In May 2006, Saudi Arabian Oil Company and TOTAL S.A. signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop the Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical Project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Project entails the development of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), and will be the first plant built in Jubail Industrial City 2, located in the east coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 On June 22, 2008, with a share of (62.5%) for Saudi Aramco and (37.5%) for TOTAL, the Shareholders signed an Agreement in order to form SAUDI ARAMCO TOTAL Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP), which was officially established on September 21, 2008.

Shale gas is natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States since the start of this century, and interest has spread to potential gas shales in the rest of the world. Shale gas has been produced for years from shales with natural fractures; the shale gas boom in recent years has been due to modern technology in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to create extensive artificial fractures around well bores.

Shale oil, known also as kerogen oil or oil-shale oil, is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas. The resulting oil can be used immediately as a fuel or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing impurities such as sulfur and nitrogen. The refined products can be used for the same purposes as those derived from crude oil.

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan. Three production divisions, two oil refineries and one gas processing plant, an oil tanker fleet, a deep water platform fabrication yard, two trusts, one institution, and 22 subdivisions are operating as corporate entities under SOCAR. SOCAR has representative offices in Georgia, Turkey, Romania, Austria, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Great Britain, Iran, Germany and Ukraine and trading companies in Switzerland, Singapore, Vietnam, Nigeria, and other countries.

Solid refers to non-soluble material such as agricultural refuse, industrial waste, mining residues, demolition waste, municipal garbage or even sewage sludge. Most of these kinds of wastes cannot be recycled or rehabilitated for further use.

The South Stream project is aimed at strengthening the European energy security. It is the key project in the diversification strategy for gas supply routes to the EU. The South Stream gas pipeline will ensure a direct connection between hydrocarbons suppliers and consumers thus raising significantly the energy supply security on the entire European continent. Experts share the opinion that in the medium and long term gas demand will grow in the European Union. The countries which used to consume moderate amounts of gas for industrial purposes are likely to guide their economies towards its increased utilization, since coal, fuel oil and nuclear power are less environmentally-friendly if compared to natural gas. Regardless that indigenous production still satisfies the bulk of consumption in Europe today, it will steadily decrease in time. Europe will need more imported gas and, accordingly, new transmission capacities. According to the consensus forecast by the world’s leading forecast centers, Europe’s annual demand for additional gas import may reach 80 billion cubic meters by 2020 and surpass 140 billion cubic meters by 2030. Thus, the main issues of the European energy security are building up gas supplies and eliminating transit risks. These very criteria are fully met by Russia’s initiative related to the South Stream pipeline construction. The major objective of the South Stream project is meeting Europe’s additional demand for natural gas, the most environmentally-friendly and secure fossil fuel. Natural gas will long remain a reliable foundation for the European energy sector, therefore, diversification of routes and implementation of joint projects to construct new offshore gas pipeline systems are vital elements of the current energy security architecture in Europe.

The description of a new product or idea given to specialized service providers in order to help them make an offer. “Spec” has become the short form for any work done on a speculative basis. In other words, any requested work for which a fair and reasonable fee has not been agreed upon, preferably in writing.

A spreader plate disperses the oil into small streams or rivulets.

Straight Run Atmospheric Residue. Fuel oil produced by the atmospheric distillation of crude oil.

Service Station

Still gas is any form or mixture of gases produced in refineries by distillation, cracking, reforming, and other processes. The principal constituents are methane and ethane. May contain hydrogen and small/trace amounts of other gases. Still gas is typically consumed as refinery fuel or used as petrochemical feedstock. Still gas burned for refinery fuel may differ in composition from marketed still gas sold to other users.

Normally process gas used to assist in the purification of a liquid by reducing the partial pressure of gaseous contaminants to encourage vaporization.

A device placed in the seabed to facilitate the drilling of wells. When a template is used, the wells are drilled through the template and completed by the mounding of subsea xmas trees.

Any organization more than 50 percent of whose voting stock is owned by another firm.

Acts as a precursor in formation of sulphate aerosols which, unlike greenhouse gases, have a net negative radiative forcing effect and tend to cool Earth's surface.

Compounds of sulfur and oxygen, the most important of which are sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and sulfur trioxide (SO₃), both of which are manufactured in huge quantities in intermediate steps of sulfuric acid manufacture.

A substance that affects the properties of the surface of a liquid or solid by concentrating the surface layer. Surfactants can ensure that the surface of one substance or object is in thorough contact with the surface of another substance.

Say bolt universal seconds (unit of oil viscosity).

Support Vessel

The lowering of the hydrostatic pressure in the hole due to the upward movement of the drill pipe and/or tools. Also the use of wire equipment to clean a well by scooping out liquids.

Structured What If Technique (reliability study method).

A rotary tool that is hung from the rotary hook and travelling block to suspend and permit free rotation of the drill stem. It also provides a connection for the rotary hose and a passageway for the flow of drilling fluid into the drill stem.

(From synthesis gas) is the name given to a gas mixture that contains varying amounts of carbon monoxide and hydrogen generated by the gasification of a carbon containing fuel to a gaseous product with a heating value. Examples include steam reforming of natural gas or liquid hydrocarbons to produce hydrogen, the gasification of coal and in some types of waste-to-energy gasification facilities.