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.

Slovná zásoba

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
  • Slovná zásoba: Essential petroleum industry vocabulary
  • Čítanie: A history of oil exploration
  • Počúvanie: A life in oil
  • Písanie: A day in the life of an oil worker
  • Hovorenie: Opinions: working in the oil industry
  • Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Oil Exploration and Production
  • Grammar: Past tenses
  • Slovná zásoba: Exploration techniques, drilling, reservoirs and extraction methods
  • Čítanie: How oil exploration has changed over the last 30 years
  • Počúvanie: Oil exploration: a presentation
  • Písanie: Extracting oil
  • Hovorenie: Opinions: looking for oil
  • Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

  • Oil Refining and Processing
  • Grammar: Going to and Will
  • Slovná zásoba: Oil refining processes, distillation, cracking, product streams
  • Čítanie: Oil: the journey from the ground to the petrol tank
  • Počúvanie: Processing different types of crude oil (light and heavy)
  • Písanie: Refining crude oil
  • Hovorenie: Opinions: making petrol
  • Pronunciation: Bet and But + connected speech

Module 4

  • Oil Transportation and Storage
  • Grammar: Present perfect
  • Slovná zásoba: Oil transportation methods, pipelines, tankers, storage facilities
  • Čítanie: Transportation issues for oil companies
  • Počúvanie: Transporting oil: the problems
  • Písanie: Safe transportation of oil
  • Hovorenie: Opinions: moving oil
  • Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Safety and Environmental Considerations
  • Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Slovná zásoba: Safety regulations, environmental impact, risk assessment, emergency response
  • Čítanie: Safety and Environmental Hazards at an Oil Refinery
  • Počúvanie: Safety briefing on an oil rig
  • Písanie: Safety concerns
  • Hovorenie: Opinions: oil and the environment
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 6

  • Petroleum Industry Regulations and Compliance
  • Grammar: First conditional
  • Slovná zásoba: Regulatory bodies, legislation, compliance, permits, inspections
  • Čítanie: Petroleum industry regulations and compliance
  • Počúvanie: Updates to regulations
  • Písanie: Rules and regulations
  • Hovorenie: Opinions: too much regulation?
  • Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 7

  • Petroleum Industry Economics and Market Trends
  • Grammar: Passive
  • Slovná zásoba: Market trends, supply and demand, pricing, competition, forecasts
  • Čítanie: Customer feedback and service reports
  • Počúvanie: Oil market update
  • Písanie: Investing in oil
  • Hovorenie: 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
  • Slovná zásoba: People in the oil and petroleum industry
  • Čítanie: The future of petrol
  • Počúvanie: Is there a future for oil companies?
  • Písanie: Careers in the oil industry
  • Hovorenie: 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.