Casing
Cemented pipe drilled into the well to seal off fluids and to keep the hole from caving in.

Completion Process
The steps taken to transform a drilled well into a producing one. This includes casing, cementing, and installing a wellhead or production tree.

Hydrocarbon
A naturally occurring organic compound composed of hydrogen and carbon, which can occur as gases, liquids, or solids. The most common hydrocarbons are natural gas, oil, and coal.

Play
A set of oil or gas accumulations that share similar geologic or geographic properties, such as source rock or hydrocarbon type.

Proppant
A porous material such as sand or ceramic beads used in hydraulic fracturing to ensure that newly-created shale fractures remain open. A typical well uses between 300,000 and 500,000 pounds of proppants.

Reservoir
A geological formation that contains large quantities of oil and/or gas.

Shale
A fine-grained rock composed mostly of consolidated clay or mud that settles to the bottom of formation.

Wellbore
The drilled hole used to reach underground supplies, including the shale rock.

Wellhead
A piece of equipment mounted at the opening of the well to manage the extraction of hydrocarbons. It also prevents the leaking of oil or natural gas out of the well.