Target Energy - Australian petroleum exploration and production company.

ABANDON
To cease work on a well which is non-productive, to plug off the well with cement plugs and salvage all recoverable equipment Also used in the context of field abandonment.

ABANDONMENT
Final plugging of wells, and/or permanent dismantling, etc. of a production platform or other installation.

ACIDISING
Treatment of oil-bearing limestone or carbonate formations with a solution of hydrochloric acid and other chemicals to increase production. The acid is forced under pressure into the formation where it enlarges the flow channels by dissolving the limestone.

AFE - AUTHORISATION FOR EXPENDITURE
Capital budget prepared by the operator's engineers of the projected costs of drilling the well both dry and successful.  If there are other working interests, each partner in the well must sign the AFE before drilling begins.

AGM
Annual General Meeting

AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE (API)
API is the world's foremost authority on oil industry standards and practices. "API Gravity" is a reference system for the density of crude oils and constituent hydrocarbons.

ANGLE OF DEFLECTION
The angle, in degrees, at which a well is deflected from the vertical by means of a whipstock or other deflecting tool.

ANNULUS 
The space between the drillstring and the well wall, or between casing strings, or between the casing and the production tubing.

ANTICLINE
A geological structure sometimes described as a dome or inverted saucer. Such a structure would be an anticline with "four way dip closure" which if covered by an impermeable layer of rock would make a potential oil or gas reservoir. Not all anticlines are this "perfect" shape.

°API
Degrees API, a standard measure of oil density defined by the American Petroleum Institute.

APPRAISAL WELL
A well drilled as part of an appraisal drilling program which is carried out to determine the physical extent, reserves and likely production rate of a field.

ARTIFICIAL LIFT
Any system that adds energy to the fluid column in a wellbore with the objective of initiating and improving production from the well. Artificial-lift systems use a range of operating principles, including rod pumping, gas lift and electrical submersible pumps.

ASIC
Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

ASSOCIATED GAS
Natural gas associated with oil accumulations, which may be dissolved in the oil at reservoir conditions or may form a cap of free gas above the oil.

ASX
Australian Stock Exchange Limited.