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.

Грамматика

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.

Словарный запас

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
  • Словарный запас: Essential petroleum industry vocabulary
  • Чтение: A history of oil exploration
  • Прослушивание: A life in oil
  • Написание: A day in the life of an oil worker
  • Выступление: Opinions: working in the oil industry
  • Произношение: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Oil Exploration and Production
  • Grammar: Past tenses
  • Словарный запас: Exploration techniques, drilling, reservoirs and extraction methods
  • Чтение: How oil exploration has changed over the last 30 years
  • Прослушивание: Oil exploration: a presentation
  • Написание: Extracting oil
  • Выступление: Opinions: looking for oil
  • Произношение: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

  • Oil Refining and Processing
  • Grammar: Going to and Will
  • Словарный запас: Oil refining processes, distillation, cracking, product streams
  • Чтение: Oil: the journey from the ground to the petrol tank
  • Прослушивание: Processing different types of crude oil (light and heavy)
  • Написание: Refining crude oil
  • Выступление: Opinions: making petrol
  • Произношение: Bet and But + connected speech

Module 4

  • Oil Transportation and Storage
  • Grammar: Present perfect
  • Словарный запас: Oil transportation methods, pipelines, tankers, storage facilities
  • Чтение: Transportation issues for oil companies
  • Прослушивание: Transporting oil: the problems
  • Написание: Safe transportation of oil
  • Выступление: Opinions: moving oil
  • Произношение: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Safety and Environmental Considerations
  • Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Словарный запас: Safety regulations, environmental impact, risk assessment, emergency response
  • Чтение: Safety and Environmental Hazards at an Oil Refinery
  • Прослушивание: Safety briefing on an oil rig
  • Написание: Safety concerns
  • Выступление: Opinions: oil and the environment
  • Произношение: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 6

  • Petroleum Industry Regulations and Compliance
  • Grammar: First conditional
  • Словарный запас: Regulatory bodies, legislation, compliance, permits, inspections
  • Чтение: Petroleum industry regulations and compliance
  • Прослушивание: Updates to regulations
  • Написание: Rules and regulations
  • Выступление: Opinions: too much regulation?
  • Произношение: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 7

  • Petroleum Industry Economics and Market Trends
  • Grammar: Passive
  • Словарный запас: Market trends, supply and demand, pricing, competition, forecasts
  • Чтение: Customer feedback and service reports
  • Прослушивание: Oil market update
  • Написание: Investing in oil
  • Выступление: Opinions: should I invest in oil?
  • Произношение: Guess and Yes + connected speech

Module 8

  • What does the future hold for the oil industry?
  • Grammar: Second conditional
  • Словарный запас: People in the oil and petroleum industry
  • Чтение: The future of petrol
  • Прослушивание: Is there a future for oil companies?
  • Написание: Careers in the oil industry
  • Выступление: Opinions: oil or alternative energies?
  • Произношение: 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.