British thermal unit. The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one Fahrenheit degree. One BTU is equivalent to 252 calories, 0.293 watt-hours or 1,055 joules.

The arrangement of pipes and valves at the wellhead to control the flow of oil or natural gas and to prevent blowouts.

Compressed natural gas.

The procedure by which a successful well is readied for production.

Stations located along natural gas pipelines which re compress gas to ensure an even flow.

Any area where natural gas can be drilled and extracted vertically.

The amount of natural gas required at room temperature at sea level to fill a volume of one cubic foot.

A steel structure mounted over the borehole to support drill pipe and other equipment that is lowered and raised during drilling operations.

A technique that enables drilling at an angle to reach a particular underground formation.

The controlled and safe burning of gas which cannot be used for commercial or technical reasons.

A facility that extracts liquefiable hydrocarbons or sulfur from natural gas.

Pipelines that move natural gas or petroleum from wells to processing or transmission facilities.

Gasoline gallon equivalent.

Gas to liquids. Processes that convert natural gas into other forms of fuel.

An advanced form of directional drilling in which the lateral hole is drilled horizontally.

The pumping of a medium, typically water, sand and chemical additives, into a reservoir with a controlled force to fracture reservoir rock, resulting in a greater flow of natural gas or oil from the reservoir. Learn more at hydraulicfracturing.com.

The individual in an oil and gas company or agent who negotiates oil and gas leases with mineral owners, cures title defects and negotiates with other companies on agreements concerning the lease.

Liquefied natural gas. Natural gas that has been cooled into a liquid state so that it takes up only 1/600 of the volume of natural gas.

Liquefied petroleum gas. Propane, butane or propane-butane mixtures derived from crude oil refining or natural gas fractionation. For convenience of transportation, these gases are liquefied through pressurization.

An ownership of the minerals beneath a tract of land. If the surface ownership and the mineral ownership are different, the minerals are said to be “severed.”

A naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon gases found in porous rock formations. Its principal component is methane.

Natural gas liquids. A general term for liquid products separated from natural gas in a gas processing plant. These include propane, butane, ethane and natural gasoline.

Natural gas vehicle.

A string of interconnected pipe providing a route for natural gas to travel from the wellhead to market. Without pipelines, natural gas cannot be transported and sold at market to provide royalty payments, clean energy and economic benefits to the community.

A permanent plug, usually cement, set in a borehole to block the flow of fluids, to isolate sections of the well or to permanently plug a dry hole or depleted well.

The separation of oil, gas and natural gas liquids and the removal of impurities.

Porous, permeable rock containing oil and natural gas; enclosed or surrounded by layers of less permeable or impervious rock.

The share of production or proceeds reserved to a mineral owner under the terms of a mineral lease. Normally, royalty interests are free of all costs of production except production taxes and transportation costs. It is established in the lease by reserving a royalty which is usually expressed as a fraction of production.

A tool for identifying underground accumulations of oil or natural gas by sending and measuring the return of energy or sound waves. It is a computer-assisted process that maps sedimentary structures to assist in planning drilling programs.

Gas reserves found in unusually nonporous rock, requiring special drilling and completion techniques.

The commencement of drilling operations.

Tank batteries are part of the production equipment installed after a well is completed. They store the salt water that is returned from a producing well.

The control equipment fitted to the top of the well, consisting of outlets, valves, blowout-prevention equipment, etc.

Any area (shales, tight sands, fractured carbonates) where natural gas cannot be drilled and extracted vertically.