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8 The mousehole is a lined hole into which the crew puts a lengths, or joint, of drill
pipe during drilling operations.
9 The crew often secures the conductor pipe in the hole with the drilling mud.
10 Built-in engines and screws (propellers) move the rig through the water.
8 Fill in the gaps.
a) pit d) contractor g) migratory
b) bulldozer e) wastes h) hole
c) fence f) sensitive i) plastic
Modern reserve pits mainly hold rig _____ (1) temporarily. For example,
cuttings carried up the _____ (2) by the drilling mud fall into the reserve _____(3).
After finishing the well, the drilling _____ (4) or operator removes any harmful
material that may be in the pit and properly disposes of it. A _____ (5) then covers it
with dirt and levels it. If necessary, the contractor lines а reserve pit with _____ (6) to
prevent soil and groundwater pollution (fig. 61). In especially _____ (7) areas, such
as in a _____ (8) bird flyway or in a wildlife refuge, contractors cover the pit with
netting to prevent birds from landing in it. In addition, they may put up a _____ (9) to
keep cattle or wildlife out.
9 Scan the text and correct spelling and grammar mistakes.
On a drilling locations where the ground are soft, a rathole rig and crew cannot
be needed. Instead, the contractor can usualy move in the regular rig and his crews
right away. Once the driling crew members got the regular rig ready, they rig up a
pile diver and drive the conductors casing onto the ground, just as Colonel Drake did
in Oil Creek. Though, peoples in the oil patch sometime call conductor casing “drive
pipe.” After driving a casing, the rig crew begans drilling inside it.
If the ground is too difficult for the conductor pipe to be drive, crew members can use
the regular rig to drill the conductor hole. What's more, they may also drill the rat
hole and mouthhole, using specific equipment on the regular rig.
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