science

Upstream (petroleum industry)

Upstream (petroleum industry) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Upstream (petroleum industry) rather than just read about it. In short: The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major sectors: upstream (also called exploration and production or E&P), midstream and downstream. The upstream sector includes searching for potential underground or underwater crude oil and natural gas fields, drilling exploratory wells, and subsequently operating the wells that recover and bring the crude oil or raw natural gas to the surface.

Key takeaways

Upstream (petroleum industry) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Upstream (petroleum industry) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Upstream (petroleum industry) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major sectors: upstream (also called exploration and production or E&P), midstream and downstream. The upstream sector includes searching for potential underground or underwater crude oil and natural gas fields, drilling exploratory wells, and subsequently operating the wells that recover and bring the crude oil or raw natural gas to the surface. The upstream industry has traditionally experienced the highest number of Mergers, Acquisitions (M&A) and Divestitures. M&A activity for upstream oil and gas deals in 2012 totaled $254 billion in 679 deals. A large chunk of this M&A, 33% in 2012, was driven by the unconventional/shale boom especially in the US followed by Russia and then Canada. The aggregate value of upstream E&P assets available for sale (Deals in Play) reached a record-high of $135 billion in Q3 2013. The value of Deals in Play doubled from $46 billion in 2009 to $90 billion in 2010. With ongoing M&A activity, the level remained almost the same, reaching $85 billion in December 2012. However, the first half of 2013 saw approximately $48 billion of net new assets coming on the market. Remarkably, the total value of Deals in Play in Q3 2013 nearly tripled over 2009 to $46 billion, in less than four years.

Business This categorization comes from value chain concepts, even before formal development of Value Chain Management.

Drilling Contractor Company A company that owns and operates drilling rigs that are contracted by an operator to drill wells. Examples include Patterson UTI, Trans-ocean, Nabors, Independence Contract Drilling and Cactus.

Integrated Oil & Gas Company: A company that has upstream as well as downstream operations. Examples include Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, ChevronTexaco and SOCAR.

Independent Oil & Gas Company: A company that has either upstream or downstream operations, but not both. Examples include Anadarko Petroleum, Sunoco, Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips and Murphy Oil.

Oil Service Company: A company that provides products and/or services to the oil and gas industry. Usually a combination of labor, equipment, and/or other support services. Examples include Schlumberger, Halliburton, Saipem and Baker Hughes.

Oil Equipment Manufacturer: A company that specializes in the sale and distribution of equipment to the oil and gas industry. Examples include Siemens, Schneider Electric and ABB.

Security Many major security companies take part in securing the industry.

Upstream in ISO ISO 14224 defines "Upstream" in its definition section as: 3.98 upstream business category of the petroleum industry involving exploration and production.

Example: Offshore oil/gas production facilities, drilling rigs, intervention vessel.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Upstream (petroleum industry)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Upstream (petroleum industry) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Upstream (petroleum industry) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Upstream (petroleum industry) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Upstream (petroleum industry)

In research: Upstream (petroleum industry) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Upstream (petroleum industry) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Upstream (petroleum industry) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Natural gas, Petroleum production, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Upstream (petroleum industry) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Upstream (petroleum industry)” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Upstream (petroleum industry) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Upstream (petroleum industry) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Upstream (petroleum industry) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Upstream (petroleum industry) in simple terms?

Why does Upstream (petroleum industry) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Upstream (petroleum industry)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Upstream (petroleum industry).