were replaced with rotary drilling, which could drill boreholes to
Technical English much greater depths and in less time. The record-depth Kola
(Workshop: 10%)
DRILLING
It is the process of drilling a hole in the ground for the extraction
of a natural resource such as ground water, natural gas, or
petroleum. Drilling for the exploration of the nature of the
material underground (for instance in search of metallic ore) is
best described as borehole drilling, or 'drilling'. The earliest wells
were water wells, shallow pits dug by hand in regions where the
water table approached the surface, usually with masonry or
wooden walls lining the interior to prevent collapse. Modern
drilling techniques utilize long drill shafts, producing holes much
narrower and deeper than could be produced by digging. Well
drilling can be done either manually or mechanically and the
nature of required equipment varies from extremely simple and
cheap to very sophisticated.
History
According to George E. Totten, the earliest known oil wells were
drilled in China in 347 CE. They had depths of up to about 800
feet (240 m) and were drilled using bits attached to bamboo
poles. The oil was burned to evaporate brine and produce salt. By
the 10th century, extensive bamboo pipelines connected oil wells
with salt springs. The ancient records of China and Japan are said
to contain many allusions to the use of natural gas for lighting
and heating. Petroleum was known as burning water in Japan in
the 7th century. The Middle East's petroleum industry was
established by the 8th century, when the streets of the newly
constructed Baghdad were paved with tar, derived from
petroleum that became accessible from natural fields in the
region. According to Kasem Ajram, petroleum was distilled by the
Persian alchemist Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) in the
9th century, producing chemicals such as kerosene in the alembic
(al-ambiq), and which was mainly used for kerosene lamps. Arab
and Persian chemists also distilled crude oil in order to produce
flammable products for military purposes. Through Islamic Spain,
distillation became available in Western Europe by the 12th
century.
Some sources claim that from the 9th century, oil fields were
exploited in the area around modern Baku, Azerbaijan, to
produce naphtha for the petroleum industry. These fields were
described by Marco Polo in the 13th century, who described the
output of those oil wells as hundreds of shiploads. When Marco
Polo in 1264 visited the Azerbaijani city of Baku, on the shores of
the Caspian Sea, he saw oil being collected from seeps. He wrote
that "on the confines toward Geirgine there is a fountain from
which oil springs in great abundance, in as much as a hundred
shiploads might be taken from it at one time."
Shallow pits were dug at the Baku seeps in ancient times to
facilitate collecting oil, and hand-dug holes up to 35 metres (115
ft) deep were in use by 1594. These holes were essentially oil
wells. Apparently 116 of these wells in 1830 produced 3,840
metric tons (about 28,000 barrels) of oil. Also, offshore drilling
started up at Baku (then Russian Empire) at Bibi-Eibat field in
1846. In the New World, the first commercial oil well entered
operation in Oil Springs, Ontario in 1858, while the first offshore
oil well was drilled in 1896 at the Summerland Oil Field on the
California Coast.
The earliest oil wells in modern times were drilled percussively,
by hammering a cable tool into the earth. Soon after, cable tools
Borehole used non-rotary mud motor drilling to achieve a depth
of over 12,000 metres (39,000 ft). Until the 1970s, most oil wells
were vertical, although lithological and mechanical imperfections
cause most wells to deviate at least slightly from true vertical.
However, modern directional drilling technologies allow for
strongly deviated wells which can, given sufficient depth and with
the proper tools, actually become horizontal. This is of great
value as the reservoir rocks which contain hydrocarbons are
usually horizontal, or sub-horizontal; a horizontal wellbore placed
in a production zone has more surface area in the production
zone than a vertical well, resulting in a higher production rate.
The use of deviated and horizontal drilling has also made it
possible to reach reservoirs several kilometers or miles away
from the drilling location (extended reach drilling), allowing for
the production of hydrocarbons located below locations that are
either difficult to place a drilling rig on, environmentally sensitive,
or populated.
Drilling rig
A drilling rig is a machine which creates holes (usually called
boreholes) and/or shafts in the ground. Drilling rigs can be
massive structures housing equipment used to drill water wells,
oil wells, or natural gas extraction wells, or they can be small
enough to be moved manually by one person. They sample sub-
surface mineral deposits, test rock, soil and groundwater physical
properties, and also can be used to install sub-surface
fabrications, such as underground utilities, instrumentation,
tunnels or wells. They can be mobile equipment mounted on
trucks, tracks or trailers, or more permanent land or marine-
based structures (such as oil platforms, commonly called
'offshore oil rigs' even if they don't contain a drilling rig). The
term "rig" therefore generally refers to the complex of
equipment that is used to penetrate the surface of the Earth's
crust.
Drilling rig classification
There are many types and designs of drilling rigs, with many
drilling rigs capable of switching or combining different drilling
technologies as needed. Drilling rigs can be described using any
of the following attributes:
By power used
 Mechanical — the rig uses torque converters, clutches, and
transmissions powered by its own engines, often diesel
• Electric — the major items of machinery are driven by electric
motors, usually with power generated on-site using internal
combustion engines
 Hydraulic — the rig primarily uses hydraulic power
 Pneumatic — the rig is primarily powered by pressurized air
 Steam — the rig uses steam-powered engines and pumps
(obsolete after middle of 20th Century)
By pipe used
• Cable — a cable is used to raise and drop the drill bit
• Conventional — uses metal or plastic drill pipe of varying types
• Coil tubing — uses a giant coil of tube and a downhole drilling
motor
By height
• Single — can pull only single drill pipes. The presence or
absence of vertical pipe racking "fingers" varies from rig to rig.
• Double — can hold a stand of pipe in the derrick consisting of
two connected drill pipes, called a "double stand".
• Triple — can hold a stand of pipe in the derrick consisting of
three connected drill pipes, called a "triple stand".
By method of rotation or drilling method
• No-rotation includes direct push rigs and most service rigs
• Rotary table — rotation is achieved by turning a square or  Monkey board is the structure used to support the top end of
hexagonal pipe (the "Kelly") at drill floor level. the stands of drill pipe vertically situated in the derrick.
• Top drive — rotation and circulation is done at the top of the  Mud pump is a reciprocal type of pump used to circulate
drill string, on a motor that moves in a track along the derrick. drilling fluid through the system.
• Sonic — uses primarily vibratory energy to advance the drill  Mud tank is often called mud pits and stores drilling fluid until
string it is required down the wellbore.
• Hammer — uses rotation and percussive force  Pipe rack is a part of the drill floor where the stands of drill pipe
By position of derrick are stood upright. It is typically made of a metal frame structure
• Conventional — derrick is vertical with large wooden beams situated within it.
• Slant — derrick is slanted at a 45 degree angle to facilitate  Rotary table rotates, along with its constituent parts, the kelly
horizontal drilling and kelly bushing, the drill string and the attached tools and bit.
 Shale shaker separates drill cuttings from the drilling fluid
List of components of oil drilling rigs before it is pumped back down the wellbore.
 Bell nipple is a section of large diameter pipe fitted to the top  Stand is a section of 2 or 3 joints of drill pipe connected
of the blowout preventers that the flow line attaches to via a side together and stood upright in the derrick. When they are pulled
outlet, to allow the drilling mud to flow back to the mud tanks. out of the hole, instead of laying down each joint of drill pipe, 2
 Blowout preventers (BOPs) are devices installed at the or 3 joints are left connected together and stood in the derrick to
wellhead to prevent fluids and gases from unintentionally save time.
escaping from the wellbore. #23 is the annular (often referred to  Standpipe is a thick metal tubing, situated vertically along the
as Hydril named after a manufacturer), and #24 is the pipe rams derrick, that facilitates the flow of drilling fluid and has attached
and blind rams. to it and supports one end of the kelly hose.
 Casing head is a large metal flange welded or screwed onto the  Suction line (#3) is an intake line for the mud pump to draw
top of the conductor pipe (also known as drive-pipe) or the casing drilling fluid from the mud tanks.
and is used to bolt the surface equipment such as the blowout  Swivel is the top end of the Kelly that allows the rotation of the
preventers (for well drilling) or the Christmas tree (oil well) (for drill string without twisting the block.
well production).  Traveling block is the moving end of the block and tackle.
 Crown block is the stationary end of the block and tackle. Together, they give a significant mechanical advantage for lifting.
 Derrick is the support structure for the equipment used to  Vibrating hose is a flexible, high pressure hose (similar to the
lower and raise the drill string into and out of the wellbore. Kelly hose) that connects the mud pump to the stand pipe. It is
 Draw-works is the mechanical section that contains the spool, called the vibrating hose because it tends to vibrate and shake
whose main function is to reel in/out the drill line to raise/lower (sometimes violently) due to its close proximity to the mud
the traveling block. pumps.
 Drill Bit is a device attached to the end of the drill string that
breaks apart the rock being drilled. It contains jets through which
the drilling fluid exits.
 Drill floor is the area on the rig where the tools are located to
make the connections of the drill pipe, bottom hole assembly,
tools and bit. It is considered the main area where work is
performed.
 Drill line is thick, stranded metal cable threaded through the
two blocks (traveling and crown) to raise and lower the drill
string.
 Drill pipe is a joint of hollow tubing used to connect the surface
equipment to the bottom hole assembly (BHA) and acts as a
conduit for the drilling fluid. In the diagram, these are stands of
drill pipe which are 2 or 3 joints of drill pipe connected together
and stood in the derrick vertically, usually to save time while
tripping pipe.
 Drill string is an assembled collection of drill pipe, heavy weight
drill pipe, drill collars and any of a whole assortment of tools,
connected together and run into the wellbore to facilitate the
drilling of a well
 Flow line is large diameter pipe that is attached to the bell
nipple and extends to the shale shakers to facilitate the flow of
drilling fluid back to the mud tanks.
 Goose-neck is a thick metal elbow connected to the swivel and
standpipe that supports the weight of and provides a downward
angle for the kelly hose to hang from.
 Kelly drive is a square, hexagonal or octagonal shaped tubing
that is inserted through and is an integral part of the rotary table
that moves freely vertically while the rotary table turns it.
 Kelly hose is a flexible, high pressure hose that connects the
standpipe to the kelly (or more specifically to the gooseneck on
the swivel above the kelly) and allows free vertical movement of
the kelly, while facilitating the flow of the drilling fluid through
the system and down the drill string.