Oil and Gas Glossary: H Terms

7 oil and gas terms start with the letter H. Each one is defined below, in alphabetical order.

Harmonic Decline

Non-exponential with more pronounced or steeper decline rates. It incorporates the “slope” or bending of the decline to match a decline profile.

Held By Production, HBP

Mineral lease provision that extends the right to operate a lease as long as the property produces a minimum quantity of oil & gas.

Henry Hub

Located in Erath, LA, the Henry Hub is a pipeline interchange and the delivery point for the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) natural gas futures contracts.

Horizontal Drilling

A well of which a portion is drilled horizontally to expose more of the formation surface area to the well bore.

Horizontal Pugh Clause

A clause often added to an oil lease to limit holding non producing lands beyond primary term of a lease. Also known as a Freestone Rider or a Pugh Clause.

Hydrocarbon

An organic chemical compound of hydrogen and carbon, called petroleum. The molecular structure of hydrocarbon compounds varies from the simplest, methane (CH4), a constituent of natural gas, to the very heavy and very complex. Octane, for example, a constituent of crude oil, is one of the heavier, more complex molecules.

Hyperbolic Decline

Non-exponential with subtle multiple decline rates. It incorporates the “slope” or bending of the decline to match a declined profile. Hyperbolic curves decline faster early in the life of the well and slower as time increases.