Choosing the Right Drilling Rig
The modern drilling rig is a complex piece of machinery designed for a single purpose – to drill oil, gas or geothermal wells. From today’s drilling rigs, wells can be drilled to subterranean depths greater than twelve thousand meters. The pinpoint precision of modern drilling operations can also land a horizontal well more than eleven thousand meters long, within a target of only a few meters. Offshore drilling rigs can accomplish such feats in water depths of ten thousand feet or even deeper. It requires a high degree of precision to drill a well to such pinpoint accuracy – especially when the drilling takes place thousands of feet below the surface of the earth. This high degree of accuracy has been compared to the space program. Most drilling rigs, whether land or offshore, are mobile and can be moved from location to location quickly and efficiently. Drilling rigs often work in hostile environments -- burning deserts, the Arctic or ultra deepwater. Consequently, rigs are often d