| Scrubber |
| A pollution control device in the stack of a coal-burning facility which uses a liquid spray to remove pollutants, especially sulfur dioxide, from emissions. The process is called flue gas desulfurization. |
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| Seasonal Diversity |
| The diversity between electrical loads that reach their maximum values at different seasons of the year. For example, most Canadian power systems experience their annual peaks in the winter, whereas many U.S. systems have their annual peaks in the summer because of air-conditioning. Systems that differ in this way can effect the economies in their operation by exchanging energy on a seasonal basis, transmitting it northwards in the winter and southwards on the summer. |
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| Secondary Energy |
| Energy delivered to a customer. This is less than primary energy, because of energy lost in conversion and in the process of supply. |
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| Secondary Energy Demand |
| Energy used by final customers for residential, commercial, industrial and transportation purposes, and hydrocarbons used for such non-energy purposes as petrochemical feedstock. |
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| Secondary Recovery (also see "Recovery / Secondary") |
| Recovery of oil or gas from a reservoir by artificially
maintaining or enhancing the reservoir pressure by injecting gas, water
or other substances into the reservoir rock. |
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| Sedimentary Basin |
| A geographical area where much of the rock is sedimentary and likely to
contain hydrocarbons. |
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| Seismic Exploration |
| A method for prospecting for oil or gas by sending shock waves into the earth. Reflections of the shock waves bounce off rock strata and are recorded on magnetic tape. The time it takes for the wave to return to the surface can be interpreted by experts to indicate the depth of specific strata and the composition of intermediate strata. |
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| Semi-Submersible Drilling Rig |
| A rig with a platform deck supported by columns which are connected to large underwater displacement hulls or large vertical caissons or some combination of the two. The columns, displacement hulls, or caissons are flooded on site. |
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| Service Well |
| There are several types and none are for the production of oil or gas. They are: a) water injection; b) water disposal; c) observation; d) liquid petroleum; e) gas storage; f) salt production; g) dsw - development service well. |
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| Set Casing |
| This is done to install a steel pipe in a well bore. This is normally cemented in place by surrounding it with a wall of cement that extends for all or part of the depth of the well. |
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| Shale Oil |
| The hydrocarbon substance produced by the decomposition of kerogen when oil shale is heated in an oxygen-free environment. Raw shale oil resembles a heavy, viscous, low-sulfur crude, but can be upgraded to produce high-quality sweet crude. |
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| Shareholders' Equity |
| Book value for common and preferred equity. |
| |
| Short-term Power |
| Power and associated energy which one utility purchases from another for the purpose of obtaining a supply of power intended to be available at all times during a period covered by the commitment. |
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| Shutdown |
| A production hiatus during which the platform ceases
to produce while essential maintenance work is undertaken. |
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| Shut-In-Capacity |
| The unused production capability of oil or gas wells. Sometimes this term is used to refer to the capacity of all non-producing oil or gas wells, whether or not they are connected to surface gathering and producing facilities.
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| Sludge |
| In discussions of environmental controls, the mud-like residue that results from the cleaning process of scrubbers or certain other devices, designed to prevent solid particulates from entering the environment. Also used to refer to organic waste. Some types of sludge can be used to produce fuel. |
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| Slurry |
| A free-flowing pumpable suspension of fine solid material in a liquid. A slurry pipeline is one method of transporting coal. |
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| Solar Energy - Active System |
| Solar energy collection system which transfer heat captured from solar radiation through mechanical devices. |
| |
| Solar Energy - Passive System |
| Solar energy collection systems which capture solar radiation directly for space heating, water heating or other similar purposes, without the use of mechanical devices. |
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| Solution Gas |
| Natural gas in solution with crude oil under original reservoir conditions, normally produced with the crude oil. |
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| Solvent Flooding |
| An enhanced oil recovery process in which fluid, capable of dissolving in the oil it contacts, is injected into a reservoir to form a single liquid that can move through the reservoir to a producing well more easily than the original crude oil. Also called miscible flooding. |
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| Solvent Refined Coal (SRC) |
| A coal extract derived through the use of solvents. Crushed coal is mixed in a solvent at high temperature and pressure in the presence of hydrogen. The process produces an ash - and sulfur - free solid or liquid. After processing, the ash is separated from the solvent and the solvent recycled. |
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| Sour Crude Oil |
| An industry term for crude oil relatively high in sulfur content. The term sour generally denotes crude with a sulfur content of 1.5% by weight or higher. Sour crude usually commands a lower price than sweet crude of equivalent APR gravity. |
| |
| Specific Gravity |
| The weight of a particular volume of any substance, compared with the weight of an equal volume of water. Since these weights will vary differently with the temperature, it is necessary to specify both temperatures involved, except for rough values. |
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| Spot |
| An industry term describing a one-time, cash transaction, where a commodity is purchased "on the spot" at current market rates. Spot transactions contrast with term (or contract) sales, which specify a steady supply of product over a period of time. |
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| Spud |
| The act of beginning to drill an oil or gas well, as in "the well was spudded in June". |
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| Steam Coal |
| A quality of coal used by utilities for raising steam to generate electricity. Steam coal usually has a lower heat content than metallurgical coal. See thermal coal. |
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| Steam Stimulation |
| An enhanced oil recovery technique in which high-pressure live steam in fed through "injection" wells to force oil up through "producing" wells. The method can increase heavy crude yields to 20-40% of the original oil in place by reducing the viscosity and forcing greater volumes from the geological network into the producing wells. Steam stimulation is at the commercial threshold as a tertiary, in situ recovery technique for heavy crude oils in western Canada. Also referred to as steam flooding. |
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| Step-out Well |
| A well drilled some distance away from a discovery well in an effort to ascertain the extent of a producing formation. |
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| Stocks |
| Widely used in the petroleum industry to designate inventories of crude oil or petroleum products at refineries, bulk terminals and in pipelines. |
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| Straddle Plant |
| A natural gas processing plant within the pipeline transmission system, at which gas is further processed (subsequent to field processing) to remove additional natural gas liquids. The term refers to the fact that the plant "straddles" the main pipeline. In Canada, most ethane is produced at straddle plants. Also known as a processing plant. |
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| Supply Capability |
| The deliverability that could be achieved from a gas reservoir or group of reservoirs when restricted only by reservoir performance, well density and well capacity, field processing capacity, and contract rates. |
| |
| Supply Cost |
| The sum of capital costs and operating costs per unit of production, allowing for a return on the producer's investment. |
| |
| Supply Tracking |
| A supply forecasting procedure utilized during a period when supply capability exceeds demand, whereby deliverability is restricted to (or "tracks") that demand, until such time as supply capability falls below the demand level. |
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| Surface Casing |
| First string of casing set in well. |
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| Suspended Well |
| A well that has been capped off temporarily. |
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| Sweet Crude Oil |
| An industry term for crude oil relatively low in sulfur content. The term sweet generally denotes crude with a sulfur content lower than 1.5% by weight. Sweet crude usually commands a higher price than sour crude of equivalent API gravity.
|
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| Synthetic Crude Oil |
| The oil product obtained by upgrading oil sands bitumen or heavy crude oil. Existing commercial-scale upgrading facilities employ coking and hydrotreating to eliminate sulfur and reduce the viscosity of the bitumen. The resulting synthetic crude is shipped via pipeline to petroleum refineries for the production of gasoline and other light petroleum products. |
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| Synthetic Fuels |
| Fuels that are produced through complex chemical conversions of such natural fossil substances of coal and oil shale. Synthetic fuels, often called synfuels, are comparable in chemical structure and energy value with petroleum products and natural gas. |
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| Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) |
| A fuel, consisting primarily of methane, producible from naphtha, coal or biomass. Also known as substitute natural gas. |
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