Oilwell Drilling

Probably one of the best ways to learn about oilwell drilling is to actually visit a drilling rig. In Colorado you will be able to see rigs right off the I-70 corridor and some of the rigs actually give tours of the property to the public. I happened to come across such a rig in Rifle, Colorado. My first visit to this oil rig was very educational, overwhelming and confusing all at the same time. Most drilling rigs are extremely large and very loud. At first glance some of the people who work on the rigs perform actions that don't seem to make much sense to the uneducated observer.

As a writer from Heartland Energy Colorado, having never visited a rig before I can honestly say that I was lost. A drilling rig has many pieces of equipment and most of it is absolutely enormous.

The rig has only one purpose which is to drill a hole in the ground. The rig itself as previously mentioned is enormous. The hole it drills is usually not very large, usually it is less than a foot in diameter by the time it reaches it's final depth. This hole can usually go for thousands of feet. The entire purpose of this drilling is to tap into an oil and gas reservoir which often times lies buried deep in the earth.

Rigs can operate both on land and sea. Rigs that operate in the sea are often referred to as "offshore" rigs, so it is probably most convenient to visit a land rig to begin with. Obviously a land rig is much easier to visit as you can simply drive to a land rig.

When driving to the land rig, you will definitely see part of it way before you actually arrive at the site of the rig. Probably one of the most distinctive parts of the drilling rig will be its strong structural tower called the mast or a "Derrick". Masts or derricks are tall and extremely strong, this is because they have to support the great strain of the drilling tools which usually way many tons. Rick masts and derricks are so very tall because they have to accommodate long lengths of piping that the rig crew raises into it during the drilling process. A Derrick or a mass could be as high as 16 stories which would be the equivalent of 200 feet tall.

Once you have arrived at the rig, you're very first step will be to check in with the boss or site manager. He/she will more than likely be in a mobile home or a portable type building which is on site that serves as an office and sometimes even living quarters. The rig boss may have the intriguing title of "tool pusher"; or, rig workers may call him or her the "rig Superintendent," or the "rig manager." A "tool pusher" is the traditional term for the rig boss.

Once you are touring the rig, it is most likely that you will have to wear a hard hat which is a very tough plastic With the brand to tech your head. Also you will more than likely need to wear steel capped boots which will keep your toes from being crushed and your safety glasses to safeguard your eyes. This safety wear is usually required for everyone. Whether working on a rig or just visiting, everyone must wear personal protective equipment or "PPE" for short. Usually rig hands or rig workers also wear gloves to protect their hands, you might want to wear a pair as well.

With your protective gear on in the rig superintendence permission it's time to go to the rig floor. The rig floor is the main working area of the rig and usually rests on a strong foundation or a substructure which raises it above ground level. To get to the main floor, you usually must have to walk up a set of steel stairs. Sometimes it could be as much as a 40 foot climb to get to the main work area of the rig. Once you are on the floor, you will want to stop for a minute to catch her breath and take a good look around the floor. You will probably see the crew handling several lengths or "joints" of drill pipe, the steel tubes that put the bids (the actual hole boring device) on the bottom of the hole. If the rig is drilling, you may actually hear the distinctive and loud squawk or squeal of the drawworks brake as it slacks off the drilling line to allow the bit to drill ahead. The drawworks is an extremely large and powerful hoist that regulates the weight the drill string puts on the bit. Sometimes a loud screech will come from the friction brake bands every time they ease their grip on the steel hubs of the drawworks drum to apply wait. It's extremely loud but to the rig owner it usually means that that is drilling ahead without problems.

No matter what is going on on the rig floor, make certain that you take the time to observe what's going on because the place in which you're standing is extremely vital for the oil and gas industry. There are other operations besides drilling forgetting crude oil and natural gas out of the ground and converting them into forms that we can use such as gasoline or heating fuel. Without a drilled well though, or a hole in the ground, oil companies could not obtain oil and gas or petroleum at all.

Now at this point, I'm certain that you do not know what the equipment is for or with the personnel is actually doing but don't be troubled. In future posts we will identify most of the people and tools that actually takes to drill and will give you a better appreciation of oil well drilling.