256
Kerogen
Naturally occurring, solid organic matter, not soluble in organic solvents,
generates hydrocarbons when heated
Kerosene
A clean-burning lamp oil refined from petroleum by Dr. Abraham Gesner
and named from the Greek words for “wax” and “oil.”
Kickoff point
Location in the vertical tophole where a well begins to turn horizontal.
Kw
Kilowatt: One thousand watts of electrical energy; a kilowatt-hour is a
metered quantity of electricity
L
Length term in Darcy’s Law
Lateral
Horizontal borehole used to produce hydrocarbons from shale
Leak-off
Migration of frack fluid into the formation
Light sand frack A hydraulic fracturing technique that uses less proppant sand in induced
fractures and is more economical.
LNG
Liquefied natural gas; a cryogenic liquid consisting of mostly methane with a
trace of ethane cooled to −256 deg. F (−159 deg. C) taking up 600 times less
space.
LTO
Light tight oil: Low viscosity, high volatility, high API gravity (>40)
petroleum from shales and other tight rocks.
LWD
Logging while drilling – Gathering data and sending information back to the
surface while directional drilling to inform the rig crew about rock
properties.
Ma
Mega-annum; geological abbreviation for one million years of time.
MAD
Mile-A-Day: A term for ultra-fast drilling that achieves extreme rates of
penetration.
Major
Gigantic, multi-national, oil and gas exploration, production, processing, and
marketing corporations (see “independent”)
MCF
Thousand cubic feet of gas (from the Roman numeral “M”); metric
equivalent: 1 MCF = 28.3 cubic meters
Md
Millidarcy; a permeability unit of one thousandth of a darcy
μd
Microdarcy; a permeability unit of one millionth of a darcy
METC
Morgantown Energy Technology Center – predecessor to NETL
Midstream
O&G industry term for the part of the business focused on moving oil and
gas from production areas to markets. (see downstream and upstream)
MMBtu
Million British thermal units. A thousand cubic feet of natural gas (MCF) is
approximately equivalent to 1 MMBtu.
MMcf
Million cubic feet of gas. 1 MMCF = 28,320 cubic meters
MMcf/d
A production number of a million cubic feet of gas per day
MOX
Mixed-oxide fuel rod for a nuclear reactor, typically uranium and plutonium.
MPa
Mega Pascal; metric unit of pressure equivalent to 1000 kPa (kiloPascals)
MTR
Mountain top removal mining method that strips overburden off coal seams
on plateaus and dumps it into adjacent watersheds. Common in Appalachia.
μ
Mu - viscosity term in Darcy’s Law
Mw
Megawatt: One million watts of electricity; a thousand Kw
MWD
Measurement while drilling; see “geosteering”
NA
Natural attenuation – the natural microbial and geochemical reactions in an
aquifer that break down organic contaminants
Nd
Nanodarcy; a permeability unit of one billionth of a darcy
Appendices
Kerogen
Naturally occurring, solid organic matter, not soluble in organic solvents,
generates hydrocarbons when heated
Kerosene
A clean-burning lamp oil refined from petroleum by Dr. Abraham Gesner
and named from the Greek words for “wax” and “oil.”
Kickoff point
Location in the vertical tophole where a well begins to turn horizontal.
Kw
Kilowatt: One thousand watts of electrical energy; a kilowatt-hour is a
metered quantity of electricity
L
Length term in Darcy’s Law
Lateral
Horizontal borehole used to produce hydrocarbons from shale
Leak-off
Migration of frack fluid into the formation
Light sand frack A hydraulic fracturing technique that uses less proppant sand in induced
fractures and is more economical.
LNG
Liquefied natural gas; a cryogenic liquid consisting of mostly methane with a
trace of ethane cooled to −256 deg. F (−159 deg. C) taking up 600 times less
space.
LTO
Light tight oil: Low viscosity, high volatility, high API gravity (>40)
petroleum from shales and other tight rocks.
LWD
Logging while drilling – Gathering data and sending information back to the
surface while directional drilling to inform the rig crew about rock
properties.
Ma
Mega-annum; geological abbreviation for one million years of time.
MAD
Mile-A-Day: A term for ultra-fast drilling that achieves extreme rates of
penetration.
Major
Gigantic, multi-national, oil and gas exploration, production, processing, and
marketing corporations (see “independent”)
MCF
Thousand cubic feet of gas (from the Roman numeral “M”); metric
equivalent: 1 MCF = 28.3 cubic meters
Md
Millidarcy; a permeability unit of one thousandth of a darcy
μd
Microdarcy; a permeability unit of one millionth of a darcy
METC
Morgantown Energy Technology Center – predecessor to NETL
Midstream
O&G industry term for the part of the business focused on moving oil and
gas from production areas to markets. (see downstream and upstream)
MMBtu
Million British thermal units. A thousand cubic feet of natural gas (MCF) is
approximately equivalent to 1 MMBtu.
MMcf
Million cubic feet of gas. 1 MMCF = 28,320 cubic meters
MMcf/d
A production number of a million cubic feet of gas per day
MOX
Mixed-oxide fuel rod for a nuclear reactor, typically uranium and plutonium.
MPa
Mega Pascal; metric unit of pressure equivalent to 1000 kPa (kiloPascals)
MTR
Mountain top removal mining method that strips overburden off coal seams
on plateaus and dumps it into adjacent watersheds. Common in Appalachia.
μ
Mu - viscosity term in Darcy’s Law
Mw
Megawatt: One million watts of electricity; a thousand Kw
MWD
Measurement while drilling; see “geosteering”
NA
Natural attenuation – the natural microbial and geochemical reactions in an
aquifer that break down organic contaminants
Nd
Nanodarcy; a permeability unit of one billionth of a darcy
Appendices