Oil and Natural Gas Price Data - GASearch Energy Intelligence

Saharan Blend Crude Oil	Algeria crude oil with cargoes loading from Algerian ports Skikda and Arzew. The API gravity for Saharan Blend is * degrees and the sulfur content is * %.

Salt Water Disposal Well (SWD)	Many wells produce salt water while producing oil. The disposal of this water is a problem to an operator because of pollution. The best solution to the problem is to pump the waste back into a formation that is deep enough not to pollute shallow water sands. Many stripper wells which are no longer commercial are converted for this purpose.

San Joaquin Valley (SJV) Heavy Crude Oil	California crude oil with API gravity of * degrees and a sulfur content of * %.

Santa Barbara Crude Oil	Crude oil from Venezuela with API gravity of * and * % sulfur.

Sarir Crude Oil	Crude oil from Libya with API gravity of * and * % sulfur.

SCF	Means standard cubic feet

SCO	Synthetic Crude Oil

Secondary Recovery	Hydrocarbons produced in one well bore by increasing reservoir pressure with water injected into an adjacent well bore.

Section	The number that further describes an abstracted surveyed parcel or a surveyed parcel further divided into numbered abstracted areas. A section typically refers to a square land survey measuring exactly one mile on each side.

Sedimentary Rocks	Rock is generally classified in one of three categories: a. Sedimentary; b. Igneous; c. Metamorphic. The principal sedimentary rocks encountered in oil and gas operations are sandstones, limestones and shales.

Senipah Crude Oil	Crude oil from Blanglancang, Indonesia with API gravity of * and sulfur content of * %

Seria Light Crude Oil	Brunei crude oil with gravity of ***

Service Area	Territory in which a utility system is required or has the right to supply gas service to ultimate customers.

Severance Tax	A state or municipal tax on oil and gas products levied at the wellhead for the removal of the hydrocarbons. Also called Production Tax.

SG	Specific Gravity

Shengli Crude Oil	Crude oil from Qingdao on Yellow Sea, China with API gravity of * and sulfur content of * %

Shoulder Months	Generally defined as the months of March, April, May, September, and October when the temperatures are moderate and customer demand is unpredictable.

Shrinkage	The difference between the amount of gas produced at the wellhead and the gas that enters a pipeline that can be associated with providing energy to on lease equipment or removal of solution gas. The losses include but are not limited to those from the separation process and field use, as well as fuel, flare gas and plant liquids extraction.

Shut In	Means to close a well's surface, wellhead, or subsurface valves to halt flow from or into the well, with the completion interval remaining open to the tubing below the closed valves

Shut-In Royalty	Payment to royalty owners under the terms of a mineral lease which allows the lessee to defer production from a well capable of producing in paying quantities but shut-in for lack of a market or marketing facilities.

Siberian Light (CIF Augusta) Crude Oil	Crude oil cargoes loading from Black Sea ports for delivery into the Mediterranean. All assessments based on CIF Augusta, Sicily/Italy. The API gravity for Siberian Light is * degrees and the sulfur content is * %.

Sirri Crude Oil	Crude oil from Iran with API gravity of * and * % sulfur.

Sirtica Crude Oil	Crude oil from Libya with API gravity of * and * % sulfur.

Skim Oil/Condensate	Oil or condensate recovered from a salt water gathering system prior to injection or other disposal of the water. In Texas a monthly skim oil report (Form P-18) is required to be filed by salt water gathering systems with the RRC reporting the quantities and disposition of oil/condensate skimmed from water during the month.

Sleipner Condensate Oil	Crude oil from Norway with API gravity of * and * % sulfur.

Solution Gas	Gas which is dissolved in oil in the reservoir under pressure.

Souedie Crude Oil	Crude oil from Syria with API gravity of * and * % sulfur.

Sour / Sweet Crude	Definitions which describe the degree of a given crude's sulfur content. Sour crudes are high in sulfur, sweet crudes are low. Sour crude oil contains free sulfur or other sulfur compounds whose total sulfur content is in excess of 1 percent.

Sour / Sweet Gas	Any natural gas containing more than 1-1/2 grains of hydrogen sulfide per 100 cubic feet or more than 30 grains of total sulfur per 100 cubic feet, or gas which in its natural state is found to be unfit for use in generating light or fuel for domestic purposes.

Sour Crude	The quality cost spread is the difference between the prices of higher quality (i.e., lighter and sweeter) crude oil and lower quality (i.e., heavier and more sour) crude oil. The relative viscosity of crude oil is determined by its API gravity. Light crude generally has an API gravity of 38, or greater. Heavy crude oil has an API gravity of 22, or less. Intermediate crude has an API gravity that falls between 22 and 38. The amount of sulfur in crude oil determines whether the crude is considered sweet (i.e., it has a low percentage of its weight contributed by sulfur), or sour (i.e., it has a high percentage of its weight contributed by sulfur).

Sour Crude	Crude oil quality is defined by its density and sulfur content. Density is given in degrees API (American Petroleum Institute) The higher numbers represent lighter oils and are called light crudes. For example, heavy crude is usually less than API 20 degrees and is very thick and viscous (think about the heaviest molasses you ever saw). Sweet crude oil has sulfur content less than 0.5%. Sour crude has a maximum sulfur content of 1.99%. Sweet crudes are preferred because they produce high yields of high value products like gasoline, diesel, heating oil and jet fuel. Generally, specific crude oils are given names, which imply both location and certain characteristics. For example, Brent crude, which is one of the standards on the commodities market, is API 36 degrees with low sulfur content. It would be called “Light Sweet Crude.”

Southern Natural ("SoNat") Natural Gas Hub - Louisiana	Louisiana natural gas hub

Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline Natural Gas Hub - Texas	Texas Panhandle natural gas hub

Soyo Crude Oil	Crude oil from Angola with API gravity of * and * % sulfur.

Spark Spread	Basically, the cost difference of converting natural gas into electricity. It can also be the difference between gas and electricity futures prices. Marketers use the spark spread as an arbitrage opportunity, using tolling or reverse tolling.

Spindletop Natural Gas Hub	East Texas natural gas hub - 6 pipeline interconnects

Spot Market	Short term, non-regulated, arms length contract sales of natural gas, crude oil, refined products, or liquid petroleum gas.

SPR	Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the USA.

Spud	The initial penetration of the ground or seafloor / the start of the drilling operation.

Spud Date	Date that drilling begins.

Squeeze	Forcing cement into a wellbore to isolate perforations or repair damage

Standard Cubic Foot of Gas	As a unit of volume, 1,728 cubic inches. As applied to water, 7.48 gallons. As applied to natural gas, the volume of gas which, when saturated with water vapor at 60ºF and at a pressure of 30 inches of mercury occupies one cubic foot of volume

Stanfield Natural Gas Hub	Oregon natural gas hub - 2 pipeline interconnects

Statfjord Crude Oil	North Sea crude oil. The API is * , and the sulfur content is * %.

Steam cracker	(Ethylene plant) A petrochemical plant that produces olefins, particularly ethylene, and, in some cases, aromatics.

Steam Cracker	A petrochemical plant (Ethylene Plant) that produces olefins, particularly ethylene, and, in some cases, aromatics.

Storage Gas	A gas that is stored in an underground reservoir

Storage Tank	Tank for the accumulation of oil pending transferal to a pipeline company or other purchaser.

Straight-Run	Material which has come straight from an atmospheric distillation unit and has not been cracked or reformed, and which is usually used as a feedstock or as a utility fuel.

Straight-Run	Material which has come straight from an atmospheric distillation unit and has not been cracked or reformed, and which is usually used as a feedstock or as a utility fuel.

Subbituminous Coal	A coal whose properties range from those of lignite to those of bituminous coal and used primarily as fuel for steam-electric power generation. It may be dull, dark brown to black, soft and crumbly, at the lower end of the range, to bright, jet black, hard, and relatively strong, at the upper end. Subbituminous coal contains 20 to 30 percent inherent moisture by weight. The heat content of subbituminous coal ranges from 17 to 24 million Btu per ton on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. The heat content of subbituminous coal consumed in the United States averages 17 to 18 million Btu per ton, on the as-received basis (i.e., containing both inherent moisture and mineral matter).

Substandard Acreage	Amount of acreage that is less than the standard amount for a proration unit for a field.

Successor to an existing contract	any contract, other than a roll-over contract, entered into on or after November 9, 1978, for the first sale of natural gas which was previously subject to an existing contract, whether or not there is an identity of parties or terms with those of such existing contract.

Suez Blend Ras Sukheir Crude Oil	Egypt crude oil is made on a daily basis. Spot cargoes of Suez Blend may be sold Brent-related FOB Ras Sukheir. The API is * degrees and the sulfur content is * %.

Sulfur	One of the elements present in varying quantities in coal that contributes to environmental degradation when coal is burned. EIA classifies coal, in terms of pounds of sulfur per million Btu as low (less than or equal to 0.60 pounds of sulfur), medium (between 0.61 and 1.67 pounds of sulfur), and high (greater than or equal to 1.68 pounds of sulfur). When coal is sampled, sulfur content is measured as a percent by weight of coal on an as received or dry (moisture-free) basis.

Sumas Natural Gas Hub	British Columbia, Canada natural gas hub - 5 pipeline interconnects

Surface Casing	Outer casing cemented in the upper portion of the wellbore to protect fresh water formations from contamination.

Survey Name	The name of the original grantee or the name of the company, individual or eleemosynary institution that is common among a formed group of surveys as shown on the Texas General Land Office (GLO) county patent survey map or the GLO State Abstract of Land Titles. A survey is a certified measured description of a piece of land. The term sometimes refers to the land itself. In Texas, original surveys were performed as part of the patenting process whereby land was transferred from the public domain. These "patent surveys," recorded at the Texas General Land Office, constitute an official land grid for the State and are the basis for subsequent land surveys.

Swab	A tool which is lowered down the pipe on a wire line. The "swab" is then pulled out of the hole. As it travels up the pipe, rubber elements expand so that the fluid in the pipe is trapped above the swab and pushed to the surface. This operation is necessary when the formation pressure is not high enough to blow the fluids in the pipe to the surface.

Sweet Crude	The quality cost spread is the difference between the prices of higher quality (i.e., lighter and sweeter) crude oil and lower quality (i.e., heavier and more sour) crude oil. The relative viscosity of crude oil is determined by its API gravity. Light crude generally has an API gravity of 38, or greater. Heavy crude oil has an API gravity of 22, or less. Intermediate crude has an API gravity that falls between 22 and 38. The amount of sulfur in crude oil determines whether the crude is considered sweet (i.e., it has a low percentage of its weight contributed by sulfur), or sour (i.e., it has a high percentage of its weight contributed by sulfur).

Sweet Gas	All natural gas except sour gas and casinghead gas.

Syrian Heavy (Souedie) Crude Oil	Syrian crude oil for cargoes loading from Tartous in Syria. The API gravity for Souedie is * degrees and the sulfur content is * %.

Syrian Light Crude Oil	Syrian crude oil for cargoes loading from Banias in Syria. The API baseline is * degrees, with sulfur content of * %.