make up or break out drill pipe, casing, tubing, or other pipe; variously called casing tongs, pipe tongs, and so forth, according to the specific use. Power tongs are pneumatically or hydraulically operated tools that serve to spin the pipe up tight and, in some instances, to apply the final makeup torque.

The closing and sealing component on a blowout preventer. One of three types--blind, pipe, or shear--may be installed in several preventers mounted in a stack on top of the wellbore. Blind rams, when closed, form a seal on a hole that has no drill pipe in it; pipe rams, when closed, seal around the pipe; shear rams cut through drill pipe and then form a seal.

A fishing tool used to retrieve pipe lost in a well. The spear is lowered down the hole and into the lost pipe. When weight, torque, or both are applied to the string to which the spear is attached, the slips in the spear expand and tightly grip the inside of the wall of the lost pipe. Then the string, spear, and lost pipe are pulled to the surface.

To take rams out of a blowout preventer and replace them with rams of a different size or type. When the size of a drill pipe is changed, the size of the pipe rams must be changed to ensure that they seal around the pipe when closed (unless variable-bore pipe rams are in use).

The first string of casing (after the conductor pipe) that is set in a well. it varies in length from a few hundred to several thousand feet. Some states require a minimum length to protect freshwater sands. Compare conductor pipe.

Any kind of pipe. Oilfield tubular goods include tubing, casing, drill pipe, and line pipe. Also called tubulars.

A fishing tool that is attached to tubing or drill pipe and lowered over the outside wall of pipe or sucker rods lost or stuck in the wellbore. A friction device in the overshot, usually either a basket or as spiral grapple, firmly grips the pipe, allowing the fish to be pulled from the hole.

A blowout preventer that uses pipe rams as the closing elements. See pipe ram.

A short, threaded piece of pipe used to adapt parts of the drilling string that cannot otherwise be screwed together because of differences in thread size or design. A sub (i.e., a substitute) may also perform a special function. Lifting subs are used with drill collars to provide a shoulder to fit the drill pipe elevators; a kelly saver sub is placed between the drill pipe and the kelly to prevent excessive thread wear of the kelly and drill pipe threads, a bent sub is used when drilling a directional hole.

The derrickman's working platform. As pipe of tubing is run into or out of the hole, the derrickman must handle the top end of the pipe, which may be as high as 90 feet (27 m) in the derrick or mast. The monkeyboard provide a small platform to raise him to the proper height for handling the top of the pipe.

A hand tool consisting of a handle and chain that resembles the chain on a bicycle. In general, chain tongs are used for turning pipe or fittings of a diameter larger than that which a pipe wrench would fit. The chain is looped and tightened around the pipe or fitting, and the handle is used to turn the tool so that the pipe or fitting can be tightened or loosened.

1. to place pipe withdrawn from the hole on a pipe rack

The pipe and special fittings used on floating offshore drilling rigs to establish a seal between the top of the wellbore, which is on the ocean floor, and the drilling equipment, located above the surface of the water. A riser pipe serves as a guide for the drill stem from the drilling vessel to the wellhead and as a conductor of drilling fluid from the well to the vessel. The riser consists of several sections of pipe and includes special devices to compensate for any movement of the drilling rig caused by waves. It is also called a marine riser.

Drill pipe, drill collars, casing, or tubing that has inadvertently become immovable in the hole. Sticking may occur when drilling is in progress, when casing is being run in the hole, or when the drill pipe is being hoisted.

A pipe through which pressure is bled, as from a pressurized tank, vessel, or other pipe.

2. a pipe used to exhaust gases from the muffler of an engine to the outside atmosphere.

2. to stand pipe on the derrick floor when pulling it out of the hole.

An auxiliary part (such as a coupling, elbow, tee, or cross) used for connecting lengths of pipe.

A metal or plastic device that is screwed onto or into pipe threads to protect 5them from damage when the pipe is not in use.

A device used to connect long lines of pipe to allow the pipe joints to expand or contract as the temperature rises or falls.

A small mud tank with a capacity of 10 to 15 barrels, usually with 1-barrel or H-barrel divisions, used to ascertain the amount of mud necessary to keep the wellbore full with the exact amount of mud that is displaced by drill pipe. When the bit comes out of the hole, a volume of mud equal to that which the drill pipe occupied while in the hole must be pumped into the hole to replace the pipe. When the bit goes back in the hole, the drill pipe displaces a certain amount of mud, and a trip tank can be used again to keep track of this volume.

A vessel used to bury pipeline beneath the seafloor. The barge moves itself forward by means of anchors. A jet sled is lowered over the pipeline, and as the barge pulls it over the pipe, high-pressure jets of water remove soil from beneath the pipe, allowing the pipe to fall into the jetted-out trench.

A piece of pipe that has been twisted off inside a female connection; or a short section of material, such as belting or pipe, used to lengthen existing equipment.

2. a device for guiding pipe and lowering it to the water bottom as it is being laid down by a lay barge. It is hinged to permit adjustments in the angle of pipe launch.

A special mill that has a heavy tubular extension below it called a pilot or stinger. The pilot, smaller in diameter than the mill, is designed to go inside drill pipe or tubing that is lost in the hole. It guides the mill to the top of the pipe and centers it, thus preventing the mill from bypassing the pipe. Also called a piloted mill.

A fishing tool containing metal-cutting knives that is lowered into the hole and over the outside of a length of pipe to cut it. The severed part of the pipe can then be brought to the surface.

A method of severing steel pipe in a well by applying high-pressure jets of a very corrosive substance against the wall of the pipe. The resulting cut is very smooth.

Unscrewing the drill stem into single joints and placing them on the pipe rack. The operation takes place on completion of the well, or in changing from one size of pipe to another.

1. a pipe run in a well blow a packer.

A length of pipe whose bottom edge is serrated or dressed with a hard cutting material and that is run into the wellbore around the outside of stuck casing, pipe, or tubing to mill away the obstruction.

1. a rubber disk surrounding drill pipe or tubing that removes mud as the pipe is brought out of the hole.

Water put into an empty string of pipe in a wellbore to prevent the pipe from being crushed by pressure in the annulus.

A pipe that is perforated and often arranged with a wire wrapping to act as a sieve to prevent or minimize the entry of sand particles into the wellbore. Also called a screen pipe.

A reduction in the pressure of a fluid caused by its motion against an enclosed surface (such as a pipe). As the fluid moves through the pipe, friction between the fluid and the pipe wall and within the fluid itself creates a pressure loss. The faster the fluid moves, the greater are the losses.

To place stands of drill pipe and drill collars in a vertical position to one side of the rotary table in the derrick or mast of a drilling or workover rig. Compare lay down pipe.

The connected joints of pipe racked in the derrick or mast during a trip. The usual stand is about 90 feet long (about 27 meters), which is three lengths of drill pipe screwed together (a thribble).

A single length (30 feet or 9 meters) of drill pipe, drill collar, casing, or tubing that has threaded connections at both ends. Several joints screwed together constitute a stand of pipe.

Heavy seamless tubing used to rotate the bit and circulate the drilling fluid. Joints of pipe approximately 30 feet (9 meters) long are coupled together by means of tool joints.

To pump a quantity of heavy mud into the drill pipe. Before hoisting drill pipe, it is desirable (if possible) to pump into its top section a quantity of heavy mud (a slug) that causes the level of the fluid to remain below the rig floor so that the crew members and the rig floor are not contaminated with the fluid when stands are broken out.

A packer equipped with friction blocks or drag springs and slips and designed so that rotation of the pipe unlatches the slips. The friction springs prevent the slips from turning with the pipe and assist in advancing the slips up a tapered sleeve to engage the wail of the outside pipe as weight is put on the packer. Also called a wall-hook packer. See packer.

Seamless steel or aluminum pipe made up in the drill stem between the kelly or top drive on the surface and the drill collars on the bottom. During drilling, it is usually rotated while drilling fluid is circulated through it. Drill pipe joints are available in three ranges of length: 18 to 22 feet, 27 to 30 feet, and 38 to 45 feet. The most popular length is 27 to 30 feet. It is available with outside diameters ranging from 2 7/8 to 5 1/2 inches. Several joints are made up (screwed together) to form the drill string.

A preventer having a unit of packing material whose closure depends on well pressure coming from below. It is used primarily to strip pipe through the hole or allow pipe to be moved with pressure on the annulus.

To screw a length of pipe into another length of pipe.

An explosive method utilizing primacord, which is an instantaneous textile-covered fuse with a core of very high explosive. It is used to create an explosive jar inside st5uck drill pipe or tubing so that the pipe may be backed off at the joint immediately above where it is stuck.

A sealing component for a blowout preventer that closes the annular space between the pipe and the blowout preventer or wellhead.

An area of reduced diameter in pipe caused by excessive longitudinal strain or by a combination of longitudinal string and the swagging action of a body. A bottleneck may result if the downward motion of the drill pipe is stopped with the slips instead of the brake.

The act of ensuring that a pipe ram preventer will not close on a drill pipe tool joint when the drill stem is stationary. A pup joint is made up in the drill string to lengthen it sufficiently.

Pipe in which the outside diameter of the joint is the same as the outside diameter of the tube. Pipe may also be internally flush-joint.

The pressure lost in a pipeline or annulus due to the velocity of the liquid in the pipeline, the properties of the fluid, the condition of the pipe wall, and the alignment of the pipe. In certain mud-mixing systems, the loss of head can be substantial

An opening at floor level in a side of a derrick or mast. The V-door is opposite the drawworks and is used as an entry to bring in drill pipe, casing, and other tools from the pipe rack. The name comes from the fact that on the old standard derrick, the shape of the opening was an inverted V.

A heavy coupling element for drill pipe. It is made of special ahoy steel and has coarse, tapered threads and seating shoulders designed to sustain the weight of the drill stem, withstand the strain of frequent coupling and uncoupling, and provide a leakproof seal. The male section of the joint, or the pin, is attached to one end of a length of drill pipe, and the female section, or box, is attached to the other end. The tool joint may be welded to the end of the pipe, screwed on, or both. A hard-metal facing is often applied in a band around the outside of the tool joint to enable it to resist abrasion from the walls of the borehole.

A fluid moving as a unit in which all shear stress occurs at the pipe wall and hole wall. The stream thus assumes the shape of several telescopic layers of fluid with lowest velocities near the pipe and hole walls and the fastest in the middle.

The amount of pressure exerted inside the drill pipe as a result of circulating pressure, entry of formation pressure into the well, or both.

An opening of a measured diameter that is used for measuring the flow of fluid through a pipe, the orifice must be of smaller diameter than the pipe diameter. It is drilled into an orifice plate held by an orifice fitting.

1. a scraping tool that is forced through a pipeline or flow line to clean out accumulations of wax, scale, and debris from the walls of the pipe. It travels with the flow of product in the line, cleaning the pipe walls by means of blades or brushes affixed to it. Also called a line scraper or a go-devil.

Pipe tongs that grip the pipe with a chisel-like insert in the jaw of the wrench.

A device used in fishing for drill pipe. If the upper end of the lost pipe is leaning against the side of the wellbore, the wall hook centers it in the hole so that it may be recovered with an overshot, which is run on the fishing string and attached to the wall hook.

The column, or string, of drill pipe with attached tool joints that transmits fluid and rotational power from the kelly to the drill collars and bit. Often, especially in the oil patch, the term is loosely applied to both drill pipe and drill collars. Compare drill stem.

The column, or string, of drill pipe with attached tool joints that transmits fluid and rotational power form the kelly to the drill collars and bit. Often, especially in the oil patch, the term is loosely applied to both drill pipe and drill collars. Compare drill stem.

To measure drill pipe or tubing as it is pulled out of the hole, usually to determine the depth of the well or the depth to which the pipe or tubing was run.

To pump drilling fluid into the wellbore while the pipe is being withdrawn to ensure that the wellbore remains full of fluid even though the pipe is withdrawn. Filling the hole lessens the danger of a kick or of caving of the well or the wellbore.

A process used to repair a hole in the casing by pumping cement down tubing or drill pipe. First, the casinghead, or bradenhead, is closed to prevent fluids from moving up the casing. Then the rig's pumps are started. Pump pressure moves the cement out of the tubing or pipe and, since the top of the casing is closed, the cement goes into the hole in the casing. The tubing or pipe is pulled from the well and the cement allowed to harden. The hardened cement seals the hole in the casing. Although the term "bradenhead squeezing" is still used, the term "bradenhead" is obsolete. See annular space, casinghead, squeeze.

A cast-iron or magnesium drillable tool consisting of a packing assembly and a back-pressure valve. It is used to close off the annular space between tubing or drill pipe and casing to allow the placement of cement or fluid through the tubing or drill pipe at any predetermined point behind the casing or liner, around the shoe, or into the open hole around the shoe.

See rise pipe.

One of several valves installed at the wellhead to prevent the escape of pressure either in the annular space between the casing and drill pipe or in open hole (i.e., hole with no drill pipe) during drilling completion operations. Blowout preventers on land rigs are located beneath the rig at the land's surface; on jackup or platform rigs, at the water's surface; and on floating offshore rigs, on the seafloor.

A large, hook-shaped device from which the swivel is suspended. It is designed to carry maximum loads ranging from 100 to 650 tons (90 to 590 tonnes) and turns on bearings in its supporting housing. A strong spring within the assembly cushions the weight of a stand (90 feet, about 27 meters) of drill pipe, thus permitting the pipe to be made up and broken out with less damage to the tool join threads. Smaller hooks without the spring are used for handling tubing and sucker rods. See stand and swivel.

A device run on wireline into the wellbore and inside the fishing string and fish to locate the area where a fish is stuck. When the drill string is pulled and turned, the electromagnetic fields of free pipe and stuck pipe differ. The free-point indicator is able to distinguish these differences, which are registered on a metering device at the surface.

Generally, the first string of casing in a well. It may be lowered into a hole drilled into the formations near the surface and cemented in place; it may be driven into the ground by a special pile driver (in such cases, it is sometimes called drive pipe); or it may be jetted into place in offshore locations. Its purpose is to prevent the soft formations near the surface from caving in and to conduct drilling mud from the bottom of the hole to the surface when drilling starts. Also called conductor pipe.

Generally, the first string of casing in a well. It may be lowered into a hole drilled into the formations near the surface and cemented in place; or it may be driven into the ground by a special pile drive (in such cases, it is sometimes called drive pipe); or it may be jetted into place in offshore locations. Its purpose is to prevent the soft formations near the surface from caving in and to conduct drilling mud from the bottom of the hole to the surface when drilling starts. Also called conductor pipe.

2. sometimes used to mean washover pipe.

A bend in pipe, a ditch, or a well.

The flow of fluids within a pipe.

Very small tubing or pipe.

2. a boot, or flume.

The joining of two length of pipe.

To run casing or pipe.

A pipe through which flow is downward.

A valve or pipe through which bleeding is done.

A length of pipe used to increase.

Pull on pipe over and beyond its weight in either air or fluid

A pipe through which liquid travels upward.

Two lengths or joints of pipe joined together.

A pipe coupling threaded on the inside.

A person who tests pipe and casing for leaks

A pipe or rod coupling with the threads on the inside.

2. of a hole, having no drill pipe or tubing suspended in it.

To guide the end of a pipe into a coupling when making up a connection.

To measure and record length of pipe of tubing

Oil-well, casing, tubing, or drill pipe.

The buckling of tubing in a large-diameter pipe or casing.

The lowering of pipe or tubing into the bore of a downhole tool.

A definite amount of oil, mud, acid, or other liquid in a tank or pipe.

Running pipe or tubing and landing it on a downhole tool.

Relatively small-diameter pipe that is run into a well to serve as a conduit for the passage of oil and gas to the surface.

A slip-type collar that is used to join plain-end pipe.

Material used on threads of pipe or tubing to lubricate and prevent leakage.

To loosen a tight joint as in line pipe or sucker rods.

A very short piece of pipe having threads over its entire length.

Abbreviation: shut-in drill pipe pressure, used in drilling reports.

A joint of drill pipe. Compare double, thribble, and fourable.

1. a device that mechanically or hydraulically forces pipe or tools into the well against pressure.

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

The depth in the hole at which the tubing, casing, or drill pipe is stuck.

To obtain an accurate measurement of the depth reached in a well by measuring the drill pipe or tubing as it is run into the well.

A string of pipe used in workover of well-servicing operations; not typically considered as production tubing.

N. a tool used to shape, form, or finish other tools or pieces of metal. For example, a threading die is used to cut threads on pipe.

1. in piping, a metal collar with internal threads used to join two sections of threaded pipe.

A short, threaded tubular coupling used for making connections between pipe joints and other tools.

To lower pipe or tubing onto a downhole tool, transferring all or part of the hook load.

A length of drill or line pipe, tubing, or casing considerably shorter than 30 feet.

A device in a rotary table or other tool into which tubing, drill pipe, or slips can be inserted.

2. a device within some hooks that acts as a shock absorber in eliminating the bouncing action of pipe as it is picked up.

Wedge-shaped toothed pieces of metal that fit inside a bowl and are used to support tubing or other pipe.

2. gauge or measure pipe by means of a mandrel passed through it to ensure the passage of tools, pumps, and so on.

A hydraulically powered device used in lieu of a rotary to turn the drill pipe, tubing, or casing in a well.

A stand of pipe made up or three joints and handled as a unit. Compare double, fourable, and single.

1. the ramp at the side of the drilling rig where pipe is laid to be lifted to the derrick floor by the catline or by an air hoist.

Position the correct number of feet or joints of pipe from the packer to the surface tree, or from the rig floor to the stack.

A system of connected lengths of pipe, usually buried in the earth or laid on the seafloor, that is used for transporting petroleum and natural gas.

2. to remove the settlings and cavings that are plugged inside a hollow fish (such as drill pipe) during a fishing operation.

A tool that goes inside pipe lost in a well to provide a firm grip and permit recovery of the fish. Sometimes used in place of a spear.

A section of drill pipe, casing, or tubing consisting of four joints screwed together. Compare double, single, thribble.

The tendency of a metal bar or pipe to taper to a reduced diameter at some point when subjected to excessive longitudinal stress. See bottleneck.

Equipment operated hydraulically or by compressed air for making up and breaking out drill pipe, casing, tubing, and rods.

An assembly of pulleys on a common framework; in mechanics, one or more pulleys, or sheaves, mounted to rotate on a common axis. The crown block is an assembly of sheaves mounted on beams at the top of the derrick. The drilling line is reeved over the sheaves of the crown block alternately which the sheaves of the traveling block, which is raised and lowered in the derrick by the drilling line. When elevators are attached to a hook on the traveling block and drill pipe latched in the elevators, the pipe can be raised or lowered. See crown block and traveling block.

A vertical pipe rising along the side of the derrick or mast, which joins the discharge line leading from the mud pump to the rotary hose and through which mud is pumped going into the hole.

The operation during which stuck drill stem or tubing is freed using washover pipe.

A device used to support the end of a length of pipe while another length is being screwed on

A small section of pipe in the top of a tank through which a tank may be gaged.

A ring of wedges that supports a string of pipe or a threaded, tapered ring used for the same purpose.

Drill pipe, tubing, sucker rods, and so forth with the diameter near the top of the well larger than the diameter below.

A tubular section of pipe that is threaded inside and used to connect two joints of casing.

A retrievable or drillable packer in which sufficient pipe weight is not available to set the tool in compression.

1. a pipe fitting on which the external thread is larger than the internal thread to allow two pipes of different sizes to be connected.

Blade tool used to scrape away junk or debris from inside casing; run on pipe or tubing.

A sub with a telescoping joint used in dual or triple completions for running additional tail pipe.

2. in reference to engines, a term used to describe the resistance to the flow of exhaust gas through the exhaust pipe.

To hold one section of an object such as pipe while another section is being screwed into or out of it.

The person who holds one length of pipe while another length is being screwed into or out of it.

To run and cement casing at a certain depth in the wellbore. Sometimes called set pipe.

A string of tubing or pipe, usually 3/4 or 1 inch in diameter.

An integral part of a blowout preventer, which serves as the closing element on an open hole. Its ends do not fit around the drill pipe but seal against each other and shut off the space below completely. See ram

A device used with slips to prevent tubing from falling into the hole when a joint of pipe is being unscrewed and racked.

To use a whipstock, turbodrill, or other mud motor to drill around broken drill pipe or casing that has become lodged permanently in the hole.

Operates on the same principle as an annular valve, except it requires pipe rotation for opening and closing operations.

2. To remove the settlings and cavings that are plugged inside a hollow fish (such as drill pipe) during a fishing operation.

The smaller of the side fittings on a bell nipple, used to fill the hole when drill pipe is being removed from the well.

A projecting rim or edge (as on pipe fittings and openings in pumps and vessels), usually drilled with holes to allow bolting to other flanged fittings.

A tubular device, usually from 10 to 60 feet (3 to 18 meters) long, run at the bottom of the drill pipe in place of a bit and used to cut a core sample.

A bentonite and diesel oil mixture that is pumped down the drill pipe and into the annulus to mix with drilling mud. The stiff, putty-like material is squeezed into lost circulation zones to seal them.

1. a short length of surface-hardened pipe that fits inside the swivel and serves as a conduit for drilling fluid through the swivel.

Clamps that grip a stand of casing, tubing, drill pipe, or sucker rods so that the stand can be raised or lowered into the hole.

1. a pipe connection around a valve or other control mechanism that is installed to permit passage of fluid through the line while adjustments or repairs are being made on the control.

The string of drill pipe tubing suspended in a well to which is attached a special tool or device that is used to carry out a certain task, as squeeze cementing or fishing.

The string of drill pipe or tubing suspended in a well to which is attached a special tool or device that is used to carry out a certain task, such as squeeze cementing or fishing.

A circular steel device that holds slips supporting a suspended string of drill pipe, casing, or tubing. A spider may be split or solid.

An accessory attached o the top of the drill pipe or tubing to form a connection with the mud system to permit circulation of the drilling mud. In some cases, it is also a rotating head.

A short string of large-diameter casing used to keep the wellbore open and to provide a means of conveying the upflowing drilling fluid from the wellbore to the mud pit.

An assembly of tools made up on drill pipe that is lowered into the hole to retrieve lost or stuck equipment. Also call a fish assembly.

The joint of drill pipe that is used in hang-off operations so that no tool joint is opposite a set of preventer rams.

A complete break in pipe caused by metal fatigue. v: to break something in two or to break apart, such as the head of a bolt or the drill stem.

An area or point above the point at which a tubular, such as drill pipe, is stuck in the wellbore.

A barge used in the construction and placement of underwater pipelines. Joints of pipe are welded together and then lowered off the stern of the barge as it moves ahead.

1. a cylindrical or tubular projection, relatively small in diameter, that extends below a downhole tool and helps to guide the tool to a designated spot (such as into the center of a portion of stuck pipe).

A device secured around the casing at the regular intervals to center it in the hole. Casing that is centralized allows a more uniform cement sheath to form around the pipe.

The smooth, uninterrupted circulation of drilling fluid down the drill stem, out the bit, up the annular space between the pipe and the hole, and back to the surface. Compare reverse circulation.

2. a large pipe connected to a process tank to provide a statis head that can absorb surges of fluid from the process tank.

2. a valve installed at the top of the drill stem to prevent flow out of the drill pipe if a kick occurs during tripping operations.

A heavy-duty steel, T-shaped pipe fitting that is screwed or flanged to the top of a pumping well. The polished rod works through a stuffing box on top of the tee and in the run of the tee to operate a sucker rod pump in the well. Pumped fluid is discharged through the side opening of the tee.

Pressure of the annular fluid on the casing at the surface when a well is shut in.

1. see conductor casing

See slips

The action of pull out and subsequently running back into the hole a string of drill pipe or tubing. Making a round trip is also called tripping.

A device attached to the catshaft of the drawworks that is used as a power source for unscrewing drill pipe; usually located opposite the driller's side of the drawworks. See cathead.

The discharge pipe from a well being drilled by air drilling. The blooey line is used to conduct the air or gas used for circulation away from the rig to reduce the fire hazard as well as to transport the cuttings a suitable distance from the well.

The lowest internal pressure at which a failure (of pipe) will take place.

Steel pipe placed in an oil or gas well as drilling progresses to prevent the wall of the hole from caving in during drilling, to prevent seepage of fluids, and to provide a means of extracting petroleum if the well is productive.

All members in the assembly used for rotary drilling from the swivel to the bit, including the kelly, drill pipe and tool joints, drill collars, stabilizers, and various specialty items. Compare drill string.

All members in the assembly used for rotary cutting from the swivel to the ball, including the kelly, drill pipe and tool joints, drill collars, stabilizers, and various specialty items. Compare drill string.

A damping apparatus used to pull tubing. The elevators latch onto the pipe just below the top collar. The elevators are attached to the hook by steel links or bails.

A sudden, usually short-duration, increase in pressure. When pipe or casing is run into a hole too rapidly, an increase in the hydrostatic pressure results, which may be great enough to create lost circulation

A device that is attached to the shaft of the drawworks and used as a power source for screwing together joints of pipe. It is usually located on the driller's side of the drawworks. Also called spinning cathead. See cathead.

A heavy, thick-walled tube, usually steel, used between the drill pipe and the bit in the drill stem to provide a pendulum effect to the drill stem and weight to the bit.

A short length of pipe (a nipple) installed on top of the blowout preventer. The top end of the nipple is flared, or belled, to guide drill tools into the hole and usually has side connections for the fill line and mud return line.

A special nipple made up in the tubing, casing, or drill pipe string the configuration of which is such that a tool contacting it can pass through only if the tool is in the proper position or configuration.

A trough or pipe that is placed between the surface connections at the wellbore and the shale shaker and through which drilling mud flows upon its return to the surface from the hole. Also called flow line.

To attach a joint of drill pipe onto the drill stem suspended in the wellbore to permit deepening the wellbore by the length of the joint added (about 30 feet, or 9 meters).

Gas that enters the wellbore when the mud pump is shut down and pipe is being pulled from the wellbore. The gas may enter because of the reduction in bottomhole pressure when the pump is shut down, because of swabbing, or because of both.

A blowout preventer that uses rams to seal off pressure on a hole that is with or without pipe. Also called a ram preventer.

1. a reduction in the amount of force a fluid exerts against a surface, such as the walls of a pipe. It usually occurs because the fluid is moving against the surface and is caused by the friction between the fluid and the surface.

The employee directly in charge of a drilling or workover rig and crew. His main duty is operation of the drilling and hoisting equipment, but he is also responsible for downhole condition of the well, operation of downhole tools, and pipe measurements.

The distance across a circle, measured through its center. In the measure of pipe diameters, the inside diameter is that of the interior circle and the outside diameter that of the exterior circle.

1. to collect a mass of sticky consolidated material, usually drill cuttings, on drill pipe, drill collars, bits, and so forth. A bit with such material attached to it is called a balled-up bit. Balling up is frequently the result of inadequate pump pressure or insufficient drilling fluid.

The heavy steel member, three-, four-, six-, or eight-sided, suspended from the swivel through the rotary table and connected to the topmost joint of drill pipe to turn the drill stem as the rotary table turns. It has a bored passageway that permits fluid

A drilling method in which a hole is drilled by a rotating bit to which a downward force is applied. The bit is fastened to and rotated by the drill stem, which also provides a passageway through which the drilling fluid is circulated. Additional joints of drill pipe are added as drilling progresses.

(n) a device with an elastomer packing element that depends on pressure below the packing to effect a seal in the annulus. Used primarily to run or pull pipe under low or moderate pressures. This device is not dependable for service under high differential pressures. Also called a stripper.

An indicator, mounted in the mud circulating system, that measures and indicates the amount of pressure in the drill stem. See drill stem.

A milling device attached to the bottom of washpipe that mills or drills debris accumulated around the outside of the pipe being washed over. usually, a burn shoe has pieces of very hard tungsten carbide embedded in it. Also called a rotary shoe. See washpipe.

The component in a blowout preventer that cuts, or shears, through drill pipe and forms a seal against well pressure. Shear rams are used in floating offshore drilling operations to provide a quick method of moving the rig away from the hole when there is no time to trip the drill stem out of the hole.

To pass from one point throughout a system and back to the starting point. For example, drilling fluid is circulated out of the suction pit, down the drill pipe and drill collars, out the bit, up the annulus, and back to the pits while drilling proceeds.

A pipe attached to the blowout preventer stack out of which kick fluids and mud can be pumped to the choke manifold when a blowout preventer is closed in on a kick.

2. the amount of pressure indicated by a drill pipe pressure gauge when drilling fluid is being circulated by the mud pump. Pressure losses occur as the fluid is circulated.

A portable mast constructed of tubular members. A pole mast may be a single pole, usually one or two different sizes of pipe telescoped together to be moved or extended and locked to obtain maximum height above a well. Double-pole masts give added strength and stability. See mast.

A part of the brake mechanism consisting of a flexible steel band lined with a material that grips a drum when tightened. On a drilling rig, the brake band acts on the flanges of the drawworks drum to control the lowering of the traveling block and its load of drill pipe, casing, or tubing.

The pressure in a well between the casing and the tubing or the casing and the drill pipe.

The force that a fluid (liquid or gas) exerts uniformly in all directions within a vessel, pipe, hole in the ground, and so forth, such as that exerted against the inner wall of a tank or that exerted on the bottom of the wellbore by a fluid. Pressure is expressed in terms of force exerted per unit of area, as pounds per square inch, or in kilopascals.

A block with lead or another relatively soft material on its bottom. It is made up of drill pipe or tubing at the surface, run into a well, and set down on the object that has been lost in the well. The block is retrieved and the impression is examined. The impression is a mirror image of the top of the fish and indicates the fish's position in the hole, i.e., whether it is centered or off to one side. From this information, the correct fishing tool can be selected.

1. an accessory system of piping to a main piping system (or another conductor) that serves to divide a flow into several parts, to combine several flows into one, or to reroute a flow to any one of several possible destinations. 2. a pipe fitting with several side outlets to connect it with other pipes. 3. a fitting on an internal combustion engine made to receive exhaust gases from several cylinders.

4. in hydrostatic testing of a pipeline, a scraper used inside the line to push air out ahead of the test water and to push water out after the test. v: to force a device called a pig through a pipeline or a flow line for the purpose of cleaning the interior walls of the pipe, separating different products, or displacing fluids.

A ship or barge specially designed to handle pipeline that is wound onto a large reel. To lay the pipeline, the vessel pays out the pipe off the reel at a steady rate onto the ocean flow. The pipeline has been constructed at an offshore facility where it has been welded, coated, inspected, and wound onto the reel.

A downhole tool with rough, sharp, extremely hard cutting surfaces for removing metal by grinding or cutting. Mills are run on drill pipe or tubing to grind up debris in the hole, remove stuck portions of drill stem or sections of casing for sidetracking, and ream out tight spots in the casing. They are also called junk mills, reaming mills, and so forth, depending on what use they have.

A tool composed of a mandrel on which are mounted several heavy-duty rollers with eccentric roll surfaces. It is used to restore buckled, collapsed, or dented casing in a well to normal diameter and roundness. Made up on tubing or drill pipe and run into the well to the depth of the deformed casing, the tool is rotated slowly, allowing the rollers to contact all sides of the casing and restore it to roughly its original condition.

A dart-shaped drill pipe inside blowout preventer installed on top of the drill stem when the well is kicking through the drill stem. It is stabbed in open then closed against pressure.

The machine used to impart rotational power to the drill stem while permitting vertical movement of the pipe for rotary drilling. Modern rotary machines have a special component, the rotary or master bushing, to turn the kelly bushing, which permits vertical movement of the kelly while the stem is turning.

A squeeze cementing method in which a packer is set to form a seal between the working string (the pipe down which cement is pumped) and the casing. Another packer or a cement plug is set below the point to be squeeze-cemented. By setting packers, the squeeze point is isolated from the rest of the well. See packer, squeeze cementing.

An accessory to a fishing tool, placed above it. if the tool cannot be disengaged from the fish, the safety joint permits easy disengagement of the string of pipe above the safety joint. Thus, part of the safety joint and the tool attached to the fish remain in the hole and become part of the fish.

A device made up in the drill string that, when actuated, delivers a heavy downward blow to the string. A bumper jar has a hollow body that moves upward when the drill string is picked up. When the string is dropped quickly, the jar body produces a sharp downward blow on the tubing or pipe made up below the jar. If downward blows can free a fish, a bumper jar can be very effective.

The cutting or boring element used in drilling oil and gas wells. This bit consists of a cutting element and a circulating element. The circulating element permits the passage of drilling fluid and utilized the hydraulic force of the fluid stream to improve drilling rates. In rotary drilling, several drill collars are joined to the bottom end of the drill pipe column, and the bit is attached to the end of the string of drill collars. Most bits used in rotary drilling are roller cone bits, but diamond bits are also used extensively.

A variation of squeeze cementing for wells with two producing zones in which (1) the upper fluid sand is perforated; (2) tubing is run with a packer, and the packer is set between the two perforated intervals; (3) water is circulated between the two zones to remove as much mud as possible from the channel; (4) cement is pumped through the channel and circulated; (5) the packer is released and picked up above the upper perforation, a low squeeze pressure is applied, and the excess cement is circulated out. The process is applicable where there is communication behind the pipe between the two producing zones because of channeling of the primary cement or where there is essentially no cement in the annulus.

A Y-shaped chain used to spin up (tighten) one joint of drill pipe into another. One end of the chain is attached to the tongs, another end to the spinning cathead, and the third end left free. The free end is wrapped around the tool joint, and the cathead pulls the chain off the joint, causing the joint to spin rapidly and tighten up. After the free end of the chain is pulled off the joint, the tongs are secured in the spot vacated by the chain and continued pull on the chain (and thus on the tongs) by the cathead makes up the joint to final tightness.

A method of stimulating production by opening new flow channels in the rock surrounding a production well. Often call a frac job. Under extremely high hydraulic pressure, a fluid (such as distillate, diesel fuel, crude oil, dilute hydrochloric acid, water, or kerosene) is pumped downward through production tubing or drill pipe and forced out below a packer or between two packers. The pressure causes cracks to open in the formation, and the fluid penetrates the formation through the cracks. Sand grains, aluminum pellets, walnut shells, or similar materials (propping agents) are carried in suspension by the fluid into the cracks. When the pressure is released at the surface, the fracturing fluid returns to the well. The cracks partially close on the pellets, leaving channels for oil to flow around them to the well. See explosive fracturing, hydraulic fracturing.