Roughneck

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Roughnecks on a drilling rig Drilling Roughnecks.png
Roughnecks on a drilling rig

Roughneck is a term for a person whose occupation is hard manual labor. The term applies across a number of industries, but is most commonly associated with the workers on a drilling rig. The ideal of the hard-working, tough roughneck has been adopted by several sports teams who use the phrase as part of their name or logo.

Contents

Originally the term was used in the traveling carnivals of 19th-century United States, almost interchangeably with roustabout. By the 1930s the terms had transferred to the oil drilling industry, with roughneck used for those who worked on the floor of a drilling rig handling specialised drilling equipment for drilling and pressure controls. By contrast, a roustabout would perform general labor, such as loading and unloading cargo from crane baskets and assisting welders, mechanics, electricians and other skilled workers.

Oil field roughnecks

An oil field roughneck's duties can include anything involved with connecting pipe down the well bore, as well as general work around a rig. The crew of a land-based oil rig can be further divided into several positions:

In Canada on land-based rigs, the term roughneck refers to the floorhand.[ citation needed ]

Cultural references

The Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League used to use an oil rigging roughneck with an ice hockey stick as one of their secondary logos. The roughneck, as a symbol of hard work and fortitude, was the inspiration for the Calgary Roughnecks lacrosse team, as well as the Tulsa Roughnecks of the North American Soccer League, the Tulsa Roughnecks of the United Soccer Leagues, and the Tulsa Roughnecks FC of the USL. The West Texas Roughnecks of the Indoor Football League also use this nickname. In the BAFA National Leagues, the Aberdeen Roughnecks have also adopted the nickname. In the AUDL (American Ultimate Disc League) the Dallas team is also the Roughnecks. One of the inaugural teams of the revamped XFL was the Houston Roughnecks.[ non-primary source needed ]

In Chapter 3 of The Great Gatsby , on first meeting Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway describes him as looking like "an elegant young rough-neck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd."[ non-primary source needed ]

Johnny Cash wrote and performed a song called "Born to Be a Roughneck".[ non-primary source needed ]

Several television programs have focused on the roughneck life, including Oil Strike North (1975), Roughnecks (1994–1995), and Black Gold (2008–2013).[ non-primary source needed ]

Stan Rogers's song "Free in the Harbour", about the migration of Atlantic fisherman to the oil industry for work, describes these migrants as "Calgary Roughnecks from Hermitage Bay." [3]

Starship Troopers has a Mobile Infantry division called Roughnecks Two-Zero, eventually taken over by the film's protagonist, Johnny Rico, becoming "Rico's Roughnecks".

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oil platform</span> Offshore ocean structure with oil drilling and related facilities

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oil well</span> Well drilled to extract crude oil and/or gas

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drilling rig</span> Integrated system to drill wells

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A mud engineer works on an oil well or gas well drilling rig, and is responsible for ensuring the properties of the drilling fluid, also known as drilling mud, are within designed specifications.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drilling fluid</span> Aid for drilling boreholes into the ground

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derrickhand</span> Person who sits atop the derrick on a drilling rig

A derrickhand or derrickman is the person who sits atop the derrick on a drilling rig. Though the exact duties vary from rig to rig, they almost always report directly to the driller. Their job is to guide the stands of the drill pipe into the fingers at the top of the derrick. Other duties might include monitoring pH and calcium levels, viscosity and the mud weight (density), adding chemicals and oil based fluids, and being responsible for the shale shakers and mud pump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drill floor</span>

The drill floor is the heart of any drilling rig. This is the area where the drill string begins its trip into the earth. It is traditionally where joints of pipe are assembled, as well as the BHA, drilling bit, and various other tools. This is the primary work location for roughnecks and the driller. The drill floor is located directly under the derrick.

A tool pusher is an occupation within the oil drilling industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Driller (oil)</span> Leader in charge during well drilling

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coiled tubing</span> Long metal pipe used in oil and gas wells

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Oilfield terminology refers to the jargon used by those working in fields within and related to the upstream segment of the petroleum industry. It includes words and phrases describing professions, equipment, and procedures specific to the industry. It may also include slang terms used by oilfield workers to describe the same.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tripping (pipe)</span>

Tripping pipe is the physical act of pulling the drill string out of the wellbore and then running it back in. This is done by physically breaking out or disconnecting every other 2 or 3 joints of drill pipe at a time and racking them vertically in the derrick. When feasible the driller will start each successive trip on a different "break" so that after several trips fresh pipe dope will have been applied to every segment of the drill string.

Oil well control is the management of the dangerous effects caused by the unexpected release of formation fluid, such as natural gas and/or crude oil, upon surface equipment of oil or gas drilling rigs and escaping into the atmosphere. Technically, oil well control involves preventing the formation gas or fluid (hydrocarbons), usually referred to as kick, from entering into the wellbore during drilling or well interventions.

A service rig is a mobile platform loaded with oil industry service equipment that can be driven long distances within the oil fields to service wells. Unlike drilling rigs, service rigs return to a particular well many times.

References

  1. Inglis, Tom (January 31, 1988). Directional Drilling. Petroleum Engineering and Development Studies (2nd ed.). Springer. p. 236. ISBN   978-0860107163 . Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  2. "How Do Iron Roughnecks Work?". www.rigzone.com. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  3. "Stan Rogers – Free in the Harbour".