From barrels to benchmarks, understand the vocabulary of oil and energy. Click any term to expand its definition.
Showing 63 of 63 terms
A measure of how heavy or light a petroleum liquid is compared to water, developed by the American Petroleum Institute. Higher API gravity means lighter oil.
Standard unit of oil measurement equal to 42 US gallons or approximately 159 liters.
Unit of energy approximately equal to the energy released by burning one barrel of crude oil. Used to compare different energy sources.
Reference oil grade used for pricing contracts, with Brent and WTI as primary global benchmarks.
A thick, viscous form of petroleum that does not flow at room temperature. The primary hydrocarbon found in oil sands deposits, particularly in Alberta, Canada.
The international benchmark oil price, based on crude from the North Sea. Used to price approximately two-thirds of global crude oil trade.
Technologies that capture carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources or the atmosphere, then either store it permanently underground or use it in products and processes.
Emissions per unit of energy produced or economic output.
Reduction in emissions made to compensate for emissions elsewhere, measured in tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Group of producers coordinating output or prices to maximize collective profits.
A very light liquid hydrocarbon that condenses from natural gas when it is brought to the surface and cooled. Valued as a diluent for heavy oil and as a petrochemical feedstock.
The difference between the price of crude oil and the prices of refined petroleum products (like gasoline and diesel). It represents the gross margin a refinery earns from 'cracking' crude oil into products.
Unrefined petroleum extracted from the ground, composed of hydrocarbon deposits and other organic materials.
Process of reducing carbon emissions from energy use and industrial processes.
A lighter hydrocarbon liquid mixed with heavy oil or bitumen to reduce viscosity, enabling transport through pipelines. Common diluents include condensate and natural gas liquids.
The refining, processing, and marketing segment of the oil industry, converting crude oil into finished products.
Upstream oil and gas activities focused on finding and extracting petroleum resources.
State where a country produces enough energy domestically to meet its consumption needs.
Energy consumed per unit of economic output, measuring efficiency of energy use in an economy.
Reliable access to affordable energy supplies, a key policy goal for nations.
The ongoing global shift from fossil fuel-based energy systems toward low-carbon and renewable energy sources, driven by climate policy, technology cost reductions, and changing economics.
Advanced techniques to extract additional oil from reservoirs beyond primary and secondary recovery methods.
Raw material used in industrial processes to make products.
Energy consumed by end users, after conversion and transmission losses.
Controlled burning of natural gas at oil production sites when capture infrastructure is unavailable.
Unintentional gas releases from equipment leaks, valves, and other sources in oil and gas operations.
Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, including CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases.
Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, including CO2, methane, and N2O, contributing to climate change.
A drilling technique where the wellbore is turned from vertical to horizontal, allowing it to travel through a reservoir laterally. Combined with hydraulic fracturing, it revolutionized oil and gas production from shale formations.
A well stimulation technique that uses high-pressure fluid injection to create fractures in rock formations, enabling oil and gas to flow more freely to the wellbore.
Large privately-owned oil companies operating globally, sometimes called 'supermajors'.
Framework ensuring that the shift to a low-carbon economy is fair for workers and communities affected by energy industry changes.
Total emissions from a product through all stages: extraction, processing, transport, use, and disposal.
Natural gas cooled to -162°C, reducing volume by 600x for shipping in specialized tankers.
Primary component of natural gas (CH4). A potent greenhouse gas with 80x the warming effect of CO2 over 20 years.
The transportation and storage segment of oil and gas, connecting upstream production to downstream processing.
Gaseous fossil fuel primarily composed of methane, often found with oil deposits or in dedicated gas fields.
A state where greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere are balanced by an equivalent amount removed, resulting in no net addition to atmospheric concentrations.
State-owned petroleum company, often controlling domestic resources and export revenues.
Naturally occurring deposits of sand, clay, water, and bitumen—a heavy, viscous form of petroleum. Canada's oil sands in Alberta contain the world's third-largest proven oil reserves.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, an intergovernmental organization of oil-producing nations that coordinates petroleum policies and production levels.
Historically: the point of maximum oil extraction rate, after which production declines. Now more commonly refers to peak oil demand—when consumption reaches its maximum.
Chemical products derived from petroleum or natural gas, used as feedstocks to manufacture plastics, fertilizers, synthetic fibers, pharmaceuticals, and thousands of other products.
Energy in its raw form before conversion or transformation, used to measure total energy supply.
Industrial facility that converts crude oil into usable petroleum products including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and petrochemical feedstocks.
Energy from sources that naturally replenish, including solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass.
Estimated quantities of oil that can be economically extracted from known reservoirs under current conditions.
Total oil in place, regardless of technical or economic extractability. Broader category than reserves.
Payments made to the owner of a natural resource (typically the government or landowner) for the right to extract and sell that resource. In most of Canada, royalties are paid to provincial governments as the Crown owns subsurface mineral rights.
Direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources owned or controlled by an organization.
Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling consumed by an organization.
Indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in a company's value chain, including emissions from the use of sold products. For oil companies, this includes emissions when customers burn their fuel.
A geophysical method used to create images of underground rock formations by measuring how sound waves travel through the earth. Essential for locating oil and gas deposits before drilling.
Oil extracted from low-permeability shale rock formations using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, responsible for the US oil production boom since 2010.
Government-owned emergency oil stockpile, maintained to buffer supply disruptions.
An in-situ method for extracting bitumen from oil sands that uses pairs of horizontal wells—one injecting steam to heat the bitumen, the other collecting the softened oil that drains downward by gravity.
Assets that suffer from unanticipated or premature write-downs, devaluations, or conversion to liabilities before the end of their expected economic life, typically due to climate policy, technology change, or market shifts.
The largest international oil companies by revenue and market capitalization.
Classification of crude oil based on sulfur content. Sweet crude has low sulfur (less than 0.5%), while sour crude has high sulfur (more than 0.5%). Sweet crude is generally more valuable because it's cheaper to refine.
Petroleum resources requiring advanced extraction techniques beyond traditional vertical drilling.
The exploration and production segment of the oil and gas industry, including finding and extracting crude oil and natural gas.
The surface equipment installed at the top of a well to control pressure, direct flow, and provide access for maintenance and monitoring. Also refers to the point of production before any processing or transport.
The primary benchmark for US oil prices, a light sweet crude oil produced in the Permian Basin and priced at Cushing, Oklahoma.