Practice 4/1
Compania-Venezolana de Petroleo
In order to obtain choice concessions and resell them at a considerable profit to various foreign companies and receive improper benefits to himself, General Gomez formed which company with his friends.
updip
Located up the slope of a dipping plane or surface. In a dipping (not flat-lying) hydrocarbon reservoir that contains gas, oil and water, the gas is updip, the gas-oil contact is downdip from the gas, and the oil-water contact is still farther downdip.
Frederick Godber
Name the director of Shell from London who was sent to the U.S in 1931 to analyze the reason for such low oil prices after the Eastern Texas oil boom, and to make sure that the cuts in Shell's American operations demanded by the European headquarters were actually being implemented.
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt
Name the failed cotton farmer who held two talents:one for gambling, the other like Rockefeller and Deterding for complex arithmetic. He is responsible for holding Dad Joiner in Room 1553 at the Baker Hotel trying to make a deal. Through the use of expert and guided knowledge he was able to buy Joiner's concessions for $1.33 million and he later gained an immense fortune.
J. Howard Pew
Name the individual of Sun Oil who was a bitter opponent of government involvement in the industry who proved correct in that the U.S was far from running out of oil.
Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930
Name the infamous piece of legislation which raised tariff rates for just about everything except for oil.
Potrero del Llano 4
Name the major oil well discovered by Lord Cowdray which produced 110,000 barrels per day and was considered the biggest oil well in the world.
Kenneth Kingsbury
Standard Oil of New Jersey and Standard Oil of of California came close to merging between the years of 1929 and 1933 but were broken off because of a strong stance by Standard of California's president. Name the president.
Socony-Vacuum. Mobil
Standard of New York bought which California producer and refiner and later merged with the Vacuum Oil company to form which company. They later developed a brand name. Name the company and the brand name.
weathering
The physical, chemical and biological processes that decompose rock at and below the surface of the Earth through low pressures and temperatures and the presence of air and water. Weathering includes processes such as dissolution, chemical weathering, disintegration and hydration.
transpression
The simultaneous occurrence of strike-slip faulting and compression, or convergence, of the Earth's crust. In areas of transpression, rocks can be faulted upward to form a positive flower structure. Areas of strike-slip faulting in rifting or diverging crust are experiencing transtension, in which rocks can drop down to form a negative flower structure.
President Calvin Coolidge
To whom did Henry Doherty turn to in 1924 order to express his views on increase in production technology and Federal government monitoring of proper production control. Doherty argued that wasteful production will immobilize the nation.
Golden Lane
Where was early oil production in Mexico centered around in which 70,000-100,000 barrel wells were not uncommon?
Captain Anthony F. Lucas
Who did Sir Weetman Pearson hire in 1901 to help assist with his oil ventures and exploration ideas in Mexico?
Ida Tarbell
Who made a comment regarding Standard Oil crumbling in 1924 when the various Standard Oil's began to wage wars against one another and invade oil regions and challenge one another's businesses.
vug
A cavity, void or large pore in a rock that is commonly lined with mineral precipitates.
trap
A configuration of rocks suitable for containing hydrocarbons and sealed by a relatively impermeable formation through which hydrocarbons will not migrate. Traps are described as structural traps (in deformed strata such as folds and faults) or stratigraphic traps (in areas where rock types change, such as unconformities, pinch-outs and reefs). A trap is an essential component of a petroleum system.
tortuosity
A measure of the geometric complexity of a porous medium. Tortuosity is a ratio that characterizes the convoluted pathways of fluid diffusion and electrical conduction through porous media. In the fluid mechanics of porous media, tortuosity is the ratio of the length of a streamline—a flow line or path—between two points to the straight-line distance between those points. Tortuosity is thus related to the ratio of a fluid's diffusion coefficient when it is not confined by a porous medium to its effective diffusion coefficient when confined in a porous medium. Tortuosity is also related to the formation factor, which is the ratio of electrical resistivity of a conductive fluid in a porous medium to the electrical resistivity of the fluid itself.
vitrinite reflectance
A measurement of the maturity of organic matter with respect to whether it has generated hydrocarbons or could be an effective source rock.
transform fault
A particular type of strike-slip fault that is a boundary of an oceanic tectonic plate. The actual movement of a transform fault is opposite to its apparent displacement because of the interplay of spreading and faulting between tectonic plates.
volcano
A surface feature of the Earth that allows magma, ash and gas to erupt. The vent can be a fissure or a conical structure.
turbidity current
An influx of rapidly moving, sediment-laden water down a slope into a larger body of water; also called a density current because the suspended sediment results in the current having a higher density than the clearer water into which it flows. Such currents can occur in lakes and oceans, in some cases as by-products of earthquakes or mass movements such as slumps. The sedimentary deposits that form as the current loses energy are called turbidites and can be preserved as Bouma sequences. Turbidity currents are characteristic of trench slopes of convergent plate margins and continental slopes of passive margins.
undrained test
An undrained test is one in which the fluid in the sample is not able to flow and equilibrate to imposed pore pressure conditions; the fluid mass remains the same while the fluid volume and pressure will vary.
vesicle
Bubble-shaped cavities in volcanic rock formed by expansion of gas dissolved in the precursor magma.
tuffaceaous
Containing tuff, which is lithified volcanic ash.
vuggy
Containing vugs, which are cavities, voids or large pores in a rock that are commonly lined with mineral precipitates.
Venezuela
Due to turmoil in Mexico and a constant change in political landscape during the 1920's, where were oil companies and oil men turning to now?
Belridge
In 1979 fifty years after the first attempt of buying this company in 1924, Shell bought which company for $3.6 billion.
Pan American Petroleum - Edward Doheny. Mexican Eagle - Sir Weetman Pearson later known as Lord Cowdray
In the early twentieth century, exploration in Mexico was dominated by which two companies? Also name the Presidents of both companies.
1924
In what year was a joint Jersey-Shell buying organization established for buying Russian oil and doing business with the Soviets?
tight oil
Oil found in relatively impermeable reservoir rock. Production of tight oil comes from very low permeability rock that must be stimulated using hydraulic fracturing to create sufficient permeability to allow the mature oil and/or natural gas liquids to flow at economic rates.
volcanic
Pertaining to one or more volcanoes, surface features of the Earth that allow magma, ash and gas to erupt. The vent can be a fissure or a conical structure.
terrestrial
Pertaining to sediments or depositional environments on land or above the level of high tide.
trend
The azimuth or orientation of a linear feature, such as the axis of a fold, normally expressed as a compass bearing.
uniformitarianism
The geological principle formulated by James Hutton in 1795 and publicized by Charles Lyell in 1830 that geological processes occurring today have occurred similarly in the past, often articulated as, "The present is the key to the past."
virgin pressure
The original, undisturbed pressure of a reservoir prior to fluid production.
transtension
The simultaneous occurrence of strike-slip faulting and extension, rifting, or divergence of the Earth's crust. In areas of transtension, rocks can be faulted downward to form a negative flower structure. Areas of strike-slip faulting in converging crust are experiencing transpression, in which rocks can be faulted upwards to form a positive flower structure.
Teakettles
What are cheap, pint-sized refineries called?
The Great Depression
What happened in October of 1929 which would spell unemployment, poverty, and hardship throughout the nation.
Hot oil
What was the termed coined in East Texas for illegally producing excess barrels of oil?
topographic map
A contour map that displays the elevation of the Earth's surface. A topographic map is commonly used as the base map for surface geological mapping.
unconformity
A geological surface separating older from younger rocks and representing a gap in the geologic record. Such a surface might result from a hiatus in deposition of sediments, possibly in combination with erosion, or deformation such as faulting. An angular unconformity separates younger strata from eroded, dipping older strata. A disconformity represents a time of nondeposition, possibly combined with erosion, and can be difficult to distinguish within a series of parallel strata. A nonconformity separates overlying strata from eroded, older igneous or metamorphic rocks. The study and interpretation of unconformities locally, regionally and globally is the basis of sequence stratigraphy.
Udden-Wentworth scale
A grade scale for classifying the diameters of sediments. Particles larger than 64 mm in diameter are classified as cobbles. Smaller particles are pebbles, granules, sand and silt. Those smaller than 0.0039 mm are clay. Several other grain size scales are in use, but the Udden-Wentworth scale (commonly called the Wentworth scale) is the one that is most frequently used in geology.
Connally Hot Oil Act
A jurisdiction by the Supreme Court in 1935 overturned the National Industrial Recovery Act under which hot oil was prohibited. Name the act which was quickly drafted and passed to keep contraband oil produced in excess of approved levels out of interstate commerce.
unconfined compressive strength
A measure of a material's strength. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) is the maximum axial compressive stress that a right-cylindrical sample of material can withstand under unconfined conditions—the confining stress is zero. It is also known as the uniaxial compressive strength of a material because the application of compressive stress is only along one axis—the longitudinal axis—of the sample.
uniaxial compressive strength
A measure of a material's strength. The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) is the maximum axial compressive stress that a right-cylindrical sample of material can withstand before failing. It is also known as the unconfined compressive strength of a material because confining stress is set to zero.
varve
A rhythmic sequence of sediments deposited in annual cycles in glacial lakes. Light-colored, coarse summer grains are deposited by rapid melting of the glacier. The summer layers grade upward to layers of finer, dark winter grains of clay minerals or organic material that are deposited slowly from suspension in quiet water while streams and lakes are icebound. Varves are useful to the study of geochronology because they can be counted to determine the absolute age of some Pleistocene rocks of glacial origin.
Henry Doherty
A tough, resourceful businessman, through hard work, pluck, and training in engineering, this individual rose to be a director of no fewer than 150 companies. This empire was composed of gas and electric utilities, thus creating the name "Cities Service". He later involved himself in oil and believed that the solution to Pennsylvania's "rule of capture" was unitizing fields. Name the individual.
unconformity trap
A type of hydrocarbon trap whose closure is controlled by the presence of an unconformity. There is disagreement about whether unconformity traps are structural or stratigraphic traps.
vesicular porosity
A type of porosity resulting from the presence of vesicles, or gas bubbles, in igneous rock.
thrust fault
A type of reverse fault in which the fault plane has a very shallow dip, typically much less than 45o. The hanging wall fault block moves up the fault surface relative to the footwall. In cases of considerable lateral movement, the fault is described as an overthrust fault. Thrust faults can occur in areas of compression of the Earth's crust.
wrench fault
A type of strike-slip fault in which the fault surface is vertical, and the fault blocks move sideways past each other. Given the geological complexity of some deformed rocks, including rocks that have experienced more than one episode of deformation, it can be difficult to distinguish a wrench fault from a strike-slip fault. Also, areas can be deformed more than once or experience ongoing structuring such that fault surfaces can be rotated from their original orientations.
vitrinite
A type of woody kerogen that is relatively uniform in composition. Since vitrinite changes predictably and consistently upon heating, its reflectance is a useful measurement of source rock maturity. Strictly speaking, the plant material that forms vitrinite did not occur prior to Ordovician time. Also, because vitrinite originated in wood, its occurrence in marine rocks might be limited by the depositional processes that act in a given depositional environment.
Universal Transverse Mercator grid (UTM)
A worldwide grid system of rectangular map coordinates that uses metric (SI) units. A location is specified on the basis of its location within one of 60 zones worldwide of 6o of longitude and 8o of latitude each that are subdivided into subzones that are 100,000 m [330,000 ft] on each side. Locations consist of a series of numbers and letters that can be accurate to within an area of one square meter. The headquarters of the Geological Society of America are at 13TDQ8743172 (Merrill, 1986). Information about the UTM grid, including grid ticks on quadrangle maps, can be found on most maps produced by the US Geological Survey. Latitude and longitude coordinates, or geographic coordinates, are another means of locating a point at the Earth's surface, but the accuracy, computer compatibility and uniqueness of UTM have resulted in its finding acceptance within the scientific community.
Wadati-Benioff zone
A zone of the upper mantle in which earthquakes occur when a lithospheric plate is subducted, named in honor of seismologists Kiyoo Wadati and Hugo Benioff. The dip of the Wadati-Benioff zone coincides with the dip of the subducting plate. The Wadati-Benioff zone extends to a depth of about 700 km [435 miles] from the Earth's surface.
temperature gradient
Also known as geothermal gradient, the rate of increase in temperature per unit depth in the Earth. Although the geothermal gradient varies from place to place, it averages 25 to 30 °C/km [15 °F/1000 ft]. Temperature gradients sometimes increase dramatically around volcanic areas. It is particularly important for drilling fluids engineers to know the geothermal gradient in an area when they are designing a deep well. The downhole temperature can be calculated by adding the surface temperature to the product of the depth and the geothermal gradient.
thermal gradient
Also known as geothermal gradient, the rate of increase in temperature per unit depth in the Earth. Although the geothermal gradient varies from place to place, it averages 25 to 30 °C/km [15 °F/1000 ft]. Temperature gradients sometimes increase dramatically around volcanic areas. It is particularly important for drilling fluids engineers to know the geothermal gradient in an area when they are designing a deep well. The downhole temperature can be calculated by adding the surface temperature to the product of the depth and the geothermal gradient.
tectonics
Also known as plate tectonics, the unifying geologic theory developed to explain observations that interactions of the brittle plates of the lithosphere with each other and with the softer underlying asthenosphere result in large-scale changes in the Earth. The theory of plate tectonics initially stemmed from observations of the shapes of the continents, particularly South America and Africa, which fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle and have similar rocks and fossils despite being separated by a modern ocean. As lithospheric plates heat up or cool down depending on their position, or their tectonic environment, relative to each other and to warmer areas deeper within the Earth, they become relatively more or less dense than the asthenosphere and thus tend to rise as molten magma or sink in cold, brittle slabs or slide past each other. Mountain belts can form during plate collisions or an orogeny; diverging plates or rifts can create new midoceanic ridges; plates that slide past one another create transform fault zones (such as the San Andreas fault); and zones of subduction occur where one lithospheric plate moves beneath another. Plate tectonic theory can explain such phenomena as earthquakes, volcanic or other igneous activity, midoceanic ridges and the relative youth of the oceanic crust, and the formation of sedimentary basins on the basis of their relationships to lithospheric plate boundaries. Convection of the mantle is postulated to be the driving mechanism for the movement of lithospheric plates. Measurements of the continents using the Global Positioning System confirm the relative motions of plates. Age determinations of the oceanic crust confirm that such crust is much younger than that of the continents and has been recycled by the process of subduction and regenerated at midoceanic ridges.
unconventional resource
An umbrella term for oil and natural gas that is produced by means that do not meet the criteria for conventional production. What has qualified as unconventional at any particular time is a complex function of resource characteristics, the available exploration and production technologies, the economic environment, and the scale, frequency and duration of production from the resource. Perceptions of these factors inevitably change over time and often differ among users of the term. At present, the term is used in reference to oil and gas resources whose porosity, permeability, fluid trapping mechanism, or other characteristics differ from conventional sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. Coalbed methane, gas hydrates, shale gas, fractured reservoirs, and tight gas sands are considered unconventional resources.
tight gas
Gas produced from a relatively impermeable reservoir rock. Hydrocarbon production from tight reservoirs can be difficult without stimulation operations. Stimulation of tight formations can result in increased production from formations that previously might have been abandoned or been produced uneconomically. The term is generally used for reservoirs other than shales.
C.F Meyer
Henri Deterding waged war against Socony's president in 1927 after what he saw as Socony's treachery over supply of Russian oil to India. Name the president of Socony in 1927.
Calouste Gulbenkian
In 1918, Cowdray was approached by whom on behalf of Henri Deterding with an offer to purchase a substantial part of the stock in Mexican Eagle and take over its management. Cowdray quickly accepted the offer.
Standard Oil of New Jersey
In 1920, what company bought controlling rights to have of the Nobel oil interest in Russia at a bargain price and gained control of over a third of Russian oil output, 40% of refining, and 60% of internal Russian market?
Second-largest oil producer in the world
In 1921, Mexico was producing an annual output of 193 million barrels which ranked where in the world at that time?
Barroso well, La Rosa field, Maracaibo Basin. George Reynolds
In 1922 name the well, field, and basin in which Shell hit oil in Venezuela which proved that Venezuela could become a world-class producer. Also name the local Shell manager who was responsible for the find.
New Economic Policy
In March of 1921, Lenin announced a new policy which provided for a much-expanded domestic market system, a return of private enterprise, and a broadening of the Soviet commitment to foreign trade and selling concessions. Name the policy.
Federal Oil Conservation Board
In response to Doherty's letter regarding federal regulation of oil production and techniques, President Calvin Coolidge formed this board within the government. Name this board.
Greater Seminole field
In spring of 1926, the first major discoveries were found in what field in the state of Oklahoma?
Harold Ickes
Name the Secretary of the Interior under the FDR Administration who was responsible in holding out a progressive agenda and fixing the oil crisis brought at hand by the East Texas region.
tuff
Lithified volcanic ash.
William Farish
Name the President of Humble which was the largest producer in Texas who had scorned Doherty's ideas in 1925 but by 1928 he was thanking Doherty and became a strong advocate of unitization and better production methods.
Leonid Krasin
Name the Commissar for Foreign Trade who led the Bolsheviks in debates with capitalists both inside and outside the Russian regime.
General Juan Vicente Gomez
Name the absolute monarch of Venezuela during the 1900's who understood that revenues meant foreign capital and utilized oil to lure foreign investors while guaranteeing a stable political and fiscal environment.
National Industrial Recovery Act. National Recovery Administration
Name the act and administration that was created to address the oil crisis in the early 1930's.
Texas Railroad Comission
Name the agent of order, despite it's name, was originally created in 1891 by Governor Jim Hogg to assert populist control over the railroads, it was now responsible for handling the feud between major companies and independent oil producers.
Petroleum Law
Name the agreement between General Gomez of Venezuela and the American minister in Caracas and American companies which brought foreign capital to the country.
Sir Weetman Pearson
Name the daring entrepreneur who is responsible for engineering the Blackwall Tunnel under the River Thames, four tunnels under the East River in New York, and Dover Harbor. Eventually, his empire would include everything from the Financial Times and the Economist to the investment bank of Lazard's in London and lastly an oil company.
Black Giant
Name the field which proved to be 45 miles long, 5-10 miles wide, and 140,000 acres altogether.
"Alfalfa Bill" Murray
Name the governor of Oklahoma in 1931 who declared martial law and ordered the state militia to take control over the major oil fields until oil prices hit one dollar a barrel.
Columbus Joiner ("Daddy" Joiner)
Name the man often called a prophet whose well, Daisy Bradford Number 3, gushed out oil on October 3, 1930, and is responsible for discovering that oil does exist in the eastern Texas region.
Franklin D. Roosevelt. New Deal.
Name the new administration in 1933 and the policy it held towards rescuing oil prices and being very activist in reviving the economy and waging war on the Depression.
Black Giant
Name the oil field discovered in 1930 which was the largest oil field ever found in the 48 states which by itself could have met a very substantial part of entire American demand.
Independent Petroleum Association of America
Name the organization formed by independent oil men to protest against government involvement in the industry.
President Porfirio Diaz
Name the president of Mexico who invited Sir Weetman Pearson to undertake in several major engineering projects throughout Mexico City.
Doc Lloyd
Name the self-proclaimed geologist who convinced Columbus Joiner that there was oil to be found in the East Texas region.
wet gas
Natural gas that contains less methane (typically less than 85% methane) and more ethane and other more complex hydrocarbons.
vesicular
Pertaining to vesicles, bubble-shaped cavities in volcanic rock formed by expansion of gas dissolved in the precursor magma.
tectonism
Plate tectonic activity.
underpressure
Pore pressure less than normal or hydrostatic pressure. Underpressure, or a zone of underpressure, is common in areas or formations that have had hydrocarbon production.
vugular porosity
Pore space consisting of cavities or vugs. Vugular porosity can occur in rocks prone to dissolution, such as limestone, in which case it is secondary porosity.
underpressured
Referring to pore pressure less than normal or hydrostatic pressure. Underpressure, or a zone of underpressure, is common in areas or formations that have had hydrocarbon production.
vugular
Referring to vugs, which are cavities, voids or large pores in a rock that are commonly lined with mineral precipitates.
turbidite
Sedimentary deposits formed by turbidity currents in deep water at the base of the continental slope and on the abyssal plain. Turbidites commonly show predictable changes in bedding from coarse layers at the bottom to finer laminations at the top, known as Bouma sequences, that result from different settling velocities of the particle sizes present. The high energy associated with turbidite deposition can result in destruction of earlier deposited layers by subsequent turbidity currents.
TOC
The concentration of organic material in source rocks as represented by the weight percent of organic carbon. A value of approximately 0.5% total organic carbon by weight percent is considered the minimum for an effective source rock, although values of 2% are considered the minimum for shale gas reservoirs; values exceeding 10% exist, although some geoscientists assert that high total organic carbon values indicate the possibility of kerogen filling pore space rather than other forms of hydrocarbons. Total organic carbon is measured from 1-g samples of pulverized rock that are combusted and converted to CO or CO2. If a sample appears to contain sufficient total organic carbon to generate hydrocarbons, it may be subjected to pyrolysis.
Phillips Petroleum Company
This company was created by Frank Phillips, who as an ex-barber and ex-bond salesman and banker was adept at overcoming skepticism among investors. By the mid-1920s, Phillips and his brother transformed the company into one of the major independents in the same league as Gulf and Texas Company. Name the company.
true vertical thickness
The thickness of a bed or rock body measured vertically at a point. The values of true vertical thickness in an area can be plotted and contours drawn to create an isochore map.
The Oil Code
This act, established under the National Industrial Recovery Act, gave Harold Ickes an extraordinary power unforeseen in previous administrations. He was given the power to set monthly quotas for each state. Name the act.
Ohio Oil Company
This company later known as Marathon had been the largest of Standard Oil's producing companies before the 1911 dissolution. Between, 1926 and 1930, the company's production almost doubled and it controlled half of the immensely prolific Yates field in Texas. Name the original name of the company.
Ross Sterling
This governor of Texas, a founder and former chairman of Humble Oil, declared war on East Texas on August 17, 1931 and announced that East Texas was in a state of insurrection. He sent several thousand National Guardsmen and the Texas Rangers to cease oil production. Name the governor.
Yates field
Which field emerged in the Permian Basin, a vast sun-scorched, dusty and desolate region of West Texas and New Mexico, as one of the great concentrations of oil in the world around 1927.