Oilfield FAQ

Rotary drilling is the standard method of boring a well: a bit on the end of a rotating drill string grinds through rock while drilling mud is circulated to clean the hole, cool the bit and control pressure.

Onshore wells commonly reach 5,000–15,000 feet of true vertical depth, with horizontal laterals adding several thousand feet more of measured depth. The deepest wells exceed 30,000 feet.

It's the safe range of drilling-fluid density: heavy enough to balance formation pore pressure (preventing a kick) but light enough not to fracture the rock (preventing lost circulation).

Hydraulic fracturing pumps fluid and sand into low-permeability rock at high pressure to crack it and prop the fractures open, letting trapped oil and gas flow to the well.

About 90% water, 9.5% sand (proppant) and 0.5% additives such as friction reducers and biocides. Additives are disclosed publicly through FracFocus.

Fracturing happens thousands of feet below aquifers, separated by impermeable rock and cemented casing. Documented incidents typically trace to surface spills or faulty well construction, not the fractures themselves.

A pumpjack rocks a surface beam up and down, driving sucker rods that operate a downhole pump. Each stroke lifts oil up the tubing to surface.

Any method that adds energy to lift well fluids to surface when natural pressure isn't enough — pumpjacks, electric submersible pumps, gas lift and progressive cavity pumps.

Primary and secondary recovery together typically recover 20–40% of the oil in place; enhanced oil recovery can raise that to 30–60% or more, depending on the reservoir.

A barrel — exactly 42 US gallons. It is the standard unit for oil volume and pricing.

Barrel of oil equivalent — a way to add gas and oil on a common energy basis, where about 6 Mcf of gas equals 1 barrel of oil.

A measure of crude oil density relative to water, in degrees. Higher API means lighter, more valuable oil. Water is 10°API.

Upstream finds and produces oil and gas; midstream transports, stores and processes it; downstream refines and sells it.

They provide the equipment, crews and technology that operators hire to drill, complete and produce wells — drilling, fracking, cementing, wireline, coiled tubing and more.

A field ticket is the on-site record of the equipment, crew hours, mileage and materials used on a job. It becomes the invoice to the operator — which is why accurate, timely ticketing matters so much to service-company cash flow.