English for the Petroleum Industry

Introduction

English for the Petroleum Industry is an online course, consisting of 56 units of English, and providing approximately 60 hours of study for students.

Course aims

To give students at Intermediate, CEFR B1/Upper Intermediate B2 level practice in general and business-oriented language required for business contexts at this level, specifically tailored towards the specialisation of oil and petroleum. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking and pronunciation.

Γραμματική

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Use present and past tenses correctly
  • Use the appropriate conditional forms to talk about situations and consequences.
  • Use the present perfect to describe a link between past and present events.
  • Use going to and will to talk about future predictions and intentions.
  • Use the passive form correctly
  • Distinguish and be able to correctly describe countable and uncountable nouns.

Λεξιλόγιο

By the end of the course students will have learnt approximately 120 lexical items used in a oil and petroleum setting.

Skills

By the end of the course students will have had exposure to and practice in reading and hearing formal and informal English from a variety of accents and oil and petroleum contexts.

Unit summary

Module 1

  • Introduction to the Petroleum Industry
  • Grammar: Present tenses
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Essential petroleum industry vocabulary
  • Ανάγνωση: A history of oil exploration
  • Ακρόαση: A life in oil
  • Γράφοντας: A day in the life of an oil worker
  • Μιλώντας: Opinions: working in the oil industry
  • Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Oil Exploration and Production
  • Grammar: Past tenses
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Exploration techniques, drilling, reservoirs and extraction methods
  • Ανάγνωση: How oil exploration has changed over the last 30 years
  • Ακρόαση: Oil exploration: a presentation
  • Γράφοντας: Extracting oil
  • Μιλώντας: Opinions: looking for oil
  • Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

  • Oil Refining and Processing
  • Grammar: Going to and Will
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Oil refining processes, distillation, cracking, product streams
  • Ανάγνωση: Oil: the journey from the ground to the petrol tank
  • Ακρόαση: Processing different types of crude oil (light and heavy)
  • Γράφοντας: Refining crude oil
  • Μιλώντας: Opinions: making petrol
  • Pronunciation: Bet and But + connected speech

Module 4

  • Oil Transportation and Storage
  • Grammar: Present perfect
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Oil transportation methods, pipelines, tankers, storage facilities
  • Ανάγνωση: Transportation issues for oil companies
  • Ακρόαση: Transporting oil: the problems
  • Γράφοντας: Safe transportation of oil
  • Μιλώντας: Opinions: moving oil
  • Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Safety and Environmental Considerations
  • Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Safety regulations, environmental impact, risk assessment, emergency response
  • Ανάγνωση: Safety and Environmental Hazards at an Oil Refinery
  • Ακρόαση: Safety briefing on an oil rig
  • Γράφοντας: Safety concerns
  • Μιλώντας: Opinions: oil and the environment
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 6

  • Petroleum Industry Regulations and Compliance
  • Grammar: First conditional
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Regulatory bodies, legislation, compliance, permits, inspections
  • Ανάγνωση: Petroleum industry regulations and compliance
  • Ακρόαση: Updates to regulations
  • Γράφοντας: Rules and regulations
  • Μιλώντας: Opinions: too much regulation?
  • Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 7

  • Petroleum Industry Economics and Market Trends
  • Grammar: Passive
  • Λεξιλόγιο: Market trends, supply and demand, pricing, competition, forecasts
  • Ανάγνωση: Customer feedback and service reports
  • Ακρόαση: Oil market update
  • Γράφοντας: Investing in oil
  • Μιλώντας: Opinions: should I invest in oil?
  • Pronunciation: Guess and Yes + connected speech

Module 8

  • What does the future hold for the oil industry?
  • Grammar: Second conditional
  • Λεξιλόγιο: People in the oil and petroleum industry
  • Ανάγνωση: The future of petrol
  • Ακρόαση: Is there a future for oil companies?
  • Γράφοντας: Careers in the oil industry
  • Μιλώντας: Opinions: oil or alternative energies?
  • Pronunciation: Hope and Hop + connected speech

Follow-up

Students completing the English for the Petroleum Industry course should feel confident in tackling any upper intermediate course, including our Upper Intermediate Business Power course.