Abbreviations and Acronyms
| Term | Definition |
| AAPG | American Association of Petroleum Geologists |
| ACCOBAMS | Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic Area |
| ADNOC | Abu Dhabi National Oil Company |
| ADSL | Asymetric Digital Subscriber Line (faster Internet access ~300Kps) |
| AFE | Authorization for Expenditure |
| AFEN | Atlantic Frontier Environment Network (UK) |
| AFFF | Aqueous Film Forming Foam |
| AGC | Automatic Gain Control |
| AIDS | Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome |
| AIOC | Azerbaijan International Oil Company |
| ALARP | As Low As Reasonably Practicable |
| ALGOL | Algorithmic Oriented Language (computer language) |
| AMJIG | Atlantic Margin Joint Industry Group (UK) |
| ANSI | American National Standards Insitute |
| ANWR | Alaska National Wildlife Refuge |
| API | American Petroleum Institute |
| APPEA | Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association |
| ARPEL | Regional Association of Oil and Natural Gas Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean |
| ASCII | American Standard Code for Information Exchange |
| ASCOBANS | Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Sea |
| ASCOPE | ASEAN Council on Petroleum |
| ASEAN | Association of South East Asian Nations |
| ASEG | Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists |
| AVO | Amplitude Variation with Offset |
| BCF | BromoChlorodiFlouromethane (Halon 1211 Fire Retardant) |
| BLM | Bureau of Land Management (USA Gov. Agency) |
| BOE | Barrels of oil equivalent |
| BOSIET | Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (UK) |
| BPI | Bytes Per Inch |
| BRINDEX | The Association of British Independent Oil Exploration Companies |
| BROA | British Rig Owners Association |
| BST | British Summer Time |
| BTM | Bromotriflouromethane = Halon 1301 (flood systems) |
| BTU | British Thermal Unit (equals 1054.4 joule) |
| CAA | Clean Air Act (USA Environmental Legislation) back to top |
| CAA | Civil Aviation Authority (UK) |
| CAD | Computer Aided Design |
| CAGC | Canadian Association of Geophysical Contractors |
| CAPP | Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers |
| CBD | Convention on Biological Diversity (International treaty 1992) |
| CDP | Common Depth Point |
| CEN | European committee on Standardization (Chambre Syndicate de la Recherche et de la Production du Petrole) |
| CFC's | Chlorofluorocarbons |
| CHARM | Chemical Hazard and Risk Management |
| CITES | Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (of flora and fauna) |
| CJD | Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (Human form of mad cow disease) |
| CMP | Common Mid Point |
| CNPC | Chinese National Petroleum Corporation |
| COBOL | Common Business Oriented Language (computer language) |
| CONCAWE | Oil Companies European Organisation for Environmental and Health Protection |
| COSHH | Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (UK Regulation) |
| CPR | Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation |
| CPU | Central Processing Unit |
| CRINE | Cost Reduction in the New Era (UK) |
| CRT | Cathode Ray Tube |
| CZMA | Coastal Zone Management Act (USA Environmental Legislation) |
| DANI | Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland |
| DEAL | Digital Energy Atlas & Library (UK). |
| DEFRA | Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs (UK) |
| DETR | Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions (UK) |
| DGPS | Differential Global Positioning System or Dynamic Global Positioning System |
| DMO | Dip Move Out |
| DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid |
| DOS | Disc Operating System |
| DTI | Department of Trade and Industry (UK) |
| EAME | Europe, Africa, Middle East |
| EAR | Expired Air Resuscitation |
| EC | European Community |
| ECC | External Cardiac Compression |
| EDM | Electronic Distance Measurement |
| EDTC | European Diving Technology Committee |
| EI | Energy Institute (UK based) back to top |
| EIA | Environmental Impact Assessment |
| EMAS | Environmental Management and Audit Scheme |
| EMS | Environmental Management System |
| EPA | Environmental Protection Agency (USA) |
| EPIRB | Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon |
| EU | European Union |
| EUROPIA | European Petroleum Industry Association |
| FAR | Fatal Accident Rate |
| FFT | Fast Fourier Transform |
| FLO | Fisheries Liaison Officer |
| FLR | Fisheries Liaison Representative (i.e. professional fisheries) |
| FOOCG | Fisheries and Offshore Oil Consultative Group (UK) |
| FPSO | Floating Production, Storage and Offtake |
| FRC | Fast Rescue Craft |
| GATT | General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade |
| GGM | Global Geopotential Model |
| GHG | Greenhouse Gases |
| GIS | Geographic Information Systems |
| GMDSS | Global Maritime Distress and Safety System |
| GMT | Greenwich Mean Time |
| GPR | Ground Penetrating Radar |
| GPS | Global Positioning System |
| HDDR | High Density Data Recording |
| HEMP | Hazards and Effects Management Process |
| HF | High Frequency |
| HFC'S | Hydrofluorocarbons |
| HFE | Human Factors Engineering |
| HIV | Human Immunodeficiency Virus |
| HLO | Helicopter Landing Officer |
| HMCG | Her Majesty’s Coast Guard (UK) |
| HRA | Hazard Risk Assessment |
| HSE | Health, Safety, Environment |
| HSE | Health and Safety Executive (UK Regulator) |
| HSWA | Health and Safety at Work Act (UK Law) |
| HTML | Hyper Text Mark-up Language |
| HUET | Helicopter Underwater Evacuation Training |
| IADC | International Association of Drilling Contractors back to top |
| IAGC | International Association of Geophysical Contractors |
| IAGSA | International Airborne Geophysics Safety Association |
| IBAMA | Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente (Brazilian environmental agency) |
| ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization |
| ICC | International Chamber of Commerce |
| ICOE | International Council for Oil and the Environment |
| ICPC | International Cable Protection Committee |
| IGPOL | Industrial Group on the Protection of the Ozone Layer |
| IFP | Instantaneous Floating Point |
| IGY | International Geophysical Year (1957/1958) |
| IHO | International Hydrographic Association |
| ILO | International Labour Organization (founded 1919) (UN) |
| IMCA | International Marine Contractors Association |
| IMO | International Maritime Organization (U.N. Agency) |
| IOOA | Irish Offshore Operators Association |
| IOPP | International Oil Pollution Prevention (certificate of) |
| IOSH | Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (UK) |
| IP | Institute of Petroleum |
| IPAA | International Petroleum Association of America |
| IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN) |
| IPIECA | International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association. |
| ISDN | Integrated Services Digital Network (digital telephone line) |
| ISM | International Safety Management (IMO code for ships) |
| ISMA | International Ship Managers Association |
| ISO | International Standards Organization |
| IUCN | World Conservation Union |
| IWC | International Whaling Commission |
| JNCC | Joint Nature Conservation Committee (UK) |
| JV | Joint Venture |
| LASER | Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation |
| LED | Light Emitting Diode |
| LIFT | License Information for Trading (web portal)(UK) |
| LNG | Liquefied natural gas |
| LOGIC | Leading Oil and Gas Industry Competitiveness (DTI UK initiative) |
| LPG | Liquefied Petroleum Gas |
| LTI | Lost Time Injury back to top |
| LVL | Low Velocity Layer |
| MAFF | Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (UK) |
| MARPOL | Marine Pollution - International Convention for ships |
| MCA | Maritime and Coastguard Agency (UK) |
| MEL | Maximum Exposure Level |
| MIME | Managing Impacts in the Marine Environment |
| MIP | Magnetic Induced Polarization |
| MMO | Marine Mammals Observer |
| MMPA | Marine Mammals Protection Act (USA Environmental Legislation) |
| MMR | Magnetometric Resistivity |
| MMS | Minerals Management Service (USA Regulator) |
| MOB | Man Over Board |
| MODU | Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit |
| MOPO | Manual of Permitted Operations |
| MRI | Magnetic Resonance Imaging (used in medical diagnostics) |
| MSDS | Material Safety Data Sheet |
| MT | Magnetotelluric |
| MTC | Medical Treatment Case |
| NAAQS | National Ambient Air Quality Standards (USA legislation) |
| NAFTA | North American Free Trade Agreement |
| NEBOSH |
National Examination Board in Occupational Safety & Health (UK) |
| NERC | National Environment Research Council |
| NGO | Non-Governmental Organization |
| NIOC | National Iranian Oil Company |
| NMFS | National Marine Fisheries Service (USA) |
| NMHC | Non Methane Hydrocarbons |
| NMO | Normal Move Out |
| NNPC | Nigerian National Petroleum Company |
| NOAA | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA) |
| NOGEPA | Nederlandse Olie en Gas Exploratie en Produktie Associatie |
| NORM | Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material |
| NPD | Norwegian Petroleum Directorate |
| NRDC | National Resources Defenses Council (USA) |
| NRSC | National Remote Sensing Centre (UK) |
| NSOAF | North Sea Offshore Authorities Forum |
| NVQ | National Vocational Qualification (UK) |
| OCA | Offshore Contractors Association back to top |
| OCIMF | Oil Companies International Marine Forum |
| OCR | Optical Character Reader |
| ODA | Offshore Development Area |
| OGP | International Association of Oil and Gas Producers |
| OIM | Offshore Installation Manager |
| OLF | Norwegian Oil Industry Association (Oljeindustriens Landsforening) |
| OMSA | Offshore Marine Service Association (USA) |
| ONGC | Oil and National Gas Corporation (Indian state owned) |
| OOC | Offshore Operators Committee (USA) |
| OPEC | Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries |
| OPITO | Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization (UK) |
| OREDA | Offshore Reliability and Equipment Databases |
| OSPAR | Oslo and Paris Convention (for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic) |
| PAME | Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment |
| PCM | Pulse Coded Modulation |
| PDVSA | Petroleos de Venezuela SA (state owned) |
| PEL | Permissable Exposure Limits |
| PESGB | Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain |
| PFC'S | Perfluorocarbons |
| PFD | Personal Flotation Device |
| PILOT | Not an Acronym, but DTI UK initiative |
| POB | Persons on Board (i.e. crew count) |
| PON | Petroleum Operations Notice (UK) |
| POSC | Petrotechnical Open Software Corporation |
| PPE | Personal Protective Equipment |
| PSA | Production Sharing Agreement |
| PTW | Permit to Work |
| QC | Quality Control |
| QRA | Quantitative Risk Assessment |
| RADAR | Radio Detection and Ranging |
| RAM | Random Access Memory |
| RCCB | Residual Current Circuit Breaker |
| RCRA | Resource Conservation Recovery Act (USA Environmental Legislation) |
| RDAU | Remote Data Acquisition Unit |
| RHI | Rigid Hull Inflatable |
| RIR | Risk Indentification Report |
| RNLI | Royal National Lifeboat Institute (UK) back to top |
| ROV | Remote Operated Vehicle |
| RYA | Royal Yachting Association (UK) |
| SAC | Special Areas of Conservation (UK) |
| SADIE | Safety Alert Data Information Exchange (UK) |
| SARSAT | Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking |
| SART | Search and Rescue Radar Transponder |
| SCSI | Small Computer System Interface (pronounced Scuzzy) |
| SEG | Society of Exploration Geophysicists |
| SEGY | Geophysical Data Exchange format introduced by SEG in 1975 |
| SHAPC | Safety Health and Personnel Competence (an OGP Committee) |
| SHCMOEI | Safety, Health Commission for the Mining & Other Extractive Industries (Luxembourg) |
| SIA | Social Impact Assessment |
| SINTEF | The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research (Norwegian) |
| SIPS | Seismic Integrated Positioning System (used to monitor seismic streamer positioning) (an acoustic system) |
| SMS | Safety Management System |
| SOAEFD | Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment & Fisheries Department |
| SOLAS | Safety of Life at Sea - International Convention |
| SPA | Special Protection Area (UK) |
| SPE | Society of Petroleum Engineers |
| SWFPA | Scottish White Fish Producers Association |
| SWL | Safe Working Load |
| TEMPSC | Totally Enclosed Motor Propelled Survival Craft |
| TLV | Threshold Limit Values |
| TPA | Thermal Protective Aids |
| TQM | Total Quality Management |
| TRA | Task Risk Assessment |
| TSCA | Toxic Substances Control Act (USA Environmental Legislation) |
| TZ | Transition Zone |
| UHF | Ultra High Frequency |
| UKCS | United Kingdom Continental Shelf |
| UKOOA | United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association (UK) |
| UNCLOS | United Nations Convention on the Law at Sea (1982) |
| UNEP | United Nations Environmental Programme |
| UNICE | Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe |
| USCG | United States Coast Guard |
| USFWS | United States Fish and Wildlife Service back to top |
| UTM | Universal Transverse Mercator |
| UXO | Unexploded Ordnance |
| VDU | Visual Display Unit |
| VHF | Very High Frequency |
| VLF | Very Low Frequency |
| VOC'S | Volatile Organic Compounds |
| VSP | Vertical Seismic Profiling |
| WAP | Wireless Application Protocol |
| WCMC | World Conservation Monitoring Centre |
| WOAD | Worldwide Offshore Accident Database |
| YFP | Yaciemientos Petroliferos Fiscales (Spanish Oil Company) |
