All About Drilling Electricians

High-volume drilling cannot do without power supply. However, the generating and distribution capacities themselves require vigilant supervision, constant monitoring and periodic debugging. Therefore, it makes sense for those wishing to become oil or gas workers (and not only) to learn everything about electricians for drilling maintenance in order to make an informed choice of profession.

The position of a rig maintenance electrician is significantly different from that of a “regular” electrician. In cities and even in rural areas, if necessary, teams of assistants will always come to the aid of a specialist. Yes, and there is usually no shortage of consumables in tools. And here work on repair of electrical equipment at drilling sites is usually carried out alone, less often - in small teams... You have to save both time and resources, but not to the detriment of the quality of activities, of course.

It is also worth considering:

• not always favorable (to put it mildly) weather conditions;
• confined spaces;
• work mainly on a rotational basis;
• a limited team, on the establishment of contacts with which a lot depends.

Electricians service not only electrical equipment directly related to drilling operations. They also work with voltage control stations, bit feed regulators, and pump drives. The specialist must also accept the equipment (both new and after repair)... Test runs of electrical equipment are carried out under the supervision of engineering personnel.

Also, professionals will have to:

• repair and establish electric boilers;
• check complex electrical circuits, troubleshoot them;
• read drawings and diagrams, draw them up if necessary;
• prepare reports on the work done;
• repair switchgear.

Of course, there is still a lot of other equipment to work with. So, special attention should be paid to work with an electric powder brake of the device of hoisting operations, with relay protection and secondary switching circuits. A good specialist is ready to work even with equipment that has complex feedbacks... He will develop recommendations on how to improve the efficiency of the main systems, how to increase the power factor.

A good drill maintenance electrician is expected to know:

• drilling technology for certain resources;
• fundamentals of electrical engineering, telemechanics and automation;
• types of drilling machines, their constituent parts and functioning features;
• methods determining the need for electricity;
• ways to replace problem components (and their definitions);
• calculations needs in static capacitors;
• customization rules and adjustments apparatus;
• complete electrical diagrams on the rig as a whole and in individual areas.

You have to drill a wide variety of breeds, for a variety of purposes. Therefore, it is important to have general data on drilling for oil, gas, artesian and iodine-bromine waters. Since the number of specialists at the drilling rigs, as already mentioned, is limited, it will be necessary to test new equipment on their own after repair and debugging.

Electricians fix and repair:

• thyristor circuits;
• converters;
• generators;
• control and measuring equipment;
• drives of pumps, winches.

It is also worth considering the limitations on the power of the equipment:

• for 4th grade - no more than 320 kW;
• for 5th grade - no more than 500 kW;
• for 6th grade - anything more powerful than 500 kW.

Special training of this kind is conducted by:

• Multidisciplinary Center "Phoenix";
• ANO UMC DPO "Profi";
• oil and gas prospecting technical school of Orenburg;
• CenterConsult;
• Novosibirsk ETC;
• RostBusinessConsult;
• ANO DPO "Training Center" (Ufa).

In the process of learning, they master a variety of skills and abilities. So, a lot of attention is paid to mastering the work with generators and control circuits... The basic principles of the functioning of technological systems and their electrical infrastructure are mastered. Here you cannot do without solid knowledge of electrical engineering and physics.

Of course, the main vacancies for drilling electricians relate to oil-producing regions. But you can also try your hand at gas fields. Such specialists are still needed at large artesian drilling facilities.

There are quite a few vacancies in companies:

• Gazprom;
• VPT-Neftemash;
• Rosneft;
• Lukoil;
• Surgutneftegaz;
• Tyumenburgeo;
• Sibburenergo (Tomsk);
• EDC;
• Rosgeologia;
• Petro Welt Technologies;
• Prodex Service;
• Bentec Drilling & Oilfield Systems.