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Oil, Gas & Mining vocabulary · Heavy Equipment

Derrick

Meaning in oil, gas & mining, with examples

/ˈderɪk/nounCommon term

In oil, gas & mining, derrick means: The tall steel tower on a drilling rig that holds the hoisting equipment used to raise and lower the drill string and casing.

In Turkish: kule, sondaj kulesi, derrick

How it is used

Many modern land rigs have a mast, raised in one piece, rather than a classic derrick, but people use the words loosely. The derrickman works high up on the monkey board, handling pipe during trips. Old photos of oil fields show forests of wooden derricks.

Example sentences

  1. The derrickman clipped on his harness before climbing the derrick.

  2. A derrick about 45 metres tall stands over the well.

Common collocations

  • derrickman
  • monkey board
  • derrick height
  • rig mast
  • drilling rigThe complete set of machinery used to drill a well, including the tower, engines, pumps, hoisting system and the equipment that turns the drill pipe.
  • drill stringThe long column of connected drill pipe, heavy collars and tools that runs from the rig down to the bit, turning it and carrying drilling mud to the bottom of the hole.
  • tripTo pull the drill string out of the well or run it back in, for example to change a worn bit or a tool. The whole operation is called a trip.
  • platformA large structure standing on the seabed or floating at sea that holds the equipment and living quarters needed to drill wells or produce oil and gas offshore.

More terms: Heavy Equipment

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