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Glossary

This glossary more specifically relates to oil and gas exploration and production terms.

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Octane number:

In a gasoline-powered engine, combustion is triggered by a sparkplug. Given the high pressure and temperatures prevailing inside the combustion chamber, it is vital to prevent the fuel from igniting spontaneously. The octane number measures a fuel's resistance to spontaneous ignition. The higher the octane number, the greater fuel's resistance to spontaneous ignition.

Offshore:

Designates oil fields and facilities constructed at sea.

Oil terminal:

Term designating facilities used for storing oil and natural gas produced, as well as all infrastructures needed for oil and gas tanker loading and unloading operations.

Oil-bearing reservoir:

Continuous volume of rock containing voids, pores, or a network of cracks, and in which fluids (hydrocarbons, water, and inert gases) can circulate.

Organic:

Having to do with living matter. Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon, a substance contained in all living beings.

Oxygen:

A simple element, often found in the gaseous state. In combination with nitrogen, it forms the air we breathe.