257
NDA
Non-disclosure agreement, often required by the O&G industry in return for
compensation for damages.
NETL
National Energy Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy
NGL
Natural gas liquids – heavier hydrocarbons produced as vapor that condenses
to liquid at the surface; also known as “condensate”
NGO
Non-government organization, usually refers to a non-profit institute
Non-associated
gas
Natural gas that occurs without petroleum. Coalbed methane is an example.
NORM
Naturally-occurring radioactive material.
NOx
Nitrous oxides, a combustion product of most fossil fuels
NPDES
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (EPA stormwater permit)
O&G
Oil and gas; refers to both the resource and the industry
OPEC
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (an oil cartel)
Open-hole
A well completed with surface casing only and no intermediate casing.
P&A
Plug and abandon: a regulatory procedure for properly sealing a nonproducing well with bridge plugs and cement to protect the environment.
PAC
Political Action Committee
PADEP
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (state agency)
Pancaking
Oilfield slang when a shallow hydraulic fracture breaks horizontally instead
of vertically because of insufficient overburden stress.
PE
Licensed Professional Engineer
Perf gun
A carrier with a series of high explosive charges and a remote detonator used
to create holes (perforations) in production casing.
PEMEX
A contraction for Petróleos Mexicanos, the national oil company of Mexico
PETM
Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: A period beginning about 56 Ma
when GHG levels rose steeply, warming the Earth by up to 8 °C.
Petrobras
Contraction for Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., the national oil company of Brazil.
pC/l
Pico Curie per liter – A human health measurement for radioactive materials
like radium in water (5 pC/l limit) or radon gas in air (4 pC/l limit).
PG
Professional Geologist licensed by the National Association of State Boards
of Geology (ASBOG)
PM
Particulate matter, often designated as PM 2.5 (2.5 microns; smoke) or PM 10
(10 microns; dust)
Polymorph
A mineral with an identical composition that occurs in different crystal
structures, i.e. graphite and diamond are polymorphs of carbon.
POTW
Publicly-owned treatment works: The EPA designation for a municipal
wastewater treatment plant.
Produced water Fracking flowback and formation water produced with hydrocarbons from an
O&G well. Produced water must be disposed of or recycled.
Production
casing
The narrowest casing string in a well, run from the production zone to the
surface.
Proppant
Sand or ceramic beads added to frack fluid to prop hydraulic fractures open
after the stimulation is completed and pressure is released.
Q
Discharge or flow term in Darcy’s Law
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Reservoir
stimulation
The process of engineering a completion to improve hydrocarbon recovery
from a reservoir; includes both hydraulic fracturing and matrix stimulation.
Appendices
NDA
Non-disclosure agreement, often required by the O&G industry in return for
compensation for damages.
NETL
National Energy Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy
NGL
Natural gas liquids – heavier hydrocarbons produced as vapor that condenses
to liquid at the surface; also known as “condensate”
NGO
Non-government organization, usually refers to a non-profit institute
Non-associated
gas
Natural gas that occurs without petroleum. Coalbed methane is an example.
NORM
Naturally-occurring radioactive material.
NOx
Nitrous oxides, a combustion product of most fossil fuels
NPDES
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (EPA stormwater permit)
O&G
Oil and gas; refers to both the resource and the industry
OPEC
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (an oil cartel)
Open-hole
A well completed with surface casing only and no intermediate casing.
P&A
Plug and abandon: a regulatory procedure for properly sealing a nonproducing well with bridge plugs and cement to protect the environment.
PAC
Political Action Committee
PADEP
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (state agency)
Pancaking
Oilfield slang when a shallow hydraulic fracture breaks horizontally instead
of vertically because of insufficient overburden stress.
PE
Licensed Professional Engineer
Perf gun
A carrier with a series of high explosive charges and a remote detonator used
to create holes (perforations) in production casing.
PEMEX
A contraction for Petróleos Mexicanos, the national oil company of Mexico
PETM
Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: A period beginning about 56 Ma
when GHG levels rose steeply, warming the Earth by up to 8 °C.
Petrobras
Contraction for Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., the national oil company of Brazil.
pC/l
Pico Curie per liter – A human health measurement for radioactive materials
like radium in water (5 pC/l limit) or radon gas in air (4 pC/l limit).
PG
Professional Geologist licensed by the National Association of State Boards
of Geology (ASBOG)
PM
Particulate matter, often designated as PM 2.5 (2.5 microns; smoke) or PM 10
(10 microns; dust)
Polymorph
A mineral with an identical composition that occurs in different crystal
structures, i.e. graphite and diamond are polymorphs of carbon.
POTW
Publicly-owned treatment works: The EPA designation for a municipal
wastewater treatment plant.
Produced water Fracking flowback and formation water produced with hydrocarbons from an
O&G well. Produced water must be disposed of or recycled.
Production
casing
The narrowest casing string in a well, run from the production zone to the
surface.
Proppant
Sand or ceramic beads added to frack fluid to prop hydraulic fractures open
after the stimulation is completed and pressure is released.
Q
Discharge or flow term in Darcy’s Law
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Reservoir
stimulation
The process of engineering a completion to improve hydrocarbon recovery
from a reservoir; includes both hydraulic fracturing and matrix stimulation.
Appendices