Glossary

Provided below are definitions for some of the words that you’ll see on our site. Additional industry definitions can be found in the Centre for Energy and Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers glossaries.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Abandonment*	Converting a drilled well to a condition that can be left indefinitely without further attention and will not damage freshwater supplies, potential petroleum reservoirs or the environment. After all gas has been produced, the well is secured and abandoned according to Energy Resources Conservation Board requirements.
AEC	Alberta Energy Company Ltd, one of Encana’s predecessor companies.
Aquifer	A body of permeable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater.

B	billion(s)
Baseline mapping	When conducting environmental assessments, Encana uses baseline mapping as a means of assessing an entire region, not just a specific site. Base line mapping includes topography, infrastructure, vegetation, wildlife and fish habitat, protected areas and sacred sites, instead of looking only at a specific site.
bbls/d	barrel(s) of oil per day
bblw/d	barrels of water per day
Bcf	billion cubic feet (natural gas)
Bcfe	billion cubic feet equivalent
Bi-fuel vehicles	Vehicles capable of running on both natural gas and gasoline, or on both natural gas and diesel.
Btu or British thermal unit(s)	A measure of the energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.
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C	Canadian, as in C$1 (one Canadian dollar)
Casing**	A series of tubular steel pipes joined by threads and couplings that lines the well bore to prevent water and rock from entering.
CBM or coalbed methane	A sweet methane gas found in coal seams used for home heating, natural gas-fired electrical generation and as an industrial fuel. CBM is a clean fuel that requires minimal processing.
CEAA	Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
cfe	cubic feet equivalent
CFTC or U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission	The U.S. federal regulatory agency that regulate futures trading in all commodities.
CNG or compressed natural gas	Natural gas composed of approximately 95 percent methane that is compressed and stored at between 2,000 to 3,600 pounds per square inch (psi) in a special reinforced container. The gas expands when released for use as a fuel.
CO₂ or carbon dioxide**	A non-toxic gas produced from decaying materials, respiration of plant and animal life, and combustion of organic matter, including fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas produced by human activities.
Completions**	The process by which a well is prepared to produce oil and gas, involving such steps as running and perforating the casing.
Condensate	Liquids recovered during the production of natural gas, consisting primarily of pentane and heavier hydrocarbons.
Conventional natural gas	Natural gas that can be produced using recovery techniques normally employed by the oil and natural gas industry. The distinction between conventional and unconventional natural gas is becoming less clear.
Corporate Constitution	The principles by which Encana conducts its business. The corporate constitution sets out the company's values and provides direction for employee behaviour.
Courtesy Matters	An initiative to encourage responsible, courteous behaviour by Encana employees, contractors and service providers. It focuses on minimizing nuisance issues like traffic, gates, dust, noise and garbage. This best-practices approach to responsible development adheres to the simple rule that doing the right thing helps us be a better neighbour in the communities where we operate.
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d	day (e.g. bbl/d)
Dewatering	The removal of water from a coal seam to allow methane extraction.
Downstream*	The refining and marketing sector of the petroleum industry
Drinking water or potable water	Water of sufficiently high quality that it can be consumed or used without risk of immediate or long-term harm.
Drive Safe	Encana’s program dedicated to safe driving education through the four E’s of safety - Engineering, Education, Enforcement and Emergency Response.
DSU	Deferred share units

EBIT	earnings before interest and tax
EBITDA	earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization
ECA	Encana’s stock market symbol.
EITF or Emerging Issues Task Force	An organization that holds public meetings in order to identify and resolve accounting issues.
Encana Corporation	Encana Corporation, where applicable, refers only to or includes relevant direct and indirect subsidiary corporations and partnerships (subsidiaries) of Encana Corporation and the assets, activities and initiatives of such subsidiaries.
ENGO	Environmental non-government organization.
Environmental footprint	An organization's impact on the environment including resource use, waste generation and changes to the physical environment.
ERCB (Energy Resources Conservation Board)	An independent, quasi-judicial agency of the Alberta government that regulates the development of the province's energy resources (formerly the Energy Utilities Board).
Ethos	Encana’s Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) management system. It’s made up of the standards that govern how we manage our EH&S responsibilities and helps us measure, track, know and understand the company’s environment, health and safety performance, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Farmout**	An arrangement whereby the owner of a lease assigns some portion (or all) of the lease to another company for drilling
F&D	Finding and development cost
FERC or Federal Energy Regulatory Commission	The independent body in the United States that regulates, monitors and investigates the interstate movement of natural gas, oil and electricity.
Field*	The surface area above one or more underground petroleum pools sharing the same or related infrastructure.
Flaring**	The controlled burning of natural gas that can't be processed for sale or used because of technical or economic reasons.
Flowback fluid	Water that is brought to the surface during the completions operations and may include fracturing fluids.
Fracturing**	See hydraulic fracturing
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GAAP	generally accepted accounting principles
GDP or General Development Plans	A tool Encana uses to map out proposed multi-well programs to enable effective stakeholder input into program design and implementation.
GHG or greenhouse gases	Gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
Groundwater	Water located beneath the earth's surface in pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. Can be potable or non-potable.

Horizontal drilling	Drilling a well that deviates from the vertical and travels horizontally through a producing layer.
Hydraulic fracturing	A controlled operation that pumps a fluid and a propping agent through the wellbore to the target formation at a high pressure in multiple intervals, or stages. A safe and proven way to develop natural gas, hydraulic fracturing has been used throughout the oil and natural gas industry for about 60 years. The fracturing fluids are designed to ensure effective fracturing of the target reservoir and recovery of fluids. The process breaks up the target formation, much like a stone fracturing a windshield, to create pathways that allow the gas to flow from the very low permeability reservoir toward the wellbore.
Hydrocarbons	Compounds made up of only carbon and hydrogen. Fossil fuels are made up of hydrocarbons.

IFRS	International Financial Reporting Standards
Integrity Hotline	Encana’s North America-wide toll-free phone number, 1.877.445.3222, to provide an avenue for concerned individuals who work for or interact with Encana to convey any concerns or issues about our operations.

km	kilometre(s)

LIS or Low Impact Seismic	Exploration activity that uses thinner, winding and discontinuous corridors as a means of impeding predator movement and access to sensitive species of wildlife. LIS also minimizes fragmentation of the ecosystem.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG)	Viable as a transportation fuel and differing from compressed natural gas principally in the storage method. LNG is super-cooled natural gas that is stored in liquid form at or below -160 degrees Celsius, depending on composition, making for a very portable fuel.
Liquids	oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and condensates
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m	metre(s)
M	thousand, thousands ($M - thousands of dollars)
m3	cubic metres
m3/d	cubic metres per day
M&A	mergers and acquisitions
Mcf	thousand cubic feet
Mcf/d	thousand cubic feet per day
Mcfe	thousand cubic feet equivalent
Minimal disturbance practices	The term used to describe Encana’s operational techniques and best practices that reduce disruption to wildlife and protect native prairie grasslands.
MM	million, millions (e.g. $2MM)
MMBtu	million British thermal units
MMcf	million cubic feet
MMcf/d	million cubic feet per day
MMcfe	million cubic feet equivalent
MMS or Minerals Management Service	A branch of the US Department of Interior that governs oil operations and manages the mineral resources in US waters on the Outer Continental Shelf
MW	megawatt
MWh	megawatt hour
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Natural gas	Underground deposits of gases consisting of 50 to 90 percent methane (CH4) and small amounts of heavier gaseous hydrocarbon compounds such as propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10).
Natural gas liquids (NGLs)	Liquids obtained during production of natural gas, comprising ethane, propane, butane hexane and heptane.
NCG	Encana’s Nominating and Corporate Governance committee
NCIB	Normal Course Issuer Bid
NEB or National Energy Board	The independent Canadian federal agency that regulates pipelines, energy development and trade.
NGL(s) or natural gas liquids*	Liquids obtained during natural gas production, including ethane, propane, butanes, and condensate.
NGO	Non-governmental organization
NOx	Nitrogen oxide
NYMEX	New York Mercantile Exchange
NYSE	New York Stock Exchange

PCE or PanCanadian Energy Corporation	One of Encana’s predecessor companies.
Permeability	1. The ability of a rock to transmit fluid through the pore spaces. – a key influence on the rate of flow, movement and drainage of the fluids. 2. A measure of the ease with which a fluid flows through the connecting pore spaces of rock or cement.
Potable water	fit to drink; drinkable
ppm	parts per million
PPoA or Power Pool of Alberta	An independent, central, open-access pool that functions as a spot market, matching demand with the lowest supply to establish an hourly pool price.
Produced water	Water that is brought to the surface during the production of hydrocarbons. Produced water may include reused water or water produced from the geologic formation.
Producing zone	The zone or formation from which oil or gas is produced.
Proppant	Small particles, typically sand, mixed with the hydraulic fracturing fluid to hold fractures open after a hydraulic fracturing treatment.
Production	1. The yield of an oil or gas well. 2. The phase of the petroleum industry that deals with bringing the well fluids to the surface and separating them and with storing, gauging, and otherwise preparing the product for pipeline.

Reclamation	Cleaning up and restoring a well site to its pre-existing condition after a well ceases production. Reclamation activities can include soil replacement, compacting and reseeding of natural vegetation.
Reserves**	Recoverable portion of resources available for use.
Resource play	Encana refers to resource plays as large, known sources of gas trapped beneath the earth’s surface. Resource plays can deliver profitable long-term production through the use of advanced technology and development that achieves economies of scale. A resource play can exist over a large areal expanse and/or thick vertical section of land and, in the past, could have been considered uneconomic or technically challenging to develop.
Resource play hub	The resource play hub is Encana's disciplined approach to move resource plays into commercial production in a repeatable, transferable manner using enterprise-wide collaboration and yielding consistently reduced costs, and improved safety and environmental performance.
RFP	Request for Purchase
Right-of-way	Land used for the construction and operation of a pipeline or other gas facility.
ROCE	return on capital employed
ROI	return on investment
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Safe 360	Safe 360 is Encana’s safety brand and speaks to our ongoing efforts to achieve an injury-free workplace. It underscores the importance of being aware in all directions - whether it’s an awareness of hazards around a worksite or a mental awareness of the safety considerations required in a project design. It’s also about a commitment to safety at home, on the road and in the workplace.
SEC	U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; an independent U.S. government authority that regulates the securities industry.
SEDAR	System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval; the system used for electronically filing most securities related information with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities.
Sour gas**	Raw natural gas with a relatively high concentration of sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide. All natural gas containing more than one percent hydrogen sulfide is considered sour.
SOX or Sarbanes-Oxley	Legislation to protect shareholders from fraudulent accounting and reporting practices.
Surface water	Water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, wetlands, or ocean.
Sweet gas**	Raw natural gas with a relatively low concentration of sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide.

Target formation/target reservoir/reservoir	trillion cubic feet
Tcf	A porous and permeable underground formation containing an individual and separate natural accumulation of producible hydrocarbons (oil and/or gas) which is confined by impermeable rock or water barriers and is characterized by a single natural pressure system.
Tcfe	trillion cubic feet equivalent
THE BOW	The name of Encana’s planned new office tower in downtown Calgary
TJ or terajoules	10¹² J; a trillion joules
TSX	Toronto Stock Exchange (formerly known as TSE)
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Unconventional reservoirs**	In the case of natural gas from coal, natural gas from tight sands and shale gas, conventional gas found in unconventional reservoirs or reservoirs requiring special production methods or technologies; in the case of gas hydrates, conventional methane in an unconventional form occurring in a conventional reservoir
Upstream*	The companies that explore for, develop and produce petroleum resources.

Venting	The controlled release of natural gas into the atmosphere without burning it.

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Wellbore	1. A hole made by drilling or boring; a borehole. 2. The wellbore itself, including the open hole or uncased portion of the well.
Wellbore integrity	Application of technical, operational and organizational solutions to reduce risk of uncontrolled release of formation fluids throughout the life cycle of a well.

*	Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
**	Centre for Energy

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Glossary