Rig Up ~ Shelby Leasure

rig up ~ 1. vb. [Drilling]. To make ready for use.

Many believe that high school teenagers aren’t capable of much. However, the students in the Oil and Gas shop at Lawrence County Career and Technical Center are proving that stereotype wrong.

Since October, the students in both A and B week have been planning and building their own Standard Oil Rig. Although they’ve already been working for five months, they still have another three months of hard work ahead of them. 

“For the students, building a standard rig from scratch is a huge deal. Honestly, it would be a huge deal for experienced adults as well,” states Jay Parsons, LCCTC Oil and Gas instructor. He continues to say that rigs of this kind were used from the 1860’s until approximately the 1970’s. LCCTC’s rig consists of a quarter mile of steel, valued at close to 13,000 dollars, and is 35 feet tall!

With each new level, students learn valuable
skills which help them build their resumes!

Of course, a project of this magnitude requires many safety measures. Parsons has trained his students to strategically plan, ensuring that this project is as safe as possible. 

Safety first!  Learning how to use the harnesses keeps our kids safe!

"More than just theory, being able to build this rig gives me true-job experience,” Nick Neupauer, Ellwood City sophomore states. “I also get to experience varying heights and am able to learn the safety strategies needed for this career."

Strapped in to their safety harnesses, the O & G
students pass equipment using "Hercules."

The students are required to wear safety glasses, steel toed boots, fire resistant clothing suits, and hard hats. When climbing their newly built rig, the students are required to wear safety harnesses. To safely lift equipment into the air at such steep heights, they use a pulley system called a wench. The wench, originally used in 1927 to pull ships from Lake Erie to dry dock, is fondly named, “Hercules”.

The oil and gas students haven’t worked alone on this product. Contributing shops include Welding, Auto Tech, Machine Tech, Construction Trades, and Electrical. Many businesses have also had a part in the making of the rig including Hilcorp, Columbia Midstream, and Orr Safety.

According to Parsons, this rig is the only rig of its kind. “Nobody has ever built anything like this; it’s truly one of a kind.” By this, he means that no high school in the entire United States has ever built their own oil rig. Two other rigs, built at college level, cost close to 1.2 million dollars to build; in retrospect, our rig is a bargain.

Not only is it the only rig in America built by high school students, once the project is complete, it will be topped with a flag that came from the United States Capitol Building in Washington DC. The flag was flown on January 2nd, 2018, and its dimensions are an impressive 5x8 feet.

Parsons stated excitedly. “If we can’t buy it, we’ll build it!” 

The project is gathering a lot of interest; it very clear to see that many are excited about this standard rig to come up and running in May, 2018.

Update (2.28.18):  The flag is now
atop the rig.  Congratulations, to
Mr. Parsons and the
Oil and Gas students!
Job well-done!

For more information about how LCCTC can help you
get a jump-start on your career, check out this link:
http://www.lcvt.tec.pa.us/?PageName=bc&n=135996