Rotary Drill Operators Job Description

A Rotary Drill Operator sets up or operates a variety of drills to remove petroleum products from the earth and to remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.

The Rotary Drill Operators has several tasks that they need to perform in their job functions. The following is a brief summary of the required tasks:

Rotary Drill Operator Tasks:

• The Rotary Drill Operator observes pressure gauges and moves control to regulate speed of rotary table and pressure of tools at bottom of boreholes.
• The Rotary Drill Operator selects and changes drill bits according to nature of strata, using hand tools.
• The Rotary Drill Operator pushes levers and brake pedals to control draw works which lowers and raises drill pipe and casing in and out of wells.
• The Rotary Drill Operator withdraws core barrel from hole and extracts core from barrel.
• The Rotary Drill Operator connects sections of drill pipe, using hand tools and powered wrenches and tongs.
• The Rotary Drill Operator counts sections of drill rod to determine depth of borehole.
• The Rotary Drill Operator positions truck-mounted derrick at drilling area specified on field map.
• The Rotary Drill Operator examines operation of slush pumps to ensure circulation and consistency of mud (drilling fluid) in well.
• The Rotary Drill Operator examines drillings or core samples from bottom of well to determine nature of strata.
• The Rotary Drill Operator fishes for and recovers lost or broken bits, casing and drill pipes from well, using special tools.
• The Rotary Drill Operator caps well or turns valves to regulate outflow of oil from well.
• The Rotary Drill Operator keeps record of footage drilled, location and nature of strata penetrated, and materials used.
• The Rotary Drill Operator repairs or replaces defective parts of machinery, using hand tools.
• The Rotary Drill Operator lowers and explodes charge in borehole to start flow of oil from well.

Rotary Drill Operator Knowledge Elements Required

• A Rotary Drill Operator needs knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, benefits, repair, and maintenance.
• A Rotary Drill Operator needs knowledge in engineering and technology. Knowledge of equipment, tools, mechanical devices, and their uses to produce motion, light, power, technology, and other applications.
• A Rotary Drill Operator needs knowledge in physics. Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, dynamics, light, atomic principles, heat, electric theory, earth formations, and meteorological and related natural phenomena.
• Rotary Drill Operator knowledge of mathematics is very important. He must possess knowledge of numbers, their operations, and interrelationships including arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• The Rotary Drill Operator needs knowledge of various methods for describing the location and distribution of land, sea, and air masses including their physical locations, relationships, and characteristics.
• The Rotary Drill Operator must have knowledge of materials, methods, and the appropriate tools to construct objects, structures, and buildings.
• The Rotary Drill Operator must have knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road including their relative costs, advantages, and limitations.
• The Rotary Drill Operator must have knowledge of the composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Rotary Drill Operator Skill Requirements

• The Rotary Drill Operator must have the skills to control operations of equipment or systems.
• The Rotary Drill Operator skill requires them to have the ability to monitor and watch gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• The Rotary Drill Operator must have the skill to repair machines or systems using the needed tools.
• The Rotary Drill Operator must have the skill to determine the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
• The Rotary Drill Operator must have skills in the English language able to communicate effectively in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. He must be capable to work as a team and have others understood his directions.
• The Rotary Drill Operator must have the ability to assess how well one is doing when he is training and be able to identify essential information.

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