Packed columns

A distillation or absorption tower which is filled with small objects, called packing, to effect an intimate contact between rising vapours.

Packer

A mechanical device containing a rubber packing element which can be expanded against the well bore or casing to isolate the annular sections above and below the element.

Packer fluid

Any tough, pliable material -rubber or fibre -used to fill a chamber or "gland" around a moving rod or valve stem to prevent the escape of gas or liquid; any yielding material used to effect a pressure-tight joint. Packing is held in place and compressed against a moving part by a "follower", an adjustable element of the packing gland.

Palaeozoic era

The era of geological time (comprising the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian Periods) which began roughly 600 million years ago and ended roughly 230 million years ago.

Paper barrels

Crude oil or products traded on the forward or similar markets which are closed out by subsequent sale or settlement without physical or 'wet' delivery.

Paraffin

A name given in the UK to the premium grade of kerosene burned in lamps and fueless space heaters; a member of the paraffin (alkane) series of hydrocarbons. A white, odourless. tasteless and chemically inert waxy substance derived from distilling petroleum.

Paraffins

The simplest homologous series of hydrocarbons containing no unsaturated carbon-to-carbon bonds; also known as the alkanes.

Paraxylene

An aromatic compound used in the manufacture of polyester fibres.

Party chief

The industry expression for the manager of a survey team.

Pay sand

The producing formation, often one that is not even sandstone. It is also called pay zone, and production zone.

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