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.

Grammar

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.

Vocabulary

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
  • Vocabulary: Essential petroleum industry vocabulary
  • Reading: A history of oil exploration
  • Listening: A life in oil
  • Writing: A day in the life of an oil worker
  • Speaking: Opinions: working in the oil industry
  • Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Oil Exploration and Production
  • Grammar: Past tenses
  • Vocabulary: Exploration techniques, drilling, reservoirs and extraction methods
  • Reading: How oil exploration has changed over the last 30 years
  • Listening: Oil exploration: a presentation
  • Writing: Extracting oil
  • Speaking: Opinions: looking for oil
  • Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

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

Module 4

  • Oil Transportation and Storage
  • Grammar: Present perfect
  • Vocabulary: Oil transportation methods, pipelines, tankers, storage facilities
  • Reading: Transportation issues for oil companies
  • Listening: Transporting oil: the problems
  • Writing: Safe transportation of oil
  • Speaking: Opinions: moving oil
  • Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Safety and Environmental Considerations
  • Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Vocabulary: Safety regulations, environmental impact, risk assessment, emergency response
  • Reading: Safety and Environmental Hazards at an Oil Refinery
  • Listening: Safety briefing on an oil rig
  • Writing: Safety concerns
  • Speaking: Opinions: oil and the environment
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 6

  • Petroleum Industry Regulations and Compliance
  • Grammar: First conditional
  • Vocabulary: Regulatory bodies, legislation, compliance, permits, inspections
  • Reading: Petroleum industry regulations and compliance
  • Listening: Updates to regulations
  • Writing: Rules and regulations
  • Speaking: Opinions: too much regulation?
  • Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 7

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

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