General Oilpatch Trivia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rig

All the physical components of a drilling rig are collectively referred to as a rig.

Answer: Derrick

The tall red and white (usually) tower on a rig is called a derrick.

Answer: Toolpush

The manager of a drilling rig, solely responsible for the rig itself, and getting the hole drilled, is known as the Toolpush, or Toolpusher.

Answer: Joint

A single length of drill pipe is known as a "joint", while three joints joined together is called a "stand".

Answer: Hydrogen Sulphide

H2S or Hydrogen Sulphide can kill a grown man in concentrations as low as 400 ppm (parts per million), and deaths have been seen in concentrations as low as 100 ppm.

Answer: Driller

The driller is the one person who stands at the control panel and controls the depth of the bit, the drilling speed, the torque on the bit, the rotary brake, and the draw-works, along with supervising a crew.

Answer: Doghouse

The dog house is the small building adjacent to the drilling floor where the rig crew can sit down to eat dinner, or just have a quick break between stands.

Answer: No

Roughnecks are the real grunts on the rig. They are most commonly found on the drilling floor, working the power tongs to add or remove drill stem. Derrickhands work up the derrick, moving stands of pipe so they can be lifted with the draw-works.

Answer: Geologist

"Rocksniffer" is a slang term applied to the on-site geologist.

Answer: Ambient Gas Detector

The Rig Rat is the ambient gas detection system installed on a drilling rig. It can be programmed to detect H2S, low O2 levels, SO2, CO2, Explosive gases, and others.

Answer: Check the wind direction and head to an upwind briefing area

A sustained blast of an airhorn is the most common alarm on the rig rat, indicating that some hazardous gas has accumulated around a sensor. Check the wind direction, and head to an upwind briefing area, and the safety hand will take charge.

Answer: Oil Company Representative

The engineer, or consultant, is hired by the oil company to oversee the entire project of drilling a hole, from rig in to rig out. The engineer ensures that the oil company's budget is being applied properly, and also oversees all activity on a lease.

Answer: Blow-out Preventer

The Blow-out Preventer is specifically designed to prevent a blow out. If there is a catastrophic failure of any sort (excessive pressure build-up, gas pocket, etc.) and the well is in jeopardy of destabilizing, the blow-out preventer has rams that are closed by the driller, shearing the drill stem, and shutting in the well.

The built up gas is then diverted to the flarestack, where it is burned off until the well is safe to re-open.

Answer: Winch Truck

A winch or bed truck (they're pretty much the same thing; a winch truck is a tractor trailer unit, and a bed truck is a tandem steer unit) is used to pull any component of a rig onto a highboy or lowboy trailer. This includes the substructure, derrick, motorshacks, mud tanks, etc.

Answer: Wellhead

A wellhead is a stack of various valves used to seal the well until it is ready for a compressor or pumpjack to be installed. The valves can be opened once a discharge or blowdown line is attached.