Roughneck

This article is about the job title. For the machinery that performs some of the tasks, see Iron roughneck.
Roughnecks on a drilling rig.

Roughneck is a slang term for a person whose occupation is hard-manual labor working on oil rigs. The term applies across a number of industries, but is most commonly associated with oil rigs. The ideal of the hard-working, tough roughneck has been adopted by several sports teams who use the phrase as part of their name or logo.

Originally the term was used in the traveling carnivals of 19th century America, almost interchangeably with roustabout. By the 1930s the terms had transferred to the oil drilling industry. In the United Kingdom's oil industry starting in the 1970s, roughneck specifically meant those who worked on the drill floor of a drilling rig handling specialised drilling equipment for drilling and pressure controls. In practice, these workers ranged from unskilled to highly skilled, depending subjectively on the individual worker's aptitude and experience. By contrast, a roustabout would perform general labor, such as loading and unloading cargo from crane baskets and assisting welders, mechanics, electricians and other skilled workers. The word roughneck was in use in the U.S. oil drilling industry even earlier and had a similar meaning.

Oil field roughnecks

A roughneck.

In oil fields, a roughneck's duties can include anything involved with connecting pipe down the well bore, as well as general work around a rig. The crew of a land-based oil rig can be further divided into several positions:

In Canada on land-based rigs, the term roughneck refers to the floorhand.

Cultural references

The Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League used to use an oil rigging roughneck with a hockey stick as one of their secondary logos. The roughneck, as a symbol of hard work and fortitude, was the inspiration for the Calgary Roughnecks lacrosse team, as well as the Tulsa Roughnecks of the North American Soccer League, the Tulsa Roughnecks of the United Soccer Leagues, and the Tulsa Roughnecks FC of the USL. The West Texas Roughnecks of the Indoor Football League also use this nickname.

Rubbermaid has used the name "Roughneck" for trash containers and storage totes since the mid-1970s.

In Chapter 3 of The Great Gatsby, on first meeting Gatsby, Nick describes him as looking like "an elegant young rough-neck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd." Johnny Cash wrote and performed a song called "Born to Be a Roughneck".

Numerous television programs have focused on the roughneck life, including Oil Strike North (1975), Roughnecks (1994), and Black Gold (2008).

References

  1. Inglis, Tom (January 31, 1988). Directional Drilling (Petroleum Engineering and Development Studies) (2nd ed.). Springer: Springer. p. 236. ISBN 978-0860107163. Retrieved 2 January 2015.