Drilling Glossary
Jump to Acronyms and Abbreviations
A
- Abandon
- Abnormal pressure
- Absolute permeability
- Absolute porosity
- AC drive
- Accumulator
- Accumulator bank
- Accumulator unit
- Acid fracture
- Acidize
- Acoustic log
- Active Heave compensator
- Active Heave drawworks
- Adiabatic accumulator system
- Adjustable choke
- Air drilling
- Air pressure vessel (APV)
- Air-actuated
- American Petroleum Institute (API)
- Anchor deadline
- Angle of deflection
- Annular blowout preventer
- Annular preventer
- Annular space
- Annulus friction pressure (AFP)
- Anticline
- API gravity
- Assistant driller’s chair
- Auto Doper
- Auto mixing system
- Auto mud bucket
- Auto sack cutter
- Auto shaker control
- Automatic driller
- Automatic identification system
- Automatic relief valve
- Autoshear
B
- Back off
- Back up
- Back-up tong
- Bail
- Bailer
- Bailing line
- Ballooning
- Barge
- Barite or baryte
- Barium sulfate
- Barrel (bbl)
- Barrier
- Basket sub
- Bed
- Bell nipple
- Belt
- Bentonite
- Bit
- Bit breaker
- Bit record
- Blind ram
- Block
- Blooey line
- Blowout
- Blowout preventer (BOP)
- Boll weevil
- Bomb
- Bond
- BOP multiplex controls
- BOP preventer stack
- BOP ram type
- Borehole
- Bottom-supported offshore drilling rig
- Bottomhole
- Bottomhole choke
- Bottomhole pressure
- Bowtie
- Box
- Brake
- Brake horsepower (bhp)
- Break out
- Breaking down
- Breakout cathead
- Breakout tongs
- Bridge
- Bring in a well
- Buck up
- Bug blowers
- Bull’s eye
- Bullet perforator
- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE)
- Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)
- By heads
- Bypass
C
- Cable
- Cable-tool drilling
- Caprock
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
- Cased
- Casing
- Casing centralizer
- Casing coupling
- Casing elevator
- Casing shoe
- Casing stabbing arm
- Casing string
- Casinghead
- Catch samples
- Cathead
- Catline
- Catwalk
- Catwalk machine
- Caving
- Cellar
- Cement Bond Log (CBL)
- Cement case
- Cement channeling
- Cementing
- Centralizers
- Certificate of Conformance (COC)
- Chain drive
- Chain tongs
- Changing rams
- Check valve
- Choke
- Choke and kill
- Choke and Kill Line Friction Pressure (CLFP)
- Choke line
- Choke manifold
- Choke valve
- Circulate
- Circulating fluid – drilling fluid, mud
- Circulation
- Classification, Labeling, and Packaging (CLP)
- CMC
- Column racker/synchronized racker
- Combination string
- Come out of the hole
- Company man
- Company representative
- Complete a well
- Completing the Well on Paper (CWOP)
- Compound
- Conductor casing or pipe
- Constant Bottom Hole Pressure (CBHP)
- Contract depth
- Core
- Core analysis
- Core barrel
- Core catcher
- Core cutterhead
- Corrosion Resistant Alloy (CRA)
- Coupling
- Crater
- Critical Static Gel Strength (CSGS)
- Crooked hole
- Crown block
- Cuttings
- Cylinder rig
D
- Daylight tour (pronounced “tower”)
- Daywork
- Dead band
- Deadline
- Deadline tie-down anchor
- Deadman
- Deepwater Well Control Guidelines (DWWCG)
- Degasser
- Density
- Derrick
- Derrickman
- Desander
- Desilter
- Development well
- Deviation
- Deviation survey
- Diamond bit
- Diesel engine
- Diesel-electric power
- Directional drilling
- Discovery well
- Discrete hydraulic
- Displacement fluid
- Doghouse
- Dogleg
- Dope
- Double
- Double board
- Downhole telemetry
- Drawworks
- Drill bit
- Drill collar
- Drill floor manipulator arm
- Drill pipe
- Drill stem
- Drill stem test
- Drill string
- Driller
- Driller’s chair
- Driller’s log
- Driller’s Control Panel (DCP)
- Drilling block
- Drilling contractor
- Drilling crew
- Drilling fluid
- Drilling foreman
- Drilling in
- Drilling line
- Drilling out
- Drilling rate
- Drilling rig
- Drilling spool
- Drilling under pressure
- Drilling window
- Drillship
- Drive bushing
- Drum
- Dry hole
- Dual active heave Drawworks system
- Dual gradient drilling
- Dual vertical rackers
- Dutchman
- Dyna-drill
- Dynamic positioning
E
- Effective permeability
- Effective porosity
- Electric well log
- Electrodynamic brake
- Elevators
- Emergency Disconnect Sequence (EDS)
- Emergency Response Team (ERT)
- Emergency Shutdown (ESD)
- Engine horsepower
- Equivalent Circulating Density (ECD)
- Evening tour (pronounced “tower”)
- Exploitation well
- Exploration well
- Explosive fracturing
F
- Fail-safe
- Fastline
- Fault
- Feed-off
- Field
- Fill the hole
- Filter cake
- Fingerboard
- Fish
- Fishing
- Fishing tool
- Flag
- Flange up
- Flare
- Floater
- Floating collar
- Floating offshore drilling rig
- Flocculation
- Flooding
- Floorman
- Flowing by heads (saying)
- Flowing well
- Fluid
- Formation
- Formation fluids
- Formation fracturing
- Formation pressure
- Formation testing
- Fourble
- Fourble board
- Fracturing
- Full-Opening Safety Valve (FOSV)
G
H
- Health, safety, and environment (HSE)
- Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality (HSEQ)
- Hoist
- Hoisting drum
- Hole
- Hook
- Hook horsepower
- Hook load
- Hopper
- Horizontal to Vertical Pipe Transfer Arm
- Horizontal tubular transfer
- Horsepower (hp)
- Horsepower, bit (mech)
- Horsepower, rotary and torque
- Hydraulic control manifold
- Hydraulic fracturing
- Hydraulic horsepower (hhp)
- Hydraulics
- Hydrocarbons
- Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
- Hydromatic brake
I
K
L
M
- Magnetic brake
- Major Accident Event (MAE)
- Make a connection
- Make a trip
- Make hole
- Make up
- Make-up a joint
- Makeup cathead
- Managed pressure drilling (MPD)
- Management of Change (MOC)
- Marine drilling riser
- Marsh funnel
- Mast
- Master bushing
- Maximum Allowable Annulus Surface Pressure (MAASP)
- Maximum anticipated surface pressure (MASP)
- Mechanical rig
- Mechanized roughneck
- Metocean
- Mill
- Mix mud
- Mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU)
- Monkeyboard
- Morning tour (pronounced “tower”)
- Motorman
- Mouse hole
- Mousehole connection
- Mud
- Mud analysis
- Mud balance
- Mud cake
- Mud circulation
- Mud conditioning
- Mud engineer
- Mud gun
- Mud logging
- Mud man
- Mud pit
- Mud pump
- Mud pump synchronization
- Mud return line
- Mud screen
- Mud-off
- Multi-activity
- Multiplex
- Multiplex (MUX) Controls
N
O
P
- Pay sand
- Perforate
- Perforating gun
- Permeability
- Petroleum
- Pin
- Pipe conveyor
- Pipe handling boom
- Pipe ram
- Pipedeck operator/standbuilding chair
- Platform
- Plug and abandon (P&A)
- Plug back
- Pore
- Porosity
- Positive choke
- Power elevators
- Power slips
- Powered mousehole
- Pre-charge
- Pressure
- Pressure gauge
- Pressure gradient
- Pressure relief valve
- Preventer
- Primary cementing
- Prime mover
- Production
- Proppant
- Propping agent
- Protection casing
- Pump
R
- Racking pipe
- Radioactivity log
- Radioactivity well logging
- Ram
- Ram blowout preventer
- Rate of penetration (ROP)
- Rathole
- Reaming
- Reeve
- Relative permeability
- Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)
- Reserve pit
- Reservoir
- Reservoir pressure
- Reverse circulation
- Rig
- Rig breaking capacity (performance)
- Rig up
- Rig, jackknife or folding mast
- Riser adapter
- Riser analysis
- Riser hang-off
- Riser joint
- Riser recoil system
- Rock pressure
- Roller cone bit
- Rotary bushing
- Rotary drilling
- Rotary drilling rig
- Rotary helper
- Rotary hose
- Rotary Kelly Bushing (RKB)
- Rotary table
- Rotating head
- Roughneck
- Round trip
- Roustabout
- Run in
S
- Safety joint
- Samples
- Sand
- Scratcher
- Secondary cementing
- Seismograph
- Semisubmersible drilling rig
- Set Casing
- Settling Pit
- Shaker
- Shaker pit
- Shaker tank
- Shale
- Shale shaker
- Shallow hazards
- Shaped charge
- Shear ram
- Sheave (pronounced “shiv”)
- Shoe
- Show
- Shut down
- Shut-in bottomhole pressure (SIBHP)
- Shut-in drillpipe pressure (SIDPP)
- Sidetrack
- Sidewall coring
- Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS)
- Single
- Skidding the rig
- Slips
- Slug the pipe
- Slurry
- Slush pit
- Sonic logging
- Spear
- Specific gravity
- Spinner survey
- Spinning cathead
- Spinning chain
- Spool, drilling
- Spud
- Spud in
- Squeeze cementing
- Stab
- Stabbing board
- Stabilizer
- Stacking a rig
- Stake a well
- Stand
- Stand it on the boards
- Stand of pipe
- Standpipe
- Stimulation
- Stratification
- Stratigraphic trap
- String
- String up
- Stripping
- Structural trap
- Stuck pipe
- Sub
- Submersible drilling rig
- Substructure
- Suction pit
- Suction tank
- Surface casing
- Surge pressure
- Swab pressure
- Swabbing
- Swivel
- Syncline
T
- Tearing down
- Telescopic joint
- Tender
- Thread protector
- Thribble
- Thribble board
- Throw the chain
- Tight formation
- Tight hole
- Tongs
- Tool joint
- Toolpusher
- Top drive
- Top drive casing running system
- Torque
- Torque converter
- Total depth (TD)
- Tour (pronounced “tower”)
- Transmission
- Transmission loss or mechanical efficiency
- Trap
- Traveling block
- Tricone bit
- Trip
- Trip Saver
- Tubular handling machine (for pipe decks/racks)
- Turbodrill
- Turning to the right
- Twist-off
- Two and three arm system
U
W
Acronyms and Abbreviations
| AFP | Annular Friction Pressure | AIS | Automatic Identification System | API | American Petroleum Institute | ||
| APV | Air Pressure Vessel | AX/VX | Ring gasket | BCP | Blowout Contingency Plan | ||
| BHA | Bottomhole Assembly | BHP | Bottomhole Pressure | BOEMRE | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement | ||
| BOP | Blowout Preventer | BOPE | Blowout Preventer Equipment | BSEE | Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement | ||
| BSR | Blind Shear Ram | BTF | Blowout Task Force | BU | Business Unit | ||
| C&K | Choke and Kill | CBHP | Constant Bottomhole Pressure | CBL | Cement Bond Log | ||
| CCC | Central Control Console | CLFP | Choke and Kill Line Friction Pressures (also used for Choke Line Friction Pressures) | CLP | Classification, Labeling and Packaging | ||
| CO2 | Carbon dioxide | COC | Certificate of Conformance | CRA | Corrosion Resistant Alloy | ||
| CRT | Casing Running Tool | CSGS | Critical Static Gel Strength | CSR | Casing Shear Ram | ||
| CWOP | Completing the Well on Paper (also, Completion Well Optimization Process) | DCP | Driller’s Control Panel | DGD | Dual Gradient Drilling | ||
| DGPS | Differential Global Positioning Satellite | DOD | Department of Defense (US) | DP | Dynamic Positioning or Dynamic Positioned | ||
| DWOP | Drill Well on Paper | DWWCG | Deepwater Well Control Guidelines | ECD | Equivalent Circulating Density | ||
| EDS | Emergency Disconnect Sequence | EHBS | Electro-Hydraulic Back-Up System | EHBS | Emergency Hydraulic Back-Up System | ||
| EMW | Equivalent Mud Weights | ERD | Extended Reach Drilling | ERT | Emergency Response Team | ||
| ESD | Emergency Shut Down | ETF | Emergency Task Force | FAT | Factory Acceptance Test | ||
| FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency (US) | FIT | Formation Integrity Test | FLOT | Flying Lead Orientation Tool | ||
| FOSV | Full Opening Safety Valve | GOM | Gulf of Mexico | GOR | Gas Oil Ratio | ||
| GPS | Global Positioning Satellite | H2S | Hydrogen Sulfide | HID | Hydraulic Isolation Depth | ||
| HPHT | High-Temperature High-Pressure | HPU | Hydraulic Power Unit | HSE | Health, Safety and the Environment | ||
| HSEQ | Health, Safety, Environment and Quality | IADC | International Association of Drilling Contractors | ICP | Initial Circulating Pressure | ||
| ICS | Incident Command System | ID | Inside Diam | IR | Infrared | ||
| ISO | International Standards Organization | KT | Kick Tolerance | LCM | Lost Circulation Material | ||
| LMRP | Lower Marine Riser Package | LOP | Leak-Off Pressure | LOT | Leak-Off Test | ||
| LVE | Low Volumetric Expansion | LWC | Loss of Well Control | LWD | Logging While Drilling | ||
| MAASP | Maximum Allowable Annulus Surface Pressure | MAE | Major Accident Event | MASP | Maximum Anticipated Surface Pressure | ||
| MAWP | Maximum Anticipated Water Pressure | MD | Measured Depth | MGS | Mud Gas Separator | ||
| MMS | Minerals Management Service | MOC | Management of Change | MODU | Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit | ||
| MOP | Minimum Operating Pressure | MPD | Managed Pressure Drilling | MRT | Marine Riser Tensioner | ||
| MUX | Multiplex | MW | Mud Weight | MWD | Measurement While Drilling | ||
| NAF | Non-Aqueous Drilling Fluid | NIMS | National Incident Management System | NORSOK | Norwegian Petroleum Standards | ||
| OB | Overburden | OBM | Oil-Based Muds | OD | Outer Diam | ||
| OEM | Original Equipment Manufacturer | OHSAS | Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Services | ORM | Operational Risk Management | ||
| ORT | Onsite Response Team | OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration | PMCD | Pressurized Mud Cap | ||
| PP | Pore Pressure | PPD | Pore Pressure Detection | PPDSPA | Pore Pressure Detection Single Point of Accountability | ||
| PPFG | Pore and Fracture Pressure | ppg | Pounds Per Gallon | PR | Public Relations | ||
| PWD | Pressure While Drilling | QA/QC | Quality Assurance / Quality Control | RCD | Rotating Control Device | ||
| RFC-HSE | Returns Flow Control | RITT | Riser Insertion Tube Tool | RKB | Rotary Kelly Bushing | ||
| ROP | Rate of Penetration | ROV | Remotely Operated Vehicle | RWP | Rated Working Pressure | ||
| SBM | Synthetic-Based Muds | SCP | Slow Circulating Pressure | SCR | Slow Circulating Rates; also Silicon Controlled Rectifier | ||
| SEMS | Safety and Environmental Management System | SHE | Safety, Health and the Environment | SICP | Shut-In Casing Pressure | ||
| SIDPP | Shut-In Drillpipe Pressure | SIMOPS | Simultaneous Operations | SIT | System Integrity Test | ||
| SPM | Side Pocket Mandrel | SPP | Slow Pump Pressure | SWD | Seismic While Drilling | ||
| SWF | Shallow Water Flow | TCP | Toolpusher’s Control Panel | TD | Total Depth | ||
| TJ | Telescopic Joint | TMS | Tether Management System | TOC | Top of Cement | ||
| TVD | True Vertical Depth | TVH | True Vertical Height | UB | Underbalanced | ||
| UPS | Uninterruptible Power Supply | VIV | Vortex Induced Vibration | VOC | Volatile Organic Compounds | ||
| WI | Well Integrity | WICD | Well Control Interface Document | WOC | Waiting on Cement | ||
| WSOG | Well Specific Operating Guideline (Criteria) |