The oil and gas industry involves a wide range of organizations,
companies and individuals in the mapping and evaluation of geological
formations, the development and maintenance of facilities to extract and
process natural hydrocarbon resources, and the distribution of their products.
Although some reserves are extracted at low to moderate production rates by
‘independent’ oil and gas companies of relatively small size, the industry is
dominated by a limited number of ‘majors’ — multinational organizations large
enough to mobilize resources, equipment and personnel on a global scale.
Some countries have State-owned oil and gas companies.
The industry is organizationally and technically complex and consequently
has developed an extensive and specific vocabulary. It often occurs that
a number of oil and gas companies invest in the development of a particular
field and an operator is appointed with responsibility for managing the
development and production of the field. The operator usually establishes
contracts with numerous service companies and supply companies that provide
the necessary equipment and expertise. The work of such companies may
include the use of radioactive sources and machines that generate ionizing
radiation, which, to the uninitiated, may not be immediately apparent. The
radioactive source may be incorporated as an essential component of a larger
piece of equipment that is shipped to a field or it may be a significant item that
utilizes ionizing radiation and which is mentioned only in technical terms in
shipping, technical, or similar documentation. In these circumstances, the
regulatory bodies that have to exercise control over the import, transport and
use of radioactive materials and machines must be informed accordingly