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.[citation needed] 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.
Drilling rigs 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 rigs can be:

 Small and portable, such as those used in mineral exploration drilling, water wells and
environmental investigations.
 Huge, capable of drilling through thousands of meters of the Earth's crust. Large "mud pumps"
circulate drilling mud (slurry) through the drill bit and up the casing annulus, for cooling and removing
the "cuttings" while a well is drilled. Hoists in the rig can lift hundreds of tons ofpipe. Other equipment
can force acid or sand into reservoirs to facilitate extraction of the oil or natural gas; and in remote
locations there can be permanent living accommodation and catering for crews (which may be more
than a hundred). Marine rigs may operate many hundreds of miles or kilometres distant from the
supply base with infrequent crew rotation.
Contents
 [hide]

1 Petroleum drilling industry

2 History

3 Mobile drilling rigs

4 Drilling rig classification

o 4.1 by power used

o 4.2 by pipe used

o 4.3 by height

o 4.4 by method of rotation or

drilling method

o 4.5 by position of derrick

5 Drill types
 o 5.1 Auger drilling

o 5.2 Percussion rotary air blast

drilling (RAB)

o 5.3 Air core drilling

o 5.4 Cable tool drilling

o 5.5 Reverse circulation (RC)

drilling

o 5.6 Diamond core drilling

o 5.7 Direct push rigs

o 5.8 Hydraulic rotary drilling

o 5.9 Sonic (vibratory) drilling

6 Limits of the technology

7 Causes of deviation

8 Rig equipment

9 See also

10 External links

11 References

[edit]Petroleum drilling industry

Petroleum drilling rig. Capable of drilling thousands of feet

Modern Oil Driller La Pampa Argentina

"Oil and Natural Gas drilling rigs can be used not only to identify geologic reservoirs but also to create
holes that allow the extraction of oil ornatural gas from those reservoirs. Primarily in onshore oil and gas
fields once a well has been drilled, the drilling rig will be moved off of the well and a service rig (a smaller
rig) that is purpose-built for completions will be moved on to the well to get the well on line. This frees up
the drilling rig to drill another hole and streamlines the operation as well as allowing for specialization of
certain services, i.e., completions vs. drilling." Ref. (Innovative Energy Services (Katy, TX)New
technology with Smaller Portable water well rigs that many DIY people and missionary groups are using
are trailer mounted with shorter 10ft drill pipe. The shorter 10ft drill pipe allows you to have a much
smaller mast, which equals smaller and lighter drilling rig. With many people needing water world wide,
smaller, portable rigs are cheaper to ship and can be operated by 1 or 2 men who have much less skill
level. The older more complicated heavy truck rigs require much more skill to run, and the longer 20 to
30ft drill pipe is much more dangerous than the shorter 10ft drill pipe on smaller portable drilling rigs. Also
the smaller portable water well rigs can ship overseas in a 20ft container because of the small size and
weight. Smaller portable trailer mounted drilling rigs have drill ratings from 300 feet to 800 feet depending
on mud pump flow and psi ratings. (http://www.drillcat.com/)

[edit]History
Antique drilling rig now on display at Western History Museum in Lingle, Wyoming. It was used to drill many water wells in
that area—many of those wells are still in use.

Antique drilling Rigs in Zigong, China

Until internal combustion engines came in the late 19th century, the main method for drilling rock was
muscle power of man or animal. Rods were turned by hand, using clamps attached to the rod. The rope
and drop method invented in Zigong, China used a steel rod or piston raised and dropped vertically via a
rope. Mechanised versions of this persisted until about 1970, using a cam to rapidly raise and drop what,
by then, was a steel cable.

In the 1970s, outside of the oil and gas industry, roller bits using mud circulation were replaced by the first
ert pneumatic reciprocating pistonReverse Circulation (RC) drills, and became essentially obsolete for
most shallow drilling, and are now only used in certain situations where rocks preclude other methods.
RC drilling proved much faster and more efficient, and continues to improve with better metallurgy,
deriving harder, more durable bits, and compressors delivering higher air pressures at higher volumes,
enabling deeper and faster penetration. Diamond drilling has remained essentially unchanged since its
inception.

[edit]Mobile drilling rigs

In early oil exploration, drilling rigs were semi-permanent in nature and the derricks were often built on
site and left in place after the completion of the well. In more recent times drilling rigs are expensive
custom-built machines that can be moved from well to well. Some light duty drilling rigs are like a mobile
crane and are more usually used to drill water wells. Larger land rigs must be broken apart into sections
and loads to move to a new place, a process which can often take weeks.

Small mobile drilling rigs are also used to drill or bore piles. Rigs can range from 100 ton continuous flight
auger (CFA) rigs to small air powered rigs used to drill holes in quarries, etc. These rigs use the same
technology and equipment as the oil drilling rigs, just on a smaller scale.
The drilling mechanisms outlined below differ mechanically in terms of the machinery used, but also in
terms of the method by which drill cuttings are removed from the cutting face of the drill and returned to
surface.

[edit]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:
[edit]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 (obsolescent after middle of 20th
Century)
[edit]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
[edit]by height

(All rigs drill with only a single pipe. Rigs are differentiated by how many connected pipe they are able to
"stand" in the derrick when needing to temporally remove the drill pipe from the hole. Typically this is
done when changing a drill bit or when "logging" the well.)

 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".
[edit]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 hexagonal pipe (the kelly) at drill floor
level.
 top drive - rotation and circulation is done at the top of the drillstring, on a motor that moves in a
track along the derrick.
 sonic - uses primarily vibratory energy to advance the drill string
 hammer - uses rotation and percussive force (see Down-The-Hole Drill)
[edit]by position of derrick

 conventional - derrick is vertical

 slant - derrick is slanted at a 45 degree angle to facilitate horizontal drilling
[edit]Drill types
There are a variety of drill mechanisms which can be used to sink a borehole into the ground. Each has
its advantages and disadvantages, in terms of the depth to which it can drill, the type of sample returned,
the costs involved and penetration rates achieved. There are two basic types of drills: drills which produce
rock chips, and drills which produce core samples.

[edit]Auger drilling
Auger drilling is done with a helical screw which is driven into the ground with rotation; the earth is lifted
up the borehole by the blade of the screw. Hollow stem Auger drilling is used for environmental drilling,
geotechnical drilling, soil engineering and geochemistry reconnaissance work in exploration
for mineral deposits. Solid flight augers/bucket augers are used in construction drilling. In some
cases, mine shafts are dug with auger drills. Small augers can be mounted on the back of a utility truck,
with large augers used for sinking piles for bridge foundations.

Auger drilling is restricted to generally soft unconsolidated material or weak weathered rock. It is cheap
and fast.
Cable tool water well drilling rig in Kimball, West Virginia. These slow rigs have mostly been replaced by rotary drilling rigs in
the U.S.

[edit]Percussion rotary air blast drilling (RAB)

RAB drilling is used most frequently in the mineral exploration industry. (This tool is also known as
a Down-The-Hole Drill.) The drill uses a pneumatic reciprocating piston-driven 'hammer' to energetically
drive a heavy drill bit into the rock. The drill bit is hollow, solid steel and has ~20 mm thick tungsten rods
protruding from the steel matrix as 'buttons'. The tungsten buttons are the cutting face of the bit.

The cuttings are blown up the outside of the rods and collected at surface. Air or a combination of air
and foam lift the cuttings.

RAB drilling is used primarily for mineral exploration, water bore drilling and blast-hole drilling in mines, as
well as for other applications such as engineering, etc. RAB produces lower quality samples because the
cuttings are blown up the outside of the rods and can be contaminated from contact with other rocks. RAB
drilling at extreme depth, if it encounters water, may rapidly clog the outside of the hole with debris,
precluding removal of drill cuttings from the hole.

This can be counteracted, however, with the use of 'stabilisers' also known as 'reamers', which are large
cylindrical pieces of steel attached to the drill string, and made to perfectly fit the size of the hole being
drilled. These have sets of rollers on the side, usually with tungsten buttons, that constantly break down
cuttings being pushed upwards.

The use of high-powered air compressors, which push 900-1150cfm of air at 300-350psi down the hole
also ensures drilling of a deeper hole up to ~1250m due to higher air pressure which pushes all rock
cuttings and any water to the surface. This, of course, is all dependent on the density and weight of the
rock being drilled, and on how worn the drill bit is.

[edit]Air core drilling

Air core drilling and related methods use hardened steel or tungsten blades to bore a hole into
unconsolidated ground. The drill bit has three blades arranged around the bit head, which cut the
unconsolidated ground. The rods are hollow and contain an inner tube which sits inside the hollow outer
rod barrel. The drill cuttings are removed by injection of compressed air into the hole via the annular area
between the innertube and the drill rod. The cuttings are then blown back to surface up the inner tube
where they pass through the sample separating system and are collected if needed. Drilling continues
with the addition of rods to the top of the drill string. Air core drilling can occasionally produce small
chunks of cored rock.

This method of drilling is used to drill the weathered regolith, as the drill rig and steel or tungsten blades
cannot penetrate fresh rock. Where possible, air core drilling is preferred over RAB drilling as it provides a
more representative sample. Air core drilling can achieve depths approaching 300 meters in good
conditions. As the cuttings are removed inside the rods and are less prone to contamination compared to
conventional drilling where the cuttings pass to the surface via outside return between the outside of the
drill rob and the walls of the hole. This method is more costly and slower than RAB.

[edit]Cable tool drilling

SpeedStar Cable Tool Drilling Rig, Ballston Spa, NY

Cable tool rigs are a traditional way of drilling water wells. The majority of large diameter water supply
wells, especially deep wells completed inbedrock aquifers, were completed using this drilling method.
Although this drilling method has largely been supplanted in recent years by other, faster drilling
techniques, it is still the most practicable drilling method for large diameter, deep bedrock wells, and in
widespread use for small rural water supply wells. The impact of the drill bit fractures the rock and in
many shale rock situations increases the water flow into a well over rotary.
Also known as ballistic well drilling and sometimes called "spudders", these rigs raise and drop a drill
string with a heavy carbide tipped drilling bit that chisels through the rock by finely pulverizing the
subsurface materials. The drill string is composed of the upper drill rods, a set of "jars" (inter-locking
"sliders" that help transmit additional energy to the drill bit and assist in removing the bit if it is stuck) and
the drill bit. During the drilling process, the drill string is periodically removed from the borehole and
a bailer is lowered to collect the drill cuttings (rock fragments, soil, etc.). The bailer is a bucket-like tool
with a trapdoor in the base. If the borehole is dry, water is added so that the drill cuttings will flow into the
bailer. When lifted, the bailer closes and the cuttings are then raised and removed. Since the drill string
must be raised and lowered to advance the boring, casing (larger diameter outer piping) is typically used
to hold back upper soil materials and stabilize the borehole.

Cable tool rigs are simpler and cheaper than similarly sized rotary rigs, although loud and very slow to
operate. The world record cable tool well was drilled in New York to a depth of almost 12,000 feet. The
common Bucyrus Erie 22 can drill down to about 1,100 feet. Since cable tool drilling does not use air to
eject the drilling chips like a rotary, instead using a cable strung bailer, technically there is no limitation on
depth.

Cable tool rigs now is almost a thing of the past in USA. Cable tool rigs are mostly used in africa or 3rd
world countries. Being slow drilling means more daily wages . In the US drilling wages would average
around 200 us dollars per day per man. In africa it is only 6 us dollars per day wages. So a slow drilling
machine can still be used in undeveloped countries with depressed wages. A Cable tool Rig can drill 25
feet to 60 feet of hard rock a day. A New Rotary Top head Rig with DTH ( Down the Hole Hammer)can
drill 500 feet or more per day, depending on size and formation hardness. ( courtesy Drillcat )

[edit]Reverse circulation (RC) drilling

Reverse Circulation (RC) rig, outsideNewman, Western Australia

Track mounted Reverse Circulation rig (side view).

RC drilling is similar to air core drilling, in that the drill cuttings are returned to surface inside the rods. The
drilling mechanism is a pneumaticreciprocating piston known as a hammer driving a tungsten-steel drill
bit. RC drilling utilises much larger rigs and machinery and depths of up to 500 metres are routinely
achieved. RC drilling ideally produces dry rock chips, as large air compressors dry the rock out ahead of
the advancing drill bit. RC drilling is slower and costlier but achieves better penetration than RAB or air
core drilling; it is cheaper than diamond coring and is thus preferred for most mineral exploration work.

Reverse circulation is achieved by blowing air down the rods, the differential pressure creating air lift of
the water and cuttings up the inner tubewhich is inside each rod. It reaches the bell at the top of the hole,
then moves through a sample hose which is attached to the top of thecyclone. The drill cuttings travel
around the inside of the cyclone until they fall through an opening at the bottom and are collected in a
sample bag.

The most commonly used RC drill bits are 5-8 inches (12.7–20.32 cm) in diameter and have round metal
'buttons' that protrude from the bit, which are required to drill through shale and abrasive rock. As the
buttons wear down, drilling becomes slower and the rod string can potentially become bogged in the hole.
This is a problem as trying to recover the rods may take hours and in some cases weeks. The rods and
drill bits themselves are very expensive, often resulting in great cost to drilling companies when
equipment is lost down the bore hole. Most companies will regularly re-grind the buttons on their drill bits
in order to prevent this, and to speed up progress. Usually, when something is lost (breaks off) in the
hole, it is not the drill string, but rather from the bit, hammer, or stabiliser to the bottom of the drill string
(bit). This is usually caused by a blunt bit getting stuck in fresh rock, over-stressed metal, or a fresh drill
bit getting stuck in a part of the hole that is too small, owing to having used a bit that has worn to smaller
than the desired hole diameter.

Although RC drilling is air-powered, water is also used, to reduce dust, keep the drill bit cool, and assist in
pushing cutting back upwards, but also when collaring a new hole. A mud called liqui-pol is mixed with
water and pumped into the rod string, down the hole. This helps to bring up the sample to the surface by
making the sand stick together. Occasionally, 'super-foam' (AKA 'quik-foam') is also used, to bring all the
very fine cuttings to the surface, and to clean the hole. When the drill reaches hard rock, a collar is put
down the hole around the rods which is normally PVC piping. Occasionally the collar may be made from
metal casing. Collaring a hole is needed to stop the walls from caving in and bogging the rod string at the
top of the hole. Collars may be up to 60 metres deep, depending on the ground, although if drilling
through hard rock a collar may not be necessary.

Reverse circulation rig setups usually consist of a support vehicle, an auxiliary vehicle, as well as the rig
itself. The support vehicle, normally a truck, holds diesel and water tanks for resupplying the rig. It also
holds other supplies needed for maintenance on the rig. The auxiliary is a vehicle, carrying an auxiliary
engine and a booster engine. These engines are connected to the rig by high pressure air hoses.
Although RC rigs have their own booster and compressor to generate air pressure, extra power is needed
which usually isn't supplied by the rig due to lack of space for these large engines. Instead, the engines
are mounted on the auxiliary vehicle. Compressors on an RC rig have an output of around 1000 cfm at
500 psi(500 L·s−1 at 3.4 MPa). Alternatively, stand-alone air compressors which have an output of 900-
1150cfm at 300-350 psi each are used in sets of 2, 3, or 4, which are all routed to the rig through a multi-
valve manifold.

[edit]Diamond core drilling

Multi-combination drilling rig (capable of both diamond and reverse circulation drilling). Rig is currently set up for diamond
drilling.

Diamond core drilling (exploration diamond drilling) utilizes an annular diamond-impregnated drill bit
attached to the end of hollow drill rods to cut a cylindrical core of solid rock. The diamonds used are fine
to microfine industrial grade diamonds. They are set within a matrix of varying hardness, from brass to
high-grade steel. Matrix hardness, diamond size and dosing can be varied according to the rock which
must be cut. Holes within the bit allow water to be delivered to the cutting face. This provides three
essential functions; lubrication, cooling, and removal of drill cuttings from the hole.

Diamond drilling is much slower than reverse circulation (RC) drilling due to the hardness of the ground
being drilled. Drilling of 1200 to 1800 metres is common and at these depths, ground is mainly hard rock.
Diamond rigs need to drill slowly to lengthen the life of drill bits and rods, which are very expensive.

Core samples are retrieved via the use of a lifter tube, a hollow tube lowered inside the rod string by a
winch cable until it stops inside the core barrel. As the core is drilled, the core lifter slides over the core as
it is cut. An overshot attached to the end of the winch cable is lowered inside the rod string and locks on
to the backend, located on the top end of the lifter tube. The winch is retracted, pulling the lifter tube to the
surface. The core does not drop out the inside of the lifter tube when lifted because a "core lifter spring,"
located at the bottom of the tube allows the core to move inside the tube but not fall out.

Diamond core drill bits

Once a rod is removed from the hole, the core sample is then removed from the rod and catalogued. The
Driller's offsider screws the rod apart using tube clamps, then each part of the rod is taken and the core is
shaken out into core trays. The core is washed, measured and broken into smaller pieces using a
hammer or sawn through to make it fit into the sample trays. Once catalogued, the core trays are
retrieved by geologists who then analyse the core and determine if the drill site is a good location to
expand future mining operations.

Diamond rigs can also be part of a multi-combination rig. Multi-combination rigs are a dual setup rig
capable of operating in either a reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling role (though not at the same
time). This is a common scenario where exploration drilling is being performed in a very isolated location.
The rig is first set up to drill as an RC rig and once the desired metres are drilled, the rig is set up for
diamond drilling. This way the deeper metres of the hole can be drilled without moving the rig and waiting
for a diamond rig to set up on the pad.

[edit]Direct push rigs

Direct push technology includes several types of drilling rigs and drilling equipment which advances a drill
string by pushing or hammering without rotating the drill string. While this does not meet the proper
definition of drilling, it does achieve the same result - a borehole. Direct push rigs include both cone
penetration testing (CPT) rigs and direct push sampling rigs such as a PowerProbe or Geoprobe. Direct
push rigs typically are limited to drilling in unconsolidated soil materials and very soft rock.

CPT rigs advance specialized testing equipment (such as electronic cones), and soil samplers using large
hydraulic rams. Most CPT rigs are heavily ballasted (20 metric tons is typical) as a counter force against
the pushing force of the hydraulic rams which are often rated up to 20kn. Alternatively, small, light CPT
rigs and offshore CPT rigs will use anchors such as screwed-in ground anchors to create the reactive
force. In ideal conditions, CPT rigs can achieve production rates of up to 250–300 meters per day.

Direct push drilling rigs use hydraulic cylinders and a hydraulic hammer in advancing a hollow core
sampler to gather soil and groundwater samples. The speed and depth of penetration is largely
dependent on the soil type, the size of the sampler, and the weight and power the rig. Direct push
techniques are generally limited to shallow soil sample recovery in unconsolidated soil materials. The
advantage of direct push technology is that in the right soil type it can produce a large number of high
quality samples quickly and cheaply, generally from 50 to 75 meters per day. Rather than hammering,
direct push can also be combined with sonic (vibratory) methods to increase drill efficiency.

[edit]Hydraulic rotary drilling

Oil well drilling utilises tri-cone roller, carbide embedded, fixed-cutter diamond, or diamond-impregnated
drill bits to wear away at the cutting face. This is preferred because there is no need to return intact
samples to surface for assay as the objective is to reach a formation containing oil or natural gas. Sizable
machinery is used, enabling depths of several kilometres to be penetrated. Rotating hollow drill pipes
carry down bentonite and barite infused drilling muds to lubricate, cool, and clean the drilling bit, control
downhole pressures, stabilize the wall of the borehole and remove drill cuttings. The mud travels back to
the surface around the outside of the drill pipe, called the annulus. Examining rock chips extracted from
the mud is known as mud logging. Another form of well logging is electronic and is frequently employed to
evaluate the existence of possible oil and gas deposits in the borehole. This can take place while the well
is being drilled, using Measurement While Drilling tools, or after drilling, by lowering measurement
tools into the newly drilled hole.

The rotary system of drilling was in general use in Texas in the early 1900s. It is a modification of one
invented by Fauvelle in 1845, and used in the early years of the oil industry in some of the oil-producing
countries in Europe. Originally pressurized water was used instead of mud, and was almost useless in
hard rock before the diamond cutting bit.[1]. The main breakthrough for rotary drilling came in 1901,
when Anthony Francis Lucas combined the use of a steam-driven rig and of mud instead of water in
the Spindletop discovery well.[2]

The drilling and production of oil and gas can pose a safety risk and a hazard to the environment from the
ignition of the entrained gas causing dangerous fires and also from the risk of oil leakage polluting water,
land and groundwater. For these reasons, redundant safety systems and highly trained personnel are
required by law in all countries with significant production.

[edit]Sonic (vibratory) drilling

A sonic drill head works by sending high frequency resonant vibrations down the drill string to the drill bit,
while the operator controls these frequencies to suit the specific conditions of the soil/rock geology.
Vibrations may also be generated within the drill head. The frequency is generally between 50 and 120
hertz (cycles per second) and can be varied by the operator.

Resonance magnifies the amplitude of the drill bit, which fluidizes the soil particles at the bit face, allowing
for fast and easy penetration through most geological formations. An internal spring system isolates these
vibrational forces from the rest of the drill rig.

[edit]Limits of the technology

An oil rig

Drill technology has advanced steadily since the 19th century. However, there are several basic limiting
factors which will determine the depth to which a bore hole can be sunk.

All holes must maintain outer diameter; the diameter of the hole must remain wider than the diameter of
the rods or the rods cannot turn in the hole and progress cannot continue. Friction caused by the drilling
operation will tend to reduce the outside diameter of the drill bit. This applies to all drilling methods,
except that in diamond core drilling the use of thinner rods and casing may permit the hole to continue.
Casing is simply a hollow sheath which protects the hole against collapse during drilling, and is made of
metal or PVC. Often diamond holes will start off at a large diameter and when outside diameter is lost,
thinner rods put down inside casing to continue, until finally the hole becomes too narrow. Alternatively,
the hole can be reamed; this is the usual practice in oil well drilling where the hole size is maintained
down to the next casing point.

For percussion techniques, the main limitation is air pressure. Air must be delivered to the piston at
sufficient pressure to activate the reciprocating action, and in turn drive the head into the rock with
sufficient strength to fracture and pulverise it. With depth, volume is added to the in-rod string, requiring
larger compressors to achieve operational pressures. Secondly, groundwater is ubiquitous, and increases
inpressure with depth in the ground. The air inside the rod string must be pressurised enough to
overcome this water pressure at the bit face. Then, the air must be able to carry the rock fragments to
surface. This is why depths in excess of 500 m for reverse circulation drilling are rarely achieved, because
the cost is prohibitive and approaches the threshold at which diamond core drilling is more economic.

Diamond drilling can routinely achieve depths in excess of 1200 m. In cases where money is no issue,
extreme depths have been achieved because there is no requirement to overcome water pressure.
However, circulation must be maintained to return the drill cuttings to surface, and more importantly to
maintain cooling and lubrication of the cutting surface.

Without sufficient lubrication and cooling, the matrix of the drill bit will soften. While diamond is the
hardest substance known, at 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, it must remain firmly in the matrix to
achieve cutting. Weight on bit, the force exerted on the cutting face of the bit by the drill rods in the hole
above the bit, must also be monitored.

A unique drilling operation in deep ocean water was named Project Mohole.

[edit]Causes of deviation
Most drill holes deviate from the vertical. This is because of the torque of the turning bit working against
the cutting face, because of the flexibility of the steel rods and especially the screw joints, because of
reaction to foliation and structure within the rock, and because of refraction as the bit moves into different
rock layers of varying resistance. Additionally, inclined holes will tend to deviate upwards because the drill
rods will lie against the bottom of the bore, causing the drill bit to be slightly inclined from true. It is
because of deviation that drill holes must be surveyed if deviation will impact on the usefulness of the
information returned. Sometimes the surface location can be offset laterally to take advantage of the
expected deviation tendency, so the bottom of the hole will end up near the desired location. Oil well
drilling commonly uses a process of controlled deviation called directional drilling (e.g., when several
wells are drilled from one surface location).

[edit]Rig equipment

Simple diagram of a drilling rig and its basic operation

typically includes at least some of the following items: See Drilling rig (petroleum) for a more detailed
description.

 Blowout preventers: (BOPs)

The equipment associated with a rig is to some extent dependent on the type of rig but (#23 & #24) are
devices installed at the wellhead to prevent fluids and gases from unintentionally escaping from
the borehole. #23 is the annular (often referred to as the Hydril, which is one manufacturer) and #24 is
the pipe rams and blind rams.

 Centrifuge: an industrial version of the device that separates fine silt and sand from the drilling
fluid.
 Solids control: solids control equipments for preparing drilling mud for the drilling rig.
 Chain tongs: wrench with a section of chain, that wraps around whatever is being tightened or
loosened. Similar to a pipe wrench.
 Degasser: a device that separates air and/or gas from the drilling fluid.
 Desander / desilter: contains a set of hydrocyclones that separate sand and silt from the drilling
fluid.
 Drawworks: (#7) is the mechanical section that contains the spool, whose main function is to reel
in/out the drill line to raise/lower thetraveling block (#11).
 Drill bit: (#26) 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 pipe: (#16) joints 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.
 Elevators: a hinged device that is used to latch to the drill pipe or casing to facilitate the lowering
or lifting (of pipe or casing) into or out of the borehole.
 Mud motor: a hydraulically powered device positioned just above the drill bit used to spin the bit
independently from the rest of the drill string.
 Mud pump: (#4) reciprocal type of pump used to circulate drilling fluid through the system.
 Mud tanks: (#1) often called mud pits, provides a reserve store of drilling fluid until it is required
down the wellbore.
 Rotary table: (#20) rotates the drill string along with the attached tools and bit.
 Shale shaker: (#2) separates drill cuttings from the drilling fluid before it is pumped back down
the borehole.