The oil and gas industry represents a significant percentage of the global economy. In the United States alone, the oil and gas industry makes up nearly 8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and supports more than 10 million jobs. In Texas, the oil industry accounts for roughly 35% of the state’s economy. Besides the United States, which is the world’s top oil producer, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, and Canada round out the top five oil-producing countries in the world. Since the oil and gas industry transcends national borders, the role of translation in the oil and gas industry is critical, especially in light of the Ukraine crisis.
On February 24, 2022, Russia shook the world by invading neighboring Ukraine. The reaction of NATO, the European Union, and partner nations was swift and robust. The coalition of Western allies promptly implemented harsh economic sanctions on the Russian Federation for their invasion of a democratic, peaceful neighbor. While economic sanctions have not yet largely targeted the Russian oil and gas industry (the second largest in the world), it has nonetheless been affected.
As a result, many countries are now searching for alternative energy imports. Additionally, many large international oil companies are also cutting ties with Russian energy. Meanwhile, the United States has cut off all Russian oil and gas imports, and the European Union – one of Russia’s largest importers of energy – has pledged to cut their imports from Russia by two-thirds by the end of 2022. With many countries now scrambling to find new energy supplies from new international partners, the role of translation in the oil and gas industry has become even more critical.
Oil & Gas: A Truly Global Industry
For decades, most people assumed that the oil and gas industry was mostly limited to far-away countries in the Middle East. While it is true that Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait are among the most important oil-producing countries in the world, the industry is much more global. This much more global market makes the role of translation in the oil and gas industry ever more important.
Other critical sectors in the oil and gas industry also include Russia, Norway, Brazil, Algeria, Venezuela, Nigeria, Mexico, Colombia, Suriname, Greenland, Indonesia, and Angola, as just a few examples. This means that the language needs for the oil and gas industry, beyond Arabic translation, also involve Russian, Norwegian, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, French, Spanish, Hausa, Greenlandic, Danish, Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia).
In countries like Angola, however, while Portuguese is the official language, other important languages that may be required for translation also include Umbundu, Kimbundu, and Kikongo.
If you are working in any of these regions, you need to be prepared with all your documents translated into the appropriate foreign language. You may need an interpreter to accompany you on overseas trips or during important business calls, or even localize your website into multiple languages.
Why Does the Oil & Gas Industry Need Translations?
Documents in the oil and gas industry can be highly technical. They use a large amount of industry-specific technical terminology and jargon. Therefore, clients cannot trust these critical documents to just any translator or language service provider (LSP). It is vital to select an LSP that has specific experience working in the oil and gas industry. These specialized providers have technical translators that have worked in the industry and are knowledgeable about the subtle linguistic nuances and technical jargon.
Within the oil and gas industry, there are a number of important sub-sectors, including civil engineering, construction, drilling, exploration, global petroleum, environmental & health safety, instrumentation, metallurgy, mining, petrochemical, pipelines, production, seismic, shale, and subsea. Each of these sub-specializations require translators and subject matter experts (SMEs) that are experienced in these areas.
The types of materials that frequently require translation in the oil and gas industry include AutoCAD designs and files, brochures & catalogs, civil engineering documentation, diagnosis manuals, environmental studies & impact reports, HSE reports, legal documents, MicroStation Files, patent applications, process descriptions, production documents, proposals, quality procedures, service manuals, social impact assessments, technical specifications, user manuals, training handbooks, well reports, and much more.
The Translation Source Advantage
If you need highly technical translation, interpretation, and localization services in the oil and gas industry, Translation Source brings more than twenty (20) years of experience in this critical sector, working with languages and materials from all over the world.
Importantly, our translators are highly-experienced in all key technical processes related to the oil and gas industry, including: the mining of gas and oil fields, exploration, drilling, building of pipelines and booster stations, gas processing, oil refining, gas and oil recovery, flow metering, transportation and storage, technical descriptions of oil and gas equipment, marketing, and much more.
If you would like to learn more about Translation Source’s expert translation services in the oil & gas industry, please email us at info@translation-source.com or call us toll-free at (800) 413-7838 to speak with one of our translation project managers.
