Related Oil & Gas Terms

• Polymer

  A substance that consists of large molecules formed from smaller molecules in repeating structural units (monomers). in oilfield operations, various types of polymers are used to thicken drilling mud, fracturing fluid, acid, water, and other liquids. see micellar-polymer flooding, polymer mud. in petroleum refining, heat and pressure are used to polymerize light hydrocarbons into larger...

• Ball-and-seat valve

  A device used to restrict fluid flow to one direction. it consists of a polished sphere, or ball, usually or 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...

• Ph value

  A unit of measure of the acid of alkaline condition of a substance. a neutral solution (such as pure water) has a ph of 7; add solutions are less than 7; basic, or alkaline, solutions are more than 7. the ph scale is a logarithmic scale. a substance with a ph of 4 is more...

• Organic theory

  An explanation of the origin of petroleum, which holds that the hydrogen and the carbon that make up petroleum come from plants and animals of land and sea. furthermore, the theory holds that more of this organic material comes from very tiny creatures of swamp and sea than comes from larger creatures of land....

• Donkey pump

  Any little pump; used for many kinds of small temporary pumping operations....