Roughneck is a slang term for a person whose occupation is hard-manual labour, typically in a dangerous working environment.

The term applies across a number of industries, but is most commonly associated with oil rigs. 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. Originally the term was used in the traveling carnivals of 19th century America, almost interchangeably with roustabout. By the 1930s the terms had transferred to the oil drilling industry. In the United Kingdom's oil industry starting in the 1970s, roughneck specifically meant those who worked on the drill floor of a drilling rig handling specialised drilling equipment for drilling and pressure controls. In practice, these workers ranged from unskilled to highly skilled, depending subjectively on the individual worker's aptitude and experience. 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. The word roughneck was in use in the U.S. oil drilling industry even earlier and had a similar meaning.

Oil field roughnecks[edit]

Lewis Hine's 1920 Power house mechanic working on steam pump.

In oil fields, a 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: Toolpusher: The highest position at the drilling location, responsible for every crew. A toolpusher may stay on location for a few days or weeks at a time during operations, whereas individual drilling crews work only eight- or 12-hour shifts or "tours" (pronounced as "towers"). Driller: The head of an individual crew, responsible for controlling a rig's machinery during drilling, as well as most other rig operations. Derrickhand (derrick-man): Responsible for the drilling mud, the mud pits where drilling fluids are circulated around the system, and the mud pumps, as well as being the hand up in the derrick manipulating stands into and out of the fingers during tripping operations. Acting as a lead for the driller who is mostly restricted to the rig floor.

Motorman (motorhand): Responsible for maintenance of various engines, water pumps, water lines, steam lines, boilers and various other machinery incorporated into the rig on a daily basis. Also responsible for movement of equipment on site. On a four-man drilling crew the motorman is also the chainhand. Boilerman: Though this position is now obsolete, before the mid-20th century, when most rigs were steam-powered, the boilerman was responsible for the boilers. The boilerman also functioned as the laundryman, steam-cleaning the last crew's greasy work clothes in the "blow barrel" and then hanging them up to dry in the warm air near the boilers. Leadhand/Floorhand ("worm"): Usually the lowest member of the drilling crew, those in this position are often nicknamed "worm", because this hand has the dirtiest and most physically demanding position. The floorhand works primarily on the rig floor where he is the one actually operating the tongs, iron roughneck, tugger, and catwalk, and doing pretty much any other job which is asked of him. Chainhand (Floorhand): This position is given to a floorhand that can also throw chain, but as of 2013 in the oilfields is pretty much just another floorhand that watches out for the worm and does not get as filthy. Roustabout (leasehand): On bigger rigs and offshore rigs, a roustabout does most of the painting and cleaning so roughnecks can take care of other work. Ginsel: The worm's helper. This is also derogatory insult among roughnecks. Also called the fifth hand.

In Canada on land-based rigs, the term roughneck refers to the floorhand.

The Roughneck generally has the following responsibilities:

Assists the well operator in rigging up and rigging down, pulling or laying down rods, tubing, and casing, and transporting drilling rigs and service equipment. Manipulates pipe or drill stem sections on the rig floor during drilling and the removal and replacement of strings. Services oil and gas wells and maintains drilling equipment on the drill floor. Handles and sorts drill tools; cleans and maintains the drill rig area.

PUMPER

The Pumper (Gauger) is responsible for the daily monitoring of well site locations and produced water disposals. Pumpers may also perform routine maintenance on various equipment around the well site utilizing various hand tools. This position requires the ability to work in all types of inclement and/or extreme weather conditions.

Duties Include, but are not limited to:

o o o o o o o o o

Monitor control panels during pumping operations in order to ensure that materials are being pumped Monitor pumping equipment, pipelines, treaters and tanks to ensure they are operating efficiently Operate engines and pumps in order to shut off wells according to production schedules, and to switch flow of oil into storage tanks Perform routine maintenance on equipment Repair gas and oil meters and gauges Repair pipe sections, pumps replace and clean filters Utilize onsite equipment to monitor the condition of fluid contained in storage tanks Monitor tank levels and ensure tanks are not becoming overloaded Call in loads to various trucking companies and ensure they are being picked up

Job Description:

1) Operates steam, gas, gasoline, electric, or diesel pumps and auxiliary equipment to restore and control flow of oil from wells: Opens valves to regulate flow of oil from wells to storage tanks or into pipelines. 2) Turns valves to adjust pressure of separator which separates natural gas from oil. 3) Reads flowmeters, gauges oil in tanks with calibrated steel tape, and prepares reports of amount and quality of oil pumped and in storage. 4) Collects and bottles samples of oil for laboratory analysis. 5) Lubricates and repairs pumps, using grease gun, oilcan, and handtools. 6) Examines pipelines for leaks. 7) Reports major breakdowns and well difficulties. 8) May test and treat oil to reduce water and sediment content according to specifications for pipeline transportation of oil.
HWU

Evolution of hydraulic workover units to sidetrack drilling capability

Nowadays, several of the worlds oil and gas regions are in a mature development phase, with many installations experiencing a decline in hydrocarbon production. Still, they offer the potential for significant reserves from untapped, bypassed or previously noncommercial pockets if there were an economical way to access the reserves.

Many existing well completion designs also are nearing the end of their design life or are no longer suitable for the current production rates. They require workovers, and, ultimately, will have to be abandoned. Production challenges are also compounded by the fact that many of the installations no longer have serviceable rig sets or their cranes have reduced liftweight and height-reach capacity. The latest generation of Hydraulic Workover (HWO) Units addresses these needs by providing lightweight, self-erecting modular systems capable of working under live or dead well conditions. These units can incorporate automated pipe handling and auxiliary services, such as fluid pumping, mud treatment and cutting handling, to reduce crew size and help improve safety. With this evolution in HWO services, operators can now employ cost-effective sidetrack drilling as a replacement for drilling rig sets, especially in areas previously designated as uneconomical to drill. History of HWO services The evolution of HWO services can be traced back to the 1920s. Halliburton hydraulic workover operations began in 1929 when Mr. H.C. Otis, Sr. designed, patented and built the worlds first unit to run or pull pipe under pressure. Thats when cable-operated rig-assist (RA) devices (Figure 1) were first introduced to the industry to enable snubbing of pipe velocity strings under live well conditions. These units utilized the drilling rig block to push the pipe via an arrangement of pulleys and cables and later chains into the well. The cable was attached to a travelling head which contained a set of inverted slips to grip the pipe. A set of stationary slips attached to the blowout preventer (BOP) stack, then held pipe when the travelling head was repositioned (Figure 2). As the rig block pulled up, the cable was pulled through the pulley and pulled the pipe downward. Once the pipe had reached the heavy state, where the pipes buoyant weight is greater than the force generated by the wells pressure exerted on the pipes area, the block would be converted back to normal elevator operations. The BOP stack consisted of a number of pipe rams that sealed against the pipe and could be manipulated to allow the collars to pass without losing well integrity. An internal pipe seal was achieved with check valves or removable plugs. It was forty years later, in the 1960s, when the first generation of HWO using hydraulic cylinders to replace the cable and pulley system was introduced to the industry. These units had the advantage of not rig to be present and provided the first services (Figure 3). HWO units typically eight- to 10-foot stroke. A workbasket at the top of the hydraulic jack assembly area for the crew to make up the pipe and BOP stack. Standalone HWO units typically do not have back pipe and can only run pipe in singles.

requiring the drilling standalone HWO have a jackwith an (Figure 4) positioned provided the work control the jack and

the facility to rack

This style of unit has evolved over the years to include telescopic guides between the stationary and travelling head to prevent buckling of the pipe during high snub forces. Powered rotary heads are also installed on the travelling head to provide rotation of the pipe. The range of HWO operations can be expanded with the introduction of a work window between the stationary slips and BOP stack. The window provides means to deploy and attach control lines and electric submersible pump (ESP) power lines to the work string without risking damage as when going through the slips and jack. It also allowed deployment of BHAs or completion components, such as hangers, which have a larger outside diameter than the through bore of the jack. With this development, HWO units could compete directly with conventional workover rigs for completion workovers. During these operations, singles are normally run with trip speed constrained by the time to torque up the joints, and attach control lines, ESP power lines clamps, to the completion string. Tower systems were later introduced to (Figure 5) remove the need for guide wires to maintain HWO unit vertically and allowed the complete assembly to be skidded between wells in offshore applications. Towers also improved the primary access and escape routes through built-in stairs. Increased activity in underbalanced drilling in the late 1990s led HWO units to return to their rig-assist roots. Though hydraulic cylinder jack systems now replaced the cable systems previously used to achieve the rig assist, These various developments have allowed modern HWO units to perform a wide range of operations both in dead and live well conditions: Scale and fill removal Fishing and milling Perforating Acidizing and washing Drilling sidetrack, underbalanced drilling, Managed Pressure Drilling Completion and ESP installation and changeouts Plug and abandonment Well control.

Next-generation HWO Units While the use of jack style HWO units has been steadily growing, their perceived limitations pipe-trip speed, ease of rig-up and crew size have been obstacles to wider adoption in preference to reinstating platform rig sets. Similarly, these concerns have prevented current HWO units from filling the shortage of small- to medium-class land rigs resulting from high drilling activity. The next generation of HWO units developed by Halliburton, addresses these constraints while maintaining portability and flexibility of use features. The primary constraint to trip speed with cylinder jacks is the stroke length which requires three to four stroke operations to trip a single joint of pipe. A full single long stroke capability provided by a rack and pinion technology overcomes the multiple stroke concern. A series of hinged rack segments, which are contained within a lightweight narrow mast, is driven by a set of pinion motors at the base of the mast (Figure 6). The system can support either a power-swivel, double-slips rotary head, (15,000 ft/lbm at 94 RPM) or a topdrive (25,000 ft/lbm at 150 RPM) depending on the type of operation. The mast has a stroke of 55 feet and can accommodate Range III pipe with a tripping speed of 45 joints per hour in power-swivel configuration and 30 joints per hour with the topdrive. The drive mechanism is extremely compact and has the ability to push (125,000 lbm), as well as to pull (300,000 lbm). All pipe loads are transferred to the motors, requiring the mast only to provide lateral support and counter the torque generated by rotation. As such, a rack and pinion mast structure is typically at least 20 percent lighter than a conventional A frame wire-rope-driven derrick structure. The mast has been incorporated into a modular design such that the maximum lift of any of the system components is under 10 Tons. A specially designed pivot allows the mast to be erected using a limited capacity crane with a jib reach of only 35 feet (Figure 7).

When constructed, the unit has a small footprint of 18.4 feet by 15 feet. The complete mast structure can be erected and operational offshore in less than 36 hours (Figure 8). State-of-the-art PLCs control and automate the unit and auxiliary equipment functions. A crew of only three can operate the unit

when performing workovers and a crew of five works sidetrack drilling operations. Pipe is lifted to the drill floor by a pipe handling table, which can store up to 15 joints of fiveinch drillpipe. The individual single are then loaded individually up to and from the floor. The topdrive can then latch the pipe and makeup without any crew-handling. This unit has been designed to incorporate a 10-foot stroke cylinder-style rig-assist jack, providing extra pull capacity up to 600,000 pounds and snub of some 300,000 pounds. The jacks travelling head is mounted on a passive bearing which allows the topdrive or power swivel to rotate the pipe. The jack design allows a full through bore of 37-1/2 inches. (Figure 9).

The unit can be provided with a purpose built modular mud system, typically 210 cubic metres, and cuttings handling package which has been designed to be controlled and monitored from the drillers cabin. The modular design allows easy expansion or reduction to meet the needs to a particular operation and production facility. The fluid pumping package is similarly remotely run from the cabin. For drilling operations, the unit can be mounted on a substructure which has integrated Xmas tree and BOP stack trolleys for ease of access. Principle features: Modular construction, each component 10,000 kilograms or less Efficient construction; self-erecting 300,000-pound pull capacity with an optional integrated 600,000- pound rigassist jack 125,000-pound push capacity with an optional integrated 300,000-pound rigassist jack Ability to handle Range I, II and III Power swivel torque of 15,000 ft/lbm at 94 RPM Topdrive rotary capacity, 25,000 ft/lbm at 150 RPM Skid mounted, with ability to skid between multiple well slots Reduced staffing levels three per shift workover, five per shift sidetrack drilling 45 jts/hr power swivel and 30 jts/hr topdrive trip speed BOP and wellhead handling device Integrated modular pump and fluids system.

Conclusion Since their inception in the 1920s as cable-operated rig-assist systems, HWO units have evolved to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry. In their latest form, HWO units have the capacity to perform the duties of a conventional crown-block drilling rig for

workover and sidetrack drilling operations. These units provide an economic method for extending the lifespan of mature field installations with decommissioned drilling structure.

RIG SUPERINTENDENT
Job Description: Primary Focus The Rig Superintendent is responsible for co-ordination of the field activities in a multi-rig operation and for the economic provision and efficient deployment of resources. Specific Accountabilities Management To provide quality assurance to all aspects the operation of all rigs, logistics equipment (if applicable) and oversee the application of standards and policies To plan and manage the efficient and timely provision of support services and supplies to rig operations and to plan and provide logistical support To apply his or her experience directly in the event of non-routine activities on the rigs and to co-ordinate activities in the event of an incipient or actual emergency or incident To advise the Operations Manager, Maintenance Manager, and HSE Manager of all issues that require their attention whether immediately or in the future To assist and support the Area Manager in identifying and accessing profitable new opportunities in the country of operations Provide leadership and guidance to direct reports, and manage their efforts so as to maximize their contribution to operational effectiveness and performance Supervise rig personnel to ensure all paperwork is properly filled out and submitted on timely basis. Maintain daily contact with Rig Managers to stay abreast of current and planned activities.

Operations To review rig performance and develop plans to enhance rig specifications so as to profitably deliver improved service to customers Conduct, together with the Operator's field representatives and 24 HrSupervisors, timely reviews of the drilling or work over programs. Develop improvements to practices which will improve performance and enhance economics Liaise with Operations Manager and other department heads to co- ordinate their activities in supporting the operations, and in particular for the supply of materials, services and specialist expertise Ensure that drilling operations are conducted in accordance with applicable legislation and develop constructive relationships with the relevant authorities Work in conjunction with the Construction Supervisor so that locations are ready on time and are adequate to handle the desired drilling and operations

HSE Personally responsible for own safety and conducting ones self to the standards of Policies and Procedures Take personal responsibility for, and demonstrate leadership in, HSE. Regularly attend rig safety meetings and coach 24 Hr Supervisors in conducting such meetings Develop and maintain emergency response plans and procedures

Conduct regular inspections of rigs and follow-up on all remedial actions Coach all subordinates in performing their duties and manage their professional development, keeping current the validity of all personal certification and training and maintaining technical proficiency.

Other Maintain all required records and documentation for field operations and produce accurate and timely reports on all aspects of field activities Procure and schedule all necessary third party services and equipment to support field operations Manage and prioritize the deployment of assets in field operations Establish a culture of continuous improvement in field operations and demonstrate results in this regard. Work with the Operator's field management and other service providers in the field to develop improved practices which will positively impact on field operations Liaise with Operator's other contractors who are involved in field operations so as to achieve cohesion in concurrent/simultaneous operations and cross-company teamwork & effectiveness Schedule and coordinate drilling rig movements to accomplish the company's drilling program. Communicate with the Clients representatives to insure operational performance meets their expectations. Review all procedures before commencing any drilling operation. Be familiar with the appropriate drilling prognosis or other paperwork pertinent to that particular operation. Review and approve all invoicing related to drilling work. Directs and assures compliance with the company's safety systems.

Performs other related duties as assigned. Track the company's field assets. Review net income statements for cost analysis between rig operating costs. Be involved in, the identifying of safe and suitable duties for injured workers. To be involved in, the development, progress and return to work of injured workers, whilst complying with all aspects of privacy and confidentiality. Injured workers will be managed in a fair and equitable manner having regard to their cultural and linguistic ability and level of literacy.

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