B
babbitt v: line with a Babbitt metal. n: a lead/tin alloy with some
copper and antimony.
backbite v: reverse backlash of tongs, left on a pipe or collar, during
the pipe spinning operations.
back off v: to unscrew one threaded piece (such as a
section of pipe) from another.
back-in unit n: a portable servicing or workover rig
that is self-propelled, using the hoisting engines for motive power. Because
the driver's cab is mounted on the end opposite the mast support, the unit
must be backed up to the wellhead.
bail n: 1. a cylindrical steel bar (similar to the handle or bail of a
bucket, only much larger) that supports the swivel and connects it to the
hook.
bailer n: a long, cylindrical container fitted with
a valve at its lower end, used to remove water, sand, mud, drilling cuttings,
or oil from a well in cable-tool drilling.
ball-and-seat valve n: a device used to restrict
fluid flow to one direction. It consists of a polished sphere, or ball,
usually of metal, and an annular piece, the seat, ground and polished to form
a seal with the surface of the ball. Gravitational force or the force of a
spring holds the ball against the seat. Flow in the direction of the force is
prevented, while flow in the opposite direction overcomes the force and
unseats the ball.
ball-out v: to plug open perforations by using ball
sealers.
barite n: barium sulfate, BaSO4; a
mineral frequently used to increase the weight or density of drilling mud. Its
relative density is 4.2 (meaning that it is 4.2 times denser than water). See
barium sulfate, mud.
barium sulfate n: a chemical compound of barium,
sulfur, and oxygen (BaSO4), which may form a tenacious scale that
is very difficult to remove. Also called barite.
barrel (bbl) n: 1. a measure of volume for petroleum
products in the United States. One barrel is the equivalent of 42 U.S. gallons
or 0.15899 cubic meters (9,702 cubic inches).
basket n: a device placed in the drill or work
string that catches debris when a drillable object is being milled or drilled
downhole.
beam n: a steel or other structural member.
 beam
pumping unit n: a machine designed specifically for sucker rod pumping.
An engine or motor (prime mover) is mounted on the unit to power a rotating
crank. The crank moves a horizontal member (walking beam) up and down to
produce reciprocating motion. This reciprocating motion operates the pump.
belt n: a flexible band or cord connecting and
wrapping around each of two or more pulleys to transmit power or impart
motion.
belt guard n: a protective grill or cover for a belt
and pulleys.
bent sub n: a short cylindrical device (generally angular) installed in
the drill stem between the bottommost drill collar and a downhole motor.
 bit
n: the cutting or boring element used in drilling oil and gas wells.
bit program n: a plan for the expected number and types of bits that
are to be used in drilling a well.
bit record n: a report that lists each bit used during a drilling
operation.
bit sub n: a sub inserted between the drill collar and the bit.
bleed v: to drain off liquid or gas, generally
slowly, through a valve called a bleeder. To bleed down, or bleed off, means
to release pressure slowly from a well or from pressurized equipment.
 block
n: one or more pulleys, or sheaves, mounted into a common framework in order
to rotate on a common axis. The crown block is an assembly of sheaves mounted
on beams at the top of the derrick or mast. The traveling block is an assembly
of sheaves mounted in a framework that allows the block to move up and down by
use of the drilling line that is reeved over the crown block sheaves an
through the traveling block sheaves.
blowout n: an uncontrolled flow of gas, oil, or other well fluids from
the well.
blowout preventer (BOP) n: one or more valves installed at the wellhead
to prevent the escape of pressure either in the annular space between the
casing and the drill pipe or in open hole (for example, hole with no drill
pipe) during drilling or completion operations.
blowout preventer control panel n: controls, opens and closes the
blowout preventers. See blowout preventer.
blowout preventer control unit n: a device that stores hydraulic fluid
under pressure in special containers and provides a method to open and close
the blowout preventers.
blowout preventer stack (BOP stack) n: the assembly of well control
equipment including preventers, spools, valves, and nipples connected to the
top of the wellhead.
BOP abbr: blowout preventer.
BOP stack n: the assembly of blowout preventers installed on a well.
bore n: 1. the inside diameter of a pipe or a drilled hole. v: to
penetrate or pierce with a rotary tool. Compare tunnel.
bottomhole n: the lowest or deepest part of a well.
bottomhole assembly n: the portion of the drilling
assembly below the drill pipe. It can be very simple, composed of only the bit
and drill collars, or it can be very complex and made up of several specialty
components.
bottomhole plug n: a bridge plug or cement plug
placed near the bottom of the hole to shut off a depleted, water-producing, or
unproductive zone.
bottomhole pressure n: 1. the pressure at the bottom of a borehole. It
is caused by the hydrostatic pressure of the wellbore fluid and, sometimes, by
any backpressure held at the surface, as when the well is shut in with blowout
preventers. When mud is being circulated, bottomhole pressure is the
hydrostatic pressure plus the remaining circulating pressure required to move
the mud up the annulus. 2. the pressure in a well at a point opposite the
producing formation, as recorded by a bottomhole pressure measuring device.
bottomhole pressure test n: a test that measures the
reservoir pressure of the well, obtained at a specific depth or at the
midpoint of the producing zone. A flowing bottomhole pressure test measures
pressure while the well continues to flow; a shut-in bottomhole pressure test
measures pressure after the well has been shut in for a specified period of
time. See bottomhole pressure.
bottomhole pump n: any of the rod pumps,
high-pressure liquid pumps, or centrifugal pumps located at or near the bottom
of the well and used to lift the well fluids. See centrifugal pump, hydraulic
pumping, submersible pump, sucker rod pumping.
bottom plug n: a cement wiper plug that precedes
cement slurry down the casing. The plug wipes drilling mud off the walls of
the casing and prevents it from contaminating the cement. See cementing, wiper
plug.
box threads n pl: threads on the female section, or
box, of a tool joint. See tool joint.
 brake
n: The braking device on the drawworks or airhoist to stop a load being
lifted. It is a device for arresting the motion of a mechanism, usually by
means of friction, as in the drawworks and airhoist brakes.
brake band n: a part of the brake mechanism
consisting of a flexible steel band lined with a material that grips a drum
when tightened. On drawworks, the brake band acts on the drum to control the
lowering of the traveling block and its load.
break circulation v: to start the mud pump for
restoring circulation of the mud column. Because the stagnant drilling fluid
has thickened or gelled during the period of no circulation, higher pump
pressure is usually required to break circulation.
breaker points n: contacts that interrupt the
current in the primary circuit of an electrical system such as in a
spark-ignition engine.
break out v: 1. to unscrew one section of pipe from
another section, especially drill pipe while it is being withdrawn from the
wellbore. During this operation, the tongs are used to start the unscrewing
operation. 2. to separate, as gas from a liquid or water from an emulsion.
breakout block n: a plate that fits in the rotary
table and holds the drill bit while it is being unscrewed from the drill
collar.
breakout cathead n: a device attached to the
catshaft of the drawworks that is used as a power source for the tongs used in
unscrewing drill pipe; usually located opposite the driller’s side of the
drawworks.
break tour (pronounced "tower") v: to
begin operating 24 hours a day. Moving the rig and rigging up are usually
carried on during daylight hours only. When the rig is ready for operation at
a new location, crews break tour.
bridge plug n: a downhole tool, composed primarily
of slips, a plug mandrel, and a rubber sealing element, that is run and set in
casing to isolate a lower zone while an upper section is being tested or
cemented.
brine n: water that has a quantity of salt,
especially sodium chloride, dissolved in it; salt water.
buck up v: to tighten up a threaded connection (such
as two joints of drill pipe).
 bulk
mud components in storage n: hopper type tanks for storage of
drilling fluid components.
bulk tank n: on a drilling rig, a large metal bin
that usually holds a large amount of a certain mud additive, such as bentonite,
that is used in large quantities in the makeup of the drilling fluid.
 bullet
perforator n: a tubular device that, when lowered to a selected depth
within a well, is engaged forcing the projectiles (bullets) through the casing
and cement to provide holes through which the formation fluids may enter the
wellbore.
bumped adj: in cementing operations, pertaining to a
cement plug that comes to rest on the float collar.
bumper block n: Timbers wrapped with wire mesh or
other retaining medium located below the crown to act as a cushion in the
event the block is raised too far.
bushing n: 1. a pipe fitting on which the external
thread is larger than the internal thread to allow two pipes of different
sizes to be connected. 2. a removable lining or sleeve inserted or screwed
into an opening to limit its size, resist wear or corrosion, or serve as a
guide.
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