Oil and Gas Glossary

B

BCP

Business Continuity Plan

Barrel

In the case of oil, 1 barrel is equal to 42 gallons (approx. 159 liters).

Barrel of Oil Equivalent

Barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) is mainly used to convert a cubic volume of natural gas (i.e., cubic feet) into a cubic volume (i.e., a barrel) of crude oil. It is a standard unit of thermal energy based on the energy released in the combustion of one barrel of crude oil.

Brent crude

A type of crude oil that holds a major position in the market for crude oil prices. Brent crude is a light oil with low sulfur content and is mainly extracted from the Brent oil field located in the North Sea of the United Kingdom.

C

CCS

Technology to separate, capture and store CO2 emitted from major sources.

CPF

The central processing facility (CPF) processes the product received via the flexible risers from the production wells, separating it into gas and condensate.

Concession contract

A contract that directly grants mining rights (including mining rights in Japan and permits, licenses and leases in other countries) to oil companies through a contract or approval from the government of oil-producing countries or from national oil companies. The oil company itself makes the investment and holds the right for disposition for the acquired oil and gas. Oil-producing countries receive taxes or royalties from sales.

Condensate

Generally, a type of crude oil extracted as a liquid from gas fields. Liquid (oil) that exists as a gas underground but that condenses when extracted to the surface is referred to as condensate oil or simply as condensate.

Contractor

A company or person contracted to perform construction work for the company

Core

Cylinder rock samples extracted from underground geological formations in wells during various types of exploratory drilling. Normally, the samples are extracted by core drilling.

E

EITI

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

EPC Contractor

The oil and gas exploration and development business involves the participation of a number of contractors, such as drilling contractors and geophysical exploration subcontractors. Of these, an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor is in charge of engineering, procurement and construction work.

Exploratory wells

A well drilled to search for still unknown oil fields. Drilling wells to confirm the dimensions of a new oil field and to acquire an overall image of an oil field is a part of exploration, and wells for this purpose are referred to as exploratory wells.

F

FEED

FEED is an acronym for Front End Engineering Design. FEED work is done prior to engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work. FEED work involves field studies and budgeting, including technical issue identification and cost outlines, upon which bidding for EPC work is based.

Floating LNG

A floating LNG is created by installing an LNG plant on a large vessel. This development method allows for natural gas to be processed into liquid at that plant and then directly offloaded to an LNG carrier.

FPSO

FPSO refers to a floating production, storage and offloading system where refined crude oil and condensate are stored in tanks within a vessel. From here, the vessel offloads oil directly to tankers.

G

Ground flare

Equipment that incinerates excess hydrocarbon gas produced by crude oil drilling facilities, gas processing facilities and oil refineries instead of simply dissipating the gas as is. Shaped to combust flames within an upper chimney-like furnace, thereby resulting in no night-time illumination, noise pollution or effects on the surrounding environment.

I

IEA:International Energy Agency

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an autonomous intergovernmental organization focusing on energy issues and involves the world's largest energy consumers. The IEA was established in 1974 within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) framework.

L

LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas)

After removing impurities such as moisture, sulfur compounds and carbon dioxide from natural gas with a chief constituent of methane, the gas is liquefied by cooling to ultra-low temperatures (-162° Celsius). This process compresses the volume of the gas to 1/600, thus making it possible to transport large quantities in a single shipment.

LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)

LPG is an oil product that is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases with a carbon number of 3 or 4, for example, propane, propylene, butane, butylene or a mixture of these as main constituents. Although LPG is a gas at ambient temperature and normal pressure, it is liquefied through exposure to low pressures or temperatures (cooling).

Lump-sum contract

A contract agreeing upon and approving a fixed total for construction and work. It is distinguished from a cost-plus-fee contract, which promises in advance the payment of a certain fee added to a certain amount of actual incurred expenses.

M

Methane Hydrate

As one type of unconventional gas, methane hydrate is a solid crystalline structure in which methane molecules are trapped within a latticework formed by the hydrogen bonding of water molecules. Methane hydrate is stable under low-temperature, high-pressure conditions, so it can be found within the permafrost layer in Siberia, Canada and Alaska, as well as in the ocean at depths of 500 meters or more.

N

Net Production Volume

Net production volume is the net economical portion of total production volume. Specifically, it is the volume of oil and natural gas that can be sold after deducting portions allocated to the governments of oil-producing countries in accordance with production sharing agreements, and portions allocated to interest owners in accordance with concession agreements.

O

OGP

International Association of Oil & Gas Producers

Oil majors

Oil majors are also known as major international oil companies. ExxonMobil (US), Royal Dutch Shell (UK/Netherlands), BP (UK), Chevron (US) and TOTAL (France) are well-known as the five oil majors. Each of these companies possesses an integrated system including departments for conducting both upstream and downstream business.

Oil sands

Sandstone beds that contain an extremely viscous tar-like crude oil that has no fluidity in its initial state. This is as opposed to conventional crude oil, which can be easily pumped upward using a well. Depending on the level of viscosity, crude oil extracted from oil sand is referred to as bitumen or extra heavy crude oil.

Operator

In the case of multiple parties to a contract regarding blocks of oil/gas and associated E&P work, a joint operating agreement is entered into between the parties and it is necessary to achieve agreement on the rights and obligations for all items required when conducting operations. At that time, the party responsible for the execution and management of the operations is referred to as the operator. In contrast, parties other than the operator are referred to as non-operators.

P

Primary energy

Energy recovered directly from nature such as coal, oil, natural gas, fuelwood, hydroelectricity, nuclear power, wind power, current power, geothermal and solar energy.

Probable reserves (our company)

The definition of probable reserves is in accordance with regulations (2007 PRMS) formulated by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) through support from the World Petroleum Council (WPC), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE). The rule defines probable reserves as the estimated quantities of crude oil and natural gas that can be added to proved reserves and commercially collected based on geological and engineering data.

Probable reserves

Production sharing contract (PSC)

A contract in which one or more companies involved in the development of oil and natural gas acts as a contractor and undertakes operations for exploration and development on behalf of the governments of oil-producing countries or national oil companies. The contractor is responsible for the costs associated with the operations. Corresponding amounts for cost recovery and compensation are received from production by a contractor.

Proved reserves

The definition of proved reserves is in accordance with SEC Regulation S-X Rule 4-10 (a), a rule that is well-known among investors in the United States. The rule defines proved reserves as the estimated quantities of crude oil and natural gas that can, with reasonable certainty and under current economic and operating conditions, be collected from a given date forward based on geological and engineering data.

R

Renewable energy

A collective term used for energy acquired from within natural phenomena replenished repeatedly on earth such as solar, wind, hydro, oceans and biomass, as opposed to fossil fuels such as coal and oil, which are forecast to run out in the future. There is no fear of renewable energy running out, and it does not generate air pollution. Technology to use renewable energy as an energy source is undergoing development.

Reserves-to-production ratio

The reserves-to-production ratio (R/P ratio) is calculated by subtracting the production for a given year from the reserves at the end of that year. The resulting figure is applied to that particular oil field or region and shows how many years production can be continued if annual production continues at the amount for that year.

Rig

Machinery for drilling a well that is used to search for and produce oil and natural gas.

Royalty

Royalty refers to a specific share of production reserved by the owner of underground minerals (e.g., a state or a municipality) when granting mining rights, without taking responsibility for production costs. In some cases, the share increases according to increases in production. Royalties may be paid in kind or in cash.

S

Secondary energy

Electric power, city gas, coke, etc., which are acquired by converting and processing primary energy sources, are referred to as secondary energy.

Shale gas

Shale gas is a kind of natural gas that is considered to be an unconventional natural gas. It refers to gas that is found in hard shale beds and not in the usual gas fields of conventional natural gas. It is necessary to excavate the horizontal wells, using the hydraulic fracturing method to create a crack in the shale bed so that the gas can be extracted. In recent years, due to advancements in these gas mining technologies, the production of shale gas is making great strides, particularly in North America.

Shale Oil

Shale oil is a type of unconventional oil found in shale formations that must be hydraulically fractured to extract the oil.

U

Unconventional natural gas

Natural gas not produced from regular oil and gas fields. Includes gas (tight gas sands, coal bed methane, biomass gas and shale gas) that has already undergone partial commercial production and gas (e.g., methane hydrate and deep gas) expected to undergo future commercial production.