T

Tail Gas
A sulfur recovery unit’s residue gas; any processing unit’s gaseous exhaust that is treated as residue.

Tank Farm
A number of petroleum tanks that are operated together as a depot in oil storage and distribution activities.

TAPS
Abbreviation for Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, the line from Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope to the terminal port of Valdez on the south coast of Alaska. Phillips owns a 1.42 percent interest.

Tension-leg Platform
A floating offshore structure held in position by a number of tension-maintaining cables anchored to the seabed. The cables dampen wave action to keep the platform stationary.

Terminal
Plant and equipment designed to receive and process crude oil or gas to remove water and impurities.

Tertiary Recovery
The third major phase of recovery of oil or gas, the quantities recovered being over and beyond what could be produced by primary and secondary recovery technology; generally involves using sophisticated techniques such as heating the reservoir to reduce the viscosity of the oil.

Three-dimensional Seismic
Commonly shortened to 3-D seismic. Three-dimensional images created by bouncing sound waves off underground rock formations; used by oil companies to determine the best places to drill for hydrocarbons.

Throughput
The average amount of raw material that is processed in a given period by a facility, such as a natural gas processing plant, an oil refinery or a petrochemical plant.

Toluene
A key petrochemical and an organic solvent; along with xylene, a key component in unleaded gasoline.

Ton
2,000 pounds in the United States; in the United Kingdom, a long ton is 2,240 pounds; a metric ton equals 2,000 kilograms. In most countries, oil and petroleum products are sold by weight instead of liquids quantities, e.g. a ton of oil is the equivalent of 6.8 to 8.5 barrels of oil, depending on temperature, specific gravity and other physical factors.

Topping refinery
A refinery consisting only of an atmospheric distillation unit.

Total Depth (TD)
Descriptive of a well reaching the intended depth.

Train
A series of units that together accomplish a complex process.

Tubing
The piping installed in wells for the production of oil and gas.

Turbine
A piece of equipment in which a shaft is steadily rotated by the impact of a current of steam, air, water or other fluid directed from jets or nozzles upon blades of a wheel.

Turnaround
A period of brisk activity at a refinery or plant when processing units, or portions of them, are shut down for scheduled maintenance or the installation of new equipment and systems.