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Oil, Gas & Mining vocabulary · Exploration & Geology

Hydrocarbon

Meaning in oil, gas & mining, with examples

/ˌhaɪdrəˈkɑːrbən/nounCore term

In oil, gas & mining, hydrocarbon means: A chemical compound made only of hydrogen and carbon. Crude oil and natural gas are mixtures of hydrocarbons, so the word often means oil and gas in general.

In Turkish: hidrokarbon

How it is used

Very common in exploration reports, licences and law, where it covers both oil and gas: hydrocarbon exploration, hydrocarbon reserves, a hydrocarbon discovery. Geologists talk about where hydrocarbons are generated, how they migrate and where they are trapped.

Example sentences

  1. The well found hydrocarbons in two sandstone layers.

  2. The licence gives the company the right to explore for hydrocarbons in the block for six years.

Common collocations

  • hydrocarbon exploration
  • hydrocarbon reserves
  • hydrocarbon discovery
  • hydrocarbon trap
  • crude oilOil in its natural state as it comes out of the ground, before it is refined into fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
  • natural gasA gas fuel found underground, made mostly of methane and often found with oil. It is used for heating, cooking, power plants and as a raw material for industry.
  • reservoirA layer of porous rock deep underground that holds oil or gas in the tiny spaces between its grains, with rock above it that stops the fluids escaping.
  • explorationThe work of searching for new oil, gas or mineral deposits, using geological mapping, geophysical surveys, sampling and test drilling.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Exploration & Geology

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