Abbreviations in the Oil and Gas industry

Our world is submerged by abbreviations and the oil and gas industry is not spared! This post will help you to navigate through the oil and gas abbreviations.

There are already oil and gas abbreviations on Wikipedia in here.

However you will find below many abbreviations (some are very common in the oil and gas industry) that are not in this Wikipedia link. On the other side, I did not copy-paste Wikipedia.

I have mainly selected the abbreviations related to the Process discipline, but also some from other fields like Piping, Safety, Mechanical, Electrical, Pipeline, Project,…

I do not include the companies or organizations abbreviations (e.g. ISO), nor the unit’s abbreviations (e.g. rpm).

I intend to update this post regularly by adding other abbreviations but also to create links (e.g. a website related to a ROV company so that you can see how it looks).

Abbreviation List

A

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
A/G	Above Ground
ACCU	Air Cooled Condensing Unit
ACS	Access Control System
ADS	Atmospheric Diving Suit
AE	Acoustic Emission
AFC	Approved For Construction
AFD	Approved For Design
AFI	Approved for Information
AFP	Active Fire Protection
AHU	Air Handling Unit
AI	Analog Input
AIM	Asset Information Management
AIS	Automatic Identification System
AIV	Acoustics Induced Vibration
ALARP	As Low As Reasonably Practicable
AMB	Ambient
AMS	Alarm Management System
AO	Analog Output
ASL	Above Sea Level
ASR	Acceptable Sand Rate
ATEX	ATmosphère EXplosive	It’s in French; Explosive Atmosphere in English.
AVL	Approved Vendor List

B

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
BA	Breathing Air
BA	Breathing Apparatus
BD	Blowdown
BDV	Blowdown Valve
BLEVE	Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion
BOD	Basis of Design
BOL	Bottom of Line
BOLC	Bottom-Of-Line Corrosion
BOM	Bill of Material
BRV	Breather Valve
BS	Bird Screen
BSW or BS&W	Base Solids and Water
BV	Beach Valve
BVS	Beach Valve Station
BW	Butt Weld

C

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
C&E	Cause and Effect (Diagram)
CA	Corrosion Allowance
CAD	Computer Aided Design
CADD	Computer Aided Design Drafting
CAM	Control and Auxiliary Module
CAO	Computer Aided Operation
CAPEX	Capital Expenditure
CB	Circuit Breaker
CC	Corrosion Coupon
CCR	Central Control Room
CCTV	Closed Circuit Television
CD	Closed Drain
CFC	Chloro-Fluoro Carbon
CFD	Computational Fluid Dynamics
CGR	Condensate Gas Ratio
CHAZOP	Control HAZards and OPerability study
CITHP	Closed In Tubing Head Pressure
CL	Centre Line
CMS	Corrosion Management System
COG	Center of Gravity
CP	Cathodic Protection
CP	Corrosion Probe
CP	Corrugated Plate
CPP	Central Production Platform
CRA	Corrosion Resistant Alloy
CRA	Corrosion Risk Assessment
CS	Carbon Steel
CSC	Car Seal Close
CSCC	Chloride Stress Corrosion Cracking
CSO	Car Seal Open
CTR	Cost, Time and Resources
CUI	Corrosion Under Insulation
CV	Choke Valve

D

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
d/s	Downstream
D&IDs	Ducting & Instrumentation Diagram	Produced by HVAC engineers.
DBB	Double Block and Bleed
DBM	Design Basis Memorandum
DCS	Distributed Control System
DHSV	Down Hole Safety Valve
DI	Digital Input
DIFFS	Deck Integrated Fire Fighting System
DN	Nominal Diameter
DO	Digital Output
DOP	Drop Object Protection
DP	Design Pressure
DP	Differential Pressure (Or Pressure Drop)
DRA	Design Risk Assessment
DS	Downstream Side
DTS	Datasheet
DV	Deluge Valve

E

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
E&I	Electrical and Instrumentation
ED	Effective Date
EEBD	Emergency Escape Breathing Device
EER	Escape, Evacuation and Rescue
EERA	Escape, Evaluation and Rescue Analysis
EIA	Environmental Impact Assessment
EL	Elevation Level
EMC	Electromagnetic Compatibility
ENVID	Environmental Hazard Identification
EOR	Enhanced Oil Recovery	Same as IOR
EPC	Engineering, Procurement and Construction
EPCI	Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation
EPRS	Emergency Pipeline Repair Systems
ERA	Explosion Risk Analysis
ERP	Emergency Response Plan
ESD	Emergency ShutDown
ESDV	Emergency ShutDown Valve
ESP	Electrical Submerged Pump
ETA	Event Tree Analysis
EWL	Extreme Water Level

F

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
F&G	Fire & Gas
FA	Flame Arrestor
FA	Flow Assurance
FAH	Flow Alarm High
FAHH	Flow Alarm High High
FAL	Flow Alarm Low
FALL	Flow Alarm Low Low
FAT	Factory Acceptance Test
FB	Full Bore
FBE	Fusion Bonded Epoxy
FC	Fail Close
FCV	Flow Control Valve
FDS	Functional Design Specification
FE	Flow Element
FEA	Finite Element Analysis
FEED	Front End Engineering Design
FERA	Fire Explosion Risk Assessment
FF	Fire-Fighting
FF	Flat Faced, Also Called Full Faced
FGS	Fire and Gas System
FH	Fire Hydrant
FI	Flow Indication
FIC	Flow Indicating Controller
FID	Final Investment Decision
FIV	Flow Induced Vibration
FJ	Field Joint
FLD	Functional Logic Diagrams
FLNG	Floating Liquefied Natural Gas	Floating unit that produces LNG.
FMEA	Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
FMEDA	Failure Modes Effects and Diagnostic Analysis
FO	Fail Open
FP	Fireproofing
FP	Full Port
FPSO	Floating Production Storage and Offloading
FR	Fire Resistant or Fire Retardant
FRA	Fire Risk Analysis
FRA	Formal Risk Assessment
FRC	Fibre Reinforced Concrete
FRP	Fiberglass-Reinforced Plastic
FRT	Full Radiography Testing
FS	Functional Safety
FSA	Functional Safety Assessment
FSS	Fire Suppression System
FTA	Fault Tree Analysis
FVST	Full Valve Stroke Test
FWHP	Flowing Wellhead Pressure

G

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
GA	General Arrangement
GFRP	Glass Fibre Reinforced Polyester
GLR	Gas / Liquid Ratio
GOR	Gas-Oil Ratio
GRE	Glass Reinforced Epoxy
GRP	Glass Reinforced Plastic
GRP	Glass Reinforced Polyester
GT	Gas Turbine
GTG	Gas Turbine Generator
GUI	Graphical User Interface
GWR	Guided Wave Radar

H

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
H&MB	Heat and Mass Balance
HAT	Highest Astronomical Tide
HAZAN	HAZard Analysis
HAZID	Hazard Identification
HAZOP	Hazard and Operability Review
HC	Hydrocarbon
HDD	Horizontal Directional Drilling
HDPE	High Density Polyethylene
HFE	Human Factor Engineering
HHLL	High High Liquid Level
HIC	Hydrogen Induced Cracking
HIL	High Interface Level
HIPPS	High Integrity Pressure Protection System
HLL	High Liquid Level
HMB	Heat and Material Balance
HMI	Human Machine Interface
HP	High Pressure
HPU	Hydraulic Power Unit
HSE	Health, Safety and Environment
HSEQ	Health, Safety, Environment and Quality
HUC	Hook-Up and Commissioning
HV	High Voltage
HVAC	Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning

I

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
I/O	Input / Output
ICSS	Integrated Control and Safety System
ID	Internal Diameter
IDC	Interdisciplinary Check
IFA	Issued for Approval
IFI	Issued for Information
IFR	Issued for Review
IG	Inert Gas
IOPPS	Instrumented Overpressure Protection System
IOR	Increased Oil Recovery	Same as EOR
IPF	Instrumented Protective Function
IPS	Instrument Protective System
IR	Infrared
ITB	Invitation to Bid
ITP	Inspection and Test Plan
ITT	Invitation To Tender
IUT	Immersion Ultrasonic Testing
IVD	Inlet Vane Diffusers

J

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
J-T	Joule Thompson
JB	Junction Box
JF	Joint Factor	Longitudinal seam joint factor defined by the applicable pipe code.

K

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
KO	Knock Out
KOD	Knock Out Drum
KOM	Kick Off Meeting
KP	Kilometre Post
KPI	Key Performance Indicator

L

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
L/R	Local/Remote Selector Switch
LAH	Level Alarm High
LAHH	Level Alarm High High
LAL	Level Alarm Low
LALL	Level Alarm Low Low
LAT	Lowest Astronomical Tide
LCP	Local Control Panel
LCS	Local Control Station
LCV	Low Calorific Value
LEL	Lower Explosive Limit
LER	Local Electrical Room
LFL	Lower Flammable Limit
LHHA	High High-Level Alarm
LHV	Lower Heating Value
LIC	Level Indicating Controller
LIL	Low Interface Level
LL	Low Low Alarm Value
LLI	Long Lead Items
LLL	Low Liquid Level
LNG	Liquefied Natural Gas
LNGC	Liquefied Natural Gas Carrier
LOA	Letter of Award
LOPA	Layer Of Protection Analysis
LP	Low Pressure
LPG	Liquefied Petroleum Gas
LQ	Living Quarters
LT	Level Transmitter – Magnetic Type
LTCS	Low-Temperature Carbon Steel
LV	Low Voltage

M

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
MAOP	Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure
MATL	Mean Astronomical Tide Level
MAWP	Maximum Allowable Working Pressure
MAWT	Minimum Allowable Wall Thickness
MBR	Minimum Bend Radius
MC	Mechanical Completion
MCB	Main Control Building
MCC	Mechanical Completion Certificate
MCC	Motor Control Center
MCR	Main Control Room
MCU	Motor Control Unit
MDMT	Minimum Design Metal Temperature
MDR	Master Document Register
MDS	Mechanical Datasheet
MEG	Monoethylene Glycol
MEL	Master Equipment List
MENA	Middle East and North Africa
MHHW	Mean Higher High Water
MLLW	Mean Lower Low Water
MMSCF	Million Standard Cubic Feet
MMSCFD	Million Standard Cubic Feet Per Day
MMTBF	Mechanical Mean Time between Failure
MMU	Motor Monitoring Unit
MOC	Management of Change
MOC	Material of Construction
MOM	Minutes of Meeting
MOP	Maximum Operating Pressure
MOV	Motor Operated Valve
MPFM	Multi-Phase Flow Meter
MPSV	Multi-Purpose Support Vessel
MPTFE	Modified Polytetrafluoroethylene
MR	Material Requisition
MSD	Material Selection Diagram
MSDS	Material Safety Data Sheet
MSL	Mean Sea Level
MSR	Material Selection Report
MTBF	Mean Time Between Failures
MTC	Material Test Certificate
MTO	Material Take Off
MTPA	Million Metric Tons Per Annum
MTTF	Mean Time To Failure
MTTR	Mean Time To Repair
MUT	Manual Ultrasonic Testing
MWL	Mean Water Level
MWS	Marine Warranty Surveyor

N

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
NC	Normal Closed
NCR	Non Conformance Report
NDE	Nondestructive Examination
NDT	Non-Destructive Testing
NIL	Normal Interface Level
NLL	Normal Liquid Level
NNF	Normally No Flow
NNM	Normally Not Manned
NO	Normal Opened
NPS	Nominal Pipe Size
NPSH	Net Position Suction Head
NPSHa	Net Positive Suction Head Available
NPSHr	Net Positive Suction Head Required
NRV	Nominated Rescue Vehicle
NRV	Non-Return Valve	Same as check valve.

O

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
O&M	Operations and Maintenance [Manual]
OAC	Operational Acceptance Certificate
OD	Outside Diameter
OEL	Occupational Exposure Limits
OEM	Original Equipment Manufacturer
OFJ	Offshore Field Joint
OGP	Oil and Gas Producers
OH&S	Occupational Health and Safety
OHD	Open Hazardous Drain
OHSA	Occupational Health and Safety Accreditation
OIMS	Operations Integrity Management System
OIW	Oil In Water
OJS	Offshore Joint Services
OMI	Operation, Maintenance and Inspection
OPEX	Operating Expenditure
OPPS	Over Pressure Protection System
OSPL	Onshore Storage, Pumping and Loading
OSV	Offshore Support Vessel
OTS	Operator Training Simulator

P

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
P-T	Pressure-Temperature
P.O.B.	Personnel On Board
P&ID	Piping and Instrumentation Diagram
P&ID	Process Instrument Drawing
PAB	Port Administration Building
PAC	Performance Acceptance Certificate
PAH	Pressure Alarm High
PAHH	Pressure Alarm High High
PAL	Pressure Alarm Low
PALL	Pressure Alarm Low Low
PAR	Preventive Action Report
PB	Push Button
PC	Pre-Commissioning
PC	Process Control
PCS	Process Control System Piping Class Specification
PCV	Pressure Control Valve
PDB	Power Distribution Board
PDG	Differential Pressure Gauge
PDI	Pressure Differential Indication
PDIT	Pressure Differential Indicating Transmitter
PDS	Process Data Sheet
PDT	Pressure Differential Transmitter
PE	Polyethylene
PEFS	Process & Engineering Flow Scheme	SHELL denomination for P&ID.
PEM	Project Engineering Manager
PEP	Project Execution Plan
PFD	Probability of Failure on Demand
PFD	Process Flow Diagram
PFP	Passive Fire Protection
PG	Pressure Gauge
PHA	Process Hazards Analysis
PI	Pressure Indicator
PIC	Pressure Indicating Controller
PID	Proportional, Integral and Derivative
PIMS	Process Information Management System
PLC	Programmable Logic Controller
PMS	Power Management System
PMT	Project Management Team
PO	Purchase Order
POB	People On Board
PoF	Probability of Failure
PP	Polypropylene
PPE	Personal Protective Equipment
PPM	Parts Per Million
PPMV	Parts Per Million Volume
PQP	Project Quality Plan
PR	Purchase Requisition
PROM	Project Risk Opportunity Management
PRV	Pressure Relief Valve
PSA	Pressure Swing Adsorption
PSD	Particle Size Distribution
PSD	Process Shutdown
PSFS	Process Safeguarding Flow Scheme
PST	Partial-Stroke Test
PSU	Power Supply Unit
PSV	Pressure Safety Valve
PT	Pressure Transmitter
PTFE	Polytetrafluoroethylene
PTR	Project Technical Review
PTW	Permit To Work
PUR	Polyurethane
PVL	Project Vendor List
PVRV	Pressure Vacuum Relief Valve
PWHT	Post Weld Heat Treatment
PWV	Production Wing Valve

Q

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
QA	Quality Assurance
QA/QC	Quality Assurance / Quality Control
QAC	Quality Assurance Coordinator
QAP	Quality Assurance Program
QC	Quality Check
QC	Quality Control
QCP	Quality Control Plan
QHSES	Quality, Health, Safety, Environment and Security
QMS	Quality Management System
QOC	Quick Opening Closure
QRA	Quantitative Risk Assessment
QS	Quality Surveillance
QTC	Qualification Test Coupon

R

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
RA	Risk Assessment
RAM	Reliability, Availability and Maintainability
RAM	Risk Assessment Matrix
RB	Reduced Bore
RBD	Reliability Block Diagram
RCA	Root Cause Analysis
REQ	Requisition
RESDV	Riser Emergency Shutdown Valve
RF	Raised Face
RFC	Ready For Commissioning
RFCC	Ready For Commissioning Certificate
RFI	Request for Inspection
RFQ	Request For Quotation
RFSC	Ready For Start-Up Certificate
RFSU	Ready For Start-Up
RH	Relative Humidity
RO	Restriction Orifice
ROI	Return on Investment
ROQI	Return On Quality Investment
ROV	Remote Operated Vehicle
RP	Reduced Port
RT	Radiographic Testing
RTD	Resistance Temperature Detector
RTIS	Real Time Information System
RTU	Remote Terminal Unit

S

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
S&W	Sediments and Water
SAFE	Safety Analysis Function Evaluation
SAFOP	SAFe OPerations analysis
SAT	Site Acceptance Test
SBB	Single Block and Bleed
SCC	Stress Corrosion Cracking
SCH	Schedule
SCSSV	Surface Controlled Subsurface Safety Valve
SD	Shutdown
SDC	Single Discipline Check
SDR	Specification Deviation Request
SDSS	Super Duplex Stainless Steels
SDV	Shutdown Safety Valve
SEW	Safety Shower Eyewash
SG	Sight Glass
SG	Specific Gravity
SH	Switch High
SHE	Safety, Health and Environment
SHE&S	Safety, Health and Environment and Security
SHEQ	Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality
SI	Speed Indication
SIF	Safety Instrumented Function
SIL	Safety Integrity Level
SIMOPS	Simultaneous Operations
SIS	Safety Instrument System
SITHP	Shut In Tubing Head Pressure
SLD	Single Line Diagram
SOP	Standard Operating Procedure
SOR (Total)		Il y a un SOR, mais ce n’est pas la même signification.
SOW	Scope Of Work
SP	Set Point
SPC	Specification
SPF	Single Point of Failure
SPL	Sound Pressure Level
SPM	Single Point Mooring
SRA	Security Risk Assessment
SS	Stainless Steel
SSC	Sulphide Stress Corrosion
SSCC	Sulphide Stress Corrosion Cracking
SSHE	Safety, Security, Health and Environment
SSIV	Subsea Isolation Valve
SSJB	Subsea splitter Junction Box
SSWR	Safety Shower
SSWV	Subsea Wye Valve
STD	Standard
STEL	Short Term Exposure Limit
SURF	Subsea, Umbilicals, Risers and Flow lines
SUTU	Subsea Umbilical Termination Unit
SW	Seawater
SW	Socket Weld

T

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
T/T	Tangent to Tangent
TBA	To Be Advised
TBC	To Be Confirmed
TBD	To Be Defined
TBE	Technical Bid Evaluation
TDS	Total Dissolved Salts/Solid
TE	Temperature Element – Skin Type
TFE	Tetrafluoroethylene
TG	Temperature Gauge
TGA	Toxic Gas Alarm
TI	Temperature Indication
TIC	Temperature Control
TIT	Temperature Indicating Transmitter
TOL	Top of Line
TOLC	Top of Line Corrosion
TOR	Terms of Reference
TOS	Top Of Steel
TQ	Technical Query
TR	Temporary Refuge
TSA	Thermal Spray Aluminum
TSC	Thermal Spray Coating
TSO	Tight ShutOff
TSS	Total Suspended solids
TT	Temperature Transmitter
TUTU	Topside Umbilical Termination Unit
TW	Thermowell

U

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
U/G	Under Ground
u/s	UpStream
UCP	Unit Control Panel
UEL	Upper Explosive Limit
UFD	Utilities Flow Diagram
UFM	Ultrasonic Flow Meter
UMV	Upper Master Valve
UPS	Uninterruptible Power Supply
UT	Ultrasonic Testing
UTCD	Ultrasonic Crack Detection
UTWM	Ultrasonic Thickness Wall Measurement

V

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
VAC	Voltage Alternating Current
VB	Vacuum Breaker Valve
VESDA	Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus
VFD	Variable Frequency Drive
VOC	Volatile Organic Compound
VRV	Vacuum Relief Valve
VSD	Variable Speed Drive
VTA	Vendor to Advise
VTC	Vendor to Confirm

W

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
WBS	Work Breakdown Structure
WBT	Wet Bulb Temperature
WC	Water Cut
WCR	Water to Condensate Ratio
WCR	Weight Control Report
WD	Water Depth
WGR	Water to Gas Ratio
WH	Wellhead
WHCP	Wellhead Control Panel
WHP	Wellhead Platform
WT	Wall Thickness

X

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
XMAS	Christmas

Z

Abbreviation	Meaning	Comment
ZA	Discrepancy Alarm
ZIH	Position Indication Intermediate
ZIO	Position Indication Open
ZSC	Limit Switch Close
ZSH	Limit Switch Intermediate
ZSO	Limit Switch Open

What about you?

I’m sure you’ll suggest many other abbreviations. Please leave a comment and I will consider to add them. Don’t also hesitate to share some other websites having a good list of oil and gas abbreviations.