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.

Gramatika

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.

Vārdnīca

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
  • Vārdnīca: Essential petroleum industry vocabulary
  • Lasīšana: A history of oil exploration
  • Klausīšanās: A life in oil
  • Rakstīšana: A day in the life of an oil worker
  • Runājot: Opinions: working in the oil industry
  • Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Oil Exploration and Production
  • Grammar: Past tenses
  • Vārdnīca: Exploration techniques, drilling, reservoirs and extraction methods
  • Lasīšana: How oil exploration has changed over the last 30 years
  • Klausīšanās: Oil exploration: a presentation
  • Rakstīšana: Extracting oil
  • Runājot: Opinions: looking for oil
  • Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

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

Module 4

  • Oil Transportation and Storage
  • Grammar: Present perfect
  • Vārdnīca: Oil transportation methods, pipelines, tankers, storage facilities
  • Lasīšana: Transportation issues for oil companies
  • Klausīšanās: Transporting oil: the problems
  • Rakstīšana: Safe transportation of oil
  • Runājot: Opinions: moving oil
  • Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Safety and Environmental Considerations
  • Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Vārdnīca: Safety regulations, environmental impact, risk assessment, emergency response
  • Lasīšana: Safety and Environmental Hazards at an Oil Refinery
  • Klausīšanās: Safety briefing on an oil rig
  • Rakstīšana: Safety concerns
  • Runājot: Opinions: oil and the environment
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 6

  • Petroleum Industry Regulations and Compliance
  • Grammar: First conditional
  • Vārdnīca: Regulatory bodies, legislation, compliance, permits, inspections
  • Lasīšana: Petroleum industry regulations and compliance
  • Klausīšanās: Updates to regulations
  • Rakstīšana: Rules and regulations
  • Runājot: Opinions: too much regulation?
  • Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 7

  • Petroleum Industry Economics and Market Trends
  • Grammar: Passive
  • Vārdnīca: Market trends, supply and demand, pricing, competition, forecasts
  • Lasīšana: Customer feedback and service reports
  • Klausīšanās: Oil market update
  • Rakstīšana: Investing in oil
  • Runājot: 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
  • Vārdnīca: People in the oil and petroleum industry
  • Lasīšana: The future of petrol
  • Klausīšanās: Is there a future for oil companies?
  • Rakstīšana: Careers in the oil industry
  • Runājot: 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.