O&G Property Terms

Borehole:  The hole as drilled by the drill bit.

Casing:  Pipe cemented in the well to seal off formation fluids or keep the hole from caving in.  Casing remains in the well as a permanent reinforcement after the drilling is complete.

Dry hole:  A well that contains no oil or gas, or too little of either to make production economically viable.

Annulus:  The space between (1) the casing and the wall of the borehole; (2) two strings of casing, and (3) tubing and casing.

Core:  A cylindrical sample of a formation penetrated in a rotary drilling operation.  Samples are examined to obtain geological information.

Permeability:  The property of a rock formation that quantifies the flow of a fluid through the pore spaces and into the wellbore.  A tight rock formation has low permeability and lower capacity to flow O&G.  Wells in such formations typically require additional stimulation via fracking or other techniques.

Porosity:  Refers to the pore space present in the underground formation that enables the rocks composing the formation to hold fluids.

Reservoir:  The underground formation where O&G has accumulated.  It consists of a porous rock to hold the oil or gas, and a cap rock that prevents its escape.