Oil & Gas Compression Glossary

41 terms from the field, defined in plain English and tied to the episode where a guest actually said them.

Start here

Compressor station

A compressor station is a facility that boosts natural gas pressure so it can move through a gathering system or pipeline.
Flaring / flare gas

Flaring is burning off natural gas at a wellsite through a flare stack, usually because there's no economic way yet to capture or sell it.
Gas gathering system

A gas gathering system is the network of small pipelines that collects gas from individual wellheads and carries it to central compression or processing.
Gas lift

Gas lift injects high-pressure gas down a well to lighten the fluid column so oil that can no longer flow on its own is lifted to the surface.
Landman

A landman researches mineral ownership, negotiates leases, and clears title so an operator has the legal right to drill and produce a tract.
LOE / lease operating expense

LOE, or lease operating expense, is the day-to-day cost of running a producing well — labor, chemicals, workovers, and equipment — after it's drilled.
MCF

MCF stands for a thousand cubic feet, the standard unit operators use to measure and price natural gas volumes.
Midstream

Midstream covers everything that gathers, compresses, processes, and transports oil and gas between the wellhead and the end customer.
Natural gas compressor (how it works)

A natural gas compressor pulls gas in at a lower suction pressure and pushes it out at a higher discharge pressure so it will flow.
Production engineer

A production engineer manages how a producing well and its surface equipment perform, working to keep output up and costs down after drilling.
Reciprocating compressor

A reciprocating compressor uses pistons moving back and forth inside cylinders to compress natural gas in stages, and it's the field workhorse.
Reservoir engineer

A reservoir engineer studies underground pressure, rock, and fluid data to forecast how much oil or gas a well or field will ultimately produce.
Roustabout

A roustabout is an entry-level oilfield laborer who handles the physical work of building, maintaining, and repairing wellsite and pipeline equipment.
Vapor recovery unit (VRU)

A vapor recovery unit captures gas vapors that would otherwise flare or vent off storage tanks and compresses them back into the sales line.
Wellhead compression

Wellhead compression is a small compressor placed right at the well to pull gas off at low pressure and boost it into the gathering line.
Workover

A workover is a repair or re-completion job on an existing well, using a smaller rig, to fix a downhole problem or restore production.

A

Artificial lift: Artificial lift is any mechanical or gas-assisted method used to bring oil to the surface once a well can no longer flow on its own pressure.

C

Casing: Casing is the steel pipe cemented into a wellbore that keeps the hole open, protects groundwater, and lets the well be safely produced.
Combined cycle power generation: Combined cycle power generation uses a gas turbine and a steam turbine together, capturing waste heat to squeeze more electricity out of the same fuel.
Compressor package: A compressor package is the complete, skid-mounted compressor unit — engine or motor, cylinders, coolers and controls — ready to install in the field.
Compressor station: A compressor station is a facility that boosts natural gas pressure so it can move through a gathering system or pipeline.

D

Data center power demand: Data center power demand refers to the huge, fast-growing electricity load from AI and cloud computing that's driving new demand for natural gas power.
Decline curve: A decline curve is the graph of falling production a well follows over time, and managing it is central to keeping older wells economic.
Downhole: Downhole describes anything that happens or exists inside the wellbore itself, below the surface, as opposed to surface equipment.
Drilling rig: A drilling rig is the equipment and crew brought in to drill a new wellbore, from surface down to the target formation.

F

Flaring / flare gas: Flaring is burning off natural gas at a wellsite through a flare stack, usually because there's no economic way yet to capture or sell it.

G

Gas gathering system: A gas gathering system is the network of small pipelines that collects gas from individual wellheads and carries it to central compression or processing.
Gas lift: Gas lift injects high-pressure gas down a well to lighten the fluid column so oil that can no longer flow on its own is lifted to the surface.
Geothermal energy (EGS): Enhanced geothermal systems apply oil-and-gas drilling and fracturing technology to hot rock formations to generate steady, always-on power.

H

Horizontal drilling: Horizontal drilling turns a wellbore sideways within the target formation, exposing far more producing rock than a traditional vertical well.
Hydraulic fracturing (frac): Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, pumps fluid down a well at high pressure to crack open tight rock and let trapped oil and gas flow.

L

Landman: A landman researches mineral ownership, negotiates leases, and clears title so an operator has the legal right to drill and produce a tract.
Lean manufacturing (Kaizen): Lean manufacturing, built around continuous-improvement events called Kaizen, aims to cut waste and shorten lead times in industrial operations.
LNG (liquefied natural gas): LNG is natural gas cooled into liquid form so it can be shipped by tanker to markets a pipeline can't reach.
LOE / lease operating expense: LOE, or lease operating expense, is the day-to-day cost of running a producing well — labor, chemicals, workovers, and equipment — after it's drilled.

M

MCF: MCF stands for a thousand cubic feet, the standard unit operators use to measure and price natural gas volumes.
Midstream: Midstream covers everything that gathers, compresses, processes, and transports oil and gas between the wellhead and the end customer.

N

Natural gas compressor (how it works): A natural gas compressor pulls gas in at a lower suction pressure and pushes it out at a higher discharge pressure so it will flow.

O

Offshore drilling: Offshore drilling is drilling for oil and gas from a platform or rig located out on open water rather than on land.
Oil and gas lease: An oil and gas lease is the legal agreement that gives an operator the right to explore for and produce minerals under someone else's land.
Operator (oil and gas): An operator is the company legally responsible for drilling, producing, and managing a well, even when other companies own a share of it.

P

Permian Basin: The Permian Basin is the massive, prolific oil and gas region spanning West Texas and southeast New Mexico, and the busiest drilling area in the U.S.
Petroleum engineer: A petroleum engineer designs how oil and gas wells are drilled, completed, and produced, working across drilling, reservoir, and production disciplines.
Pipeline: A pipeline is the fixed infrastructure that moves oil or gas over distance, and how much of it exists directly limits how much gas can be sold.
Production engineer: A production engineer manages how a producing well and its surface equipment perform, working to keep output up and costs down after drilling.

R

Reciprocating compressor: A reciprocating compressor uses pistons moving back and forth inside cylinders to compress natural gas in stages, and it's the field workhorse.
Reservoir engineer: A reservoir engineer studies underground pressure, rock, and fluid data to forecast how much oil or gas a well or field will ultimately produce.
Roustabout: A roustabout is an entry-level oilfield laborer who handles the physical work of building, maintaining, and repairing wellsite and pipeline equipment.
Royalty owner: A royalty owner holds a share of a well's production revenue, without paying any of the drilling or operating costs, through their mineral rights.

S

SCADA / remote monitoring: SCADA is the remote monitoring and control system operators use to watch pressures, flows, and equipment status across a field from one screen.

T

Title work: Title work is the legal research that establishes who actually owns the minerals under a tract before an operator can lease or drill it.

V

Vapor recovery unit (VRU): A vapor recovery unit captures gas vapors that would otherwise flare or vent off storage tanks and compresses them back into the sales line.

W

Well completion: Well completion is the process of preparing a drilled wellbore to safely and efficiently produce oil or gas, including casing, cementing, and perforating.
Well pad: A well pad is the cleared, graded surface location built to host one or more wellheads, along with the equipment needed to drill and produce them.
Wellhead compression: Wellhead compression is a small compressor placed right at the well to pull gas off at low pressure and boost it into the gathering line.
Working interest: A working interest is an ownership share in a well that carries both the cost of drilling and operating it and a share of the production.
Workover: A workover is a repair or re-completion job on an existing well, using a smaller rig, to fix a downhole problem or restore production.