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Built by the team behind OpsFlo — field service & billing software for oilfield service companies. Capture tickets at the wellsite and bill in days, not weeks.
New to the oilfield? Start with the fundamentals — how oil forms, the life of a well from exploration to abandonment, types of crude, and the units the industry uses.
If you're new to oil and gas, start here. These plain-English guides cover the fundamentals — how petroleum forms over millions of years, the full life cycle of a well, the different grades of crude oil, and the sometimes-confusing units the industry uses (bbl, Mcf, BOE).
From here you can dive into the deeper guides on drilling, fracking, production and geology.
Built by the team behind OpsFlo — field service & billing software for oilfield service companies. Capture tickets at the wellsite and bill in days, not weeks.
Oil forms over millions of years as the buried remains of marine plankton and algae are cooked under heat and pressure. The organic matter becomes kerogen and then, in the 'oil window' around 60–120°C, matures into crude oil.
A bbl is one barrel — a unit of oil volume equal to exactly 42 US gallons. It's the standard unit for quoting oil production and prices worldwide.
Sweet crude has low sulfur content and is easier and cheaper to refine; sour crude has high sulfur and needs more processing. Light, sweet crude like WTI is the most valuable.