Active Vocabulary. 1. personnel персонал, кадры 2. objective цель 3. control console пульт управления 4. operating

Personnel run the rig and keep it running until the well reaches its objective. Many people are involved in drilling. Let us cover the drilling crew first – the group whose job it is to make the rig drill.

The contractor requires trained and skilled personnel to operate and maintain a drilling rig. Keep in mind that a rig, when on site and drilling, operates virtually all the time, night and day, 365 days a year. Personnel directly responsible for making the rig drill are collectively known as the “drilling crew”.

The person in charge of the drilling crew, the top hand, may be called the “rig manager”, “rig superintendent”, or “toolpusher”, depending on the drilling contractor’s preference. Besides the rig manager, or superintendent, each rig has drillers, derrickmen, and rotary helpers (also called “floorhands or “roughnecks”). What is more, large land rigs and offshore rigs often have assistant rig supervisors, assistant drillers, as well as additional personnel who perform special functions particular to the rig.

The rig superintendent (rig manager or toolpusher) oversees the drilling crews that work on the rig floor, supervises drilling operating company, and coordinates operating company and contractor affairs. On land rigs, the rig superintendent is usually headquartered in a mobile home or a portable building at the rig site and is on call at all times. The assistant rig superintendent often relieves the superintendent during nighttime hours and is thus sometimes nicknamed the “night toolpusher”.

The rig superintendent supervises the driller, who, in turn, supervises the derrickman and the rotary helpers. From a control console or an operating cabin on the rig floor, the driller manipulates the controls that keep the drilling operation under way. This person is directly responsible for drilling the hole. Most offshore rigs and large land rigs, especially those working outside the U.S., also have an assistant driller. The assistant driller aids the driller on the rig floor and helps the driller supervise the derrickman and the rotary helpers.

A few of the latest rigs feature automated pipe-handling equipment that takes over the duties of the derrickman. Most rigs, however, require a derrickman when crew members run drill pipe into the hole (when they trip in), or when they pull pipe out of the hole (when they trip out). The derrickman handles the upper end of the pipe from the monkeyboard. The monkeyboard is a small platform in the mast or derrick on which the derrickman stands to handle the upper end of the pipe. The contractor mounts the monkeyboard in the mast or derrick at a height ranging from about 50 to 110 feet (15 to 34 meters), depending on the length of the joints of pipe crew members pull from the hole. The derrickman uses special safety equipment to prevent falls.

Depending on the size of the rig, its equipment, and other factors, a contractor usually hires two or three rotary helpers, or floorhands, for each work shift. On small rigs drilling shallow wells, for example, two rotary helpers on a shift can safely and efficiently perform the required duties. On large rigs drilling deep holes, and offshore, the job usually requires three rotary helpers, but not always. In either case, on conventional rigs, rotary helpers handle the lower end of the drill pipe when they are tripping it in or out of the hole. They also use large wrenches called “tongs” to screw or unscrew (make up or break out) pipe. Some tongs are power tongs, which replace conventional tongs. Besides handling pipe, rotary helpers also maintain the drilling equipment, help repair it, and keep it clean and painted.

Rotary helpers get their name from the fact that much of their work occurs on the rig floor, near the rotary table – the traditional device that turns the drill pipe and bit. Originally, they were also called “roughnecks,” probably because those who worked on early rigs prided themselves in being rough and tough. Later, they became rotary helpers, which added a little dignity to the title. They are also called floorhands because they perform most of their duties on the rig floor.

Besides the drilling crew, many other persons work at the rig site. They may be there during the entire time the well is being drilled, or they may come out only when their expertise or equipment is needed.

The operating company customarily has an employee on the drill site to supervise its interests. The company representative, or company man, on a land rig, like rig superintendent, usually lives on the rig site in a mobile home or portable building. The company representative is in charge of all the operator’s activities on the location. This person helps plan the strategy for drilling the well, orders the needed supplies and services, and makes on-site decisions that affect the well’s progress. The company representative and the rig superintendent usually work closely together.

Large land drilling contractors, who may operate rigs all over the world and who often have several rigs working in a particular area, often employ an area drilling superintendent. This person’s job is to manage and coordinate the activities of the many rigs the drilling company has working in a particular area or region. An area superintendent’s duties include disseminating important information to each rig in the region, ensuring that all rigs are operating well and safely, and assisting each rig’s superintendent when required. Area drilling superintendents frequently travel from rig to rig, so they usually have an office in a town or city in the area.