The Real-Life ‘Landman’

Celebrating what drives our industry: safety, opportunity, and genius.

Delivering affordable, reliable, and secure energy rests in the hands of America’s oil and gas workers. Their individual stories highlight what happens when grit and determination meet responsibility and pride in a hard day’s work. Collectively, they represent the nearly 11 million jobs supported by America’s oil and gas industry.

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Important Safety Standards

Safety is the primary goal of the more than 800 standards API has developed since 1924, covering all aspects of the oil and natural gas industry. This commitment to safety also is seen in the Onshore Safety Alliance, a voluntary industry coalition, that works to advance safety in operations.

Below, a sampling of API standards that focus on onshore operational safety and environmental protection.

RP 54, Occupational Safety and Health for Oil and Gas Well Drilling and Servicing Operations – Applies to rotary drilling rigs, well servicing rigs, and special services as they relate to operations on location. The latest edition includes: a new section on flowback operations, which is key for safe well testing; revised requirements for facility and site process hazard assessment and mitigation; and introduction of formal risk assessments.
RP 100-2, Managing Environmental Aspects Associated with Exploration and Production Operations Including Hydraulic Fracturing – Includes recommendations for managing environmental aspects during planning; site selection; logistics; mobilization, rig-up, and demobilization; and stimulation operations; as well as guidance for managing environmental aspects during well construction.
RP 7HU1, Safe Use of 2-Inch Hammer Unions for Oilfield Applications – Specifications for manufacturing oilfield hammer unions – helping to expand future interoperability of the widely used field equipment and enhancing safety for natural gas and oil industry workers.
RP 59, Recommended Practice for Well Control Operations – Provides information that can serve as a voluntary industry guide for safe well control operations.
RP 67, Recommended Practice for Oilfield Explosives Safety – Applies to explosives used in oil and gas well operations, more specifically, explosives used inside the wellbore.
RP 99, Flash Fire Risk Assessment for the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry – Provides guidance for the upstream oil and gas industry on hazard identification and risk assessment exercises to assess and mitigate the risk of human injury caused by exposure to a flash fire.
Bull 75L, Guidance Document for the Development of a Safety and Environmental Management System for Onshore Oil and Natural Gas Production Operations and Associated Activities – Provides general information and guidance for the development of a safety and environmental management system (SEMS) for onshore oil and natural gas operations, including drilling, production, and well servicing activities.
RP 97L, Onshore Well Construction Interface Document – Designed to improve communication between onshore well operators and drilling contractors, to enhance overall safety and environmental management planning.

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In Landman Terms

Drill rig job descriptions and terminology:

Landman – Specialist who negotiates with landowners to securing drilling rights, ensures leases are in place and conducts research on land titles and mineral ownership.
Roughneck – Honor reserved for top-tier drilling crew members. Performs physically demanding tasks including setting up equipment and maintaining the drill.
Toolpusher – Drilling rig boss, working under the drilling superintendent or the company contracting the rig.
Driller – Drilling rig crew supervisor, working under the toolpusher.
Pumper – Worker who monitors and maintains active oil and natural gas wells.
Worm – Inexperienced oilfield worker who is not yet a “hand.”
Christmas tree – An assembly of valves, spools, and fittings that control the flow into or out of a well.
Mud – Drilling fluid that exerts pressure to prevent naturally occurring liquids and gases from entering the well bore, carries out drill cuttings and keeps the drill bit cool.
Wellhead – Provides a structural and pressure-containing interface for the drilling and production equipment at the surface of the well. The wellhead is connected to the casing or tubing that runs down the wellbore, and it seals the annular space between the wellbore and the casing or tubing.
Rig Operator – Responsible for controlling the rig’s drilling equipment, overseeing its operation and ensuring safety protocols are followed.