Appendix B: Oilfield Abbreviation Glossary
This glossary is a bigger version of the same equipment lookup table introduced in Chapter 2 — it supports Chapter 2’s abbreviation expansion engine and its challenge exercise. It is broader than the ABBREVIATIONS dict built in Chapter 2 itself — that chapter’s dictionary is deliberately scoped to terms verified present in this book’s real Utah FORGE archive. This appendix adds enough additional common oilfield terms to give the expander real coverage on a first pass against a different archive. It is still not exhaustive — abbreviation usage varies by operator, rig contractor, and basin.
Terms marked (FORGE) are confirmed present in this book’s real sample archive; the rest are common industry terms not found in this particular dataset but likely to appear in others.
| Abbreviation | Expansion |
|---|---|
| AFE | authorization for expenditure (FORGE) |
| BHA | bottom hole assembly (FORGE) |
| BOP | blowout preventer (FORGE) |
| CBL | cement bond log |
| CIRC | circulate |
| COND | condition |
| CSG | casing |
| DFIT | diagnostic fracture injection test (FORGE) |
| DFS | days from spud (FORGE) |
| DHSV | downhole safety valve |
| DLS | dogleg severity (FORGE) |
| DOL | days on location (FORGE) |
| DP | drill pipe (FORGE) |
| ECD | equivalent circulating density (FORGE) |
| EMW | equivalent mud weight |
| FIT | formation integrity test |
| FR | from |
| GPM | gallons per minute (FORGE) |
| HWDP | heavy weight drill pipe (FORGE) |
| KOP | kick-off point |
| LOT | leak-off test |
| MD | measured depth (FORGE) |
| MIRU | move in, rig up |
| MW | mud weight (FORGE) |
| MWD | measurement while drilling (FORGE) |
| NMDC | non-magnetic drill collar (FORGE) |
| NPT | non-productive time (FORGE) |
| OBSD | observed |
| PBTD | plugged back total depth (FORGE) |
| PDC | polycrystalline diamond compact (bit type) (FORGE) |
| PJSM | pre-job safety meeting (FORGE) |
| POOH | pull out of hole |
| PPG | pounds per gallon |
| PU | pick up (pipe) |
| PUW | pick up weight |
| RIH | run in hole |
| RKB | rotary kelly bushing (FORGE) |
| ROP | rate of penetration (FORGE) |
| RPM | revolutions per minute (FORGE) |
| SICP | shut-in casing pressure |
| SIDPP | shut-in drill pipe pressure |
| SLM | slow (rate), or short for “slim hole” depending on context — verify against operator style guide |
| SPP | stand pipe pressure (FORGE) |
| STDS | stands (of drill pipe) (FORGE) |
| STK | stroke length (pump spec) (FORGE) |
| TD | total depth (FORGE) |
| TIH | trip in hole |
| TOOH | trip out of hole |
| TVD | true vertical depth (FORGE) |
| UBHO | universal bottom hole orientation sub (FORGE) |
| UBI | ultrasonic borehole imager (wireline log) (FORGE) |
| WOB | weight on bit (FORGE) |
| WOC | wait on cement |
| WOW | wait on weather |
| XO | crossover (sub) |
The same three letters can mean different things across operators and basins — build your abbreviation dictionary from your archive’s actual usage before trusting it against your own reports, and treat any ambiguous abbreviation (like SLM above) as a signal to check context rather than expand automatically.