Reading How to Find Oil Traps and a Typical Drilling Crew

Drilling is expensive. So oil companies plan carefully before they start drilling. First they make 3D maps of the rocks below the surface. Then they study these maps carefully. They look for possible oil traps.

How do they make these maps? How do they find out what is below the surface? The answer is “seismic waves”.

Seismic waves are sound waves, and they can travel through rock layers.

Most oil companies use vibrator trucks to make seismic waves. These heavy trucks make vibrations on the surface, and vibrations send waves down to the rocks below.

Each rock layer reflects some of the waves. The reflected waves travel up to geophones on the surface. Geophones are like microphones: they convert the waves into electrical signals. A machine in the recording truck records the signals. Computers can convert these signals into 3D maps.

Seismic reflection works at sea too. But the crews use hydrophones, not geophones, and they use an underwater gun to make seismic waves.

A typical drilling crew includes: roustabouts, roughnecks, the derrickman, the driller, the rig manager or toolpusher.

Roustabouts are often the youngest people in a drilling crew. They clean maintain, and move equipment and help the other workers. Roustabouts want better jobs, so they work hard, listen carefully, and learn fast.

Roughnecks are like roustabouts, but they are more skilled. They work on the drilling floor. They connect the heavy drill pipes and put them into the hole, or they disconnect the pipes as they come up out of the hole.

The derrickman works high up on the monkey board about 25 meters above the floor. He guides the top part of the drill pipe. At other times, he helps the mud enginer (or “mudman”): he checks the mud and maintains the pump. The mud must not be too thick or too thin, and the pump must keep working.

The driller supervises and trains the drilling crew, and he controls the drilling equipment. For example, he operates the motor that lifts the drill pipes. He controls the speed of the drill, which must not be too fast or too slow. On very modern rigs, the driller sits in a special driller’s chair. The chair has joystick controls and display screens – like a computer game.

The rig manager or toolpusher is the most senior person in the drilling crew. He is usually the oldest and the most experienced person too. He makes sure the crew has all the right equipment. He is responsible for their safety and for paperwork.

[Источник: L. Lansford, D’Arcy Vallance. Oil and Gas. Student’s Book. Oxford University Press, 2011. – 136c., c. 29, 35.]

Comprehension check

I. Match the term from the text with its definitions.

A	B
1. mud -	a) a skilled person who works on a drill, for example by connecting or separating the pipes in a drill string
2. derrick -	b) the person who moves the top part of a drill string
3. roughneck -	c) a mixture of water, earth, and other materials which cools and cleans the drill bit
4. vibration-	d) a person who controls a drill and managers the work of the drilling crew
5. roustabout -	e) a device that is used on land for recording seismic waves so that you can make a map of the land and rocks in that area
6. geophone -	f) a man with no special skills who does basic work on an oil or gas rig
7.driller -	g) a continuous shaking movement
8. derrickman -	h) a tall structure over an oil well for holding the drill
9. toolpusher -	i) a large vehicle for carrying heavy loads by road
10. truck -	j) relating to earthquakes or other movements of the earth
11. seismic -	k) the most senior person in a drilling crew who is respon sible for managing the staff and the supply of equipment; also known as a rig manager