Oilfield Terms Starting with "S"

Solids control is the surface equipment and practice that removes drilled cuttings and fine solids from returning drilling mud before it is pumped back down the well: shale shakers, degasser, hydrocyclones and centrifuges.

Spud is the moment drilling of a new well begins, when the bit first turns to make hole. The spud date is the reference point for regulatory reports, lease terms and every drilling performance metric.

Subsea processing refers to the application of fluid treatment and handling equipment directly on the seafloor, near the wellhead, rather than bringing produced fluids to…

Sand control refers to a set of specialized techniques and technologies employed in oil and gas wells to prevent the production of formation sand (unconsolidated…

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is a centralized, computer-based control system architecture that enables real-time monitoring, data collection, and remote control of industrial processes,…

In the lifecycle of an oil and gas reservoir, primary recovery typically yields only a small fraction of the original oil in place (OOIP), often…

A Seismic Survey is a geophysical method used to image the subsurface of the Earth by generating controlled acoustic energy and recording the reflected or…

A semi-submersible (often called a “semi”) is a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) that floats on large, submerged pontoons while being held in position by…

A semi-submersible rig is a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) that floats on the water surface but is partially submerged to provide exceptional stability in…

Sensitivity Analysis is a quantitative risk assessment technique used extensively in petroleum project management, economics, and regulatory decision-making. It systematically examines how the uncertainty in…

A separator in the oil and gas industry is a pressure vessel used to divide a wellstream into its main components: gas, oil, water, and…

A shale shaker is the primary and most critical piece of solids control equipment used in drilling operations to separate drill cuttings from the drilling…