Drilling Equipment Key Terms

Get all the boring details of drilling equipment before deciding what's right for you

If you're thinking about entering the oil industry, your business will depend largely on drilling equipment, and you'll benefit from learning drilling equipment key terms before you start shopping the expensive machinery. You'll be ahead of the game before you even break ground if you know there's more than one type of drilling rig, or if you familiar with common terms used by oil drilling equipment manufacturers and others in the industry.

Whether you're in the market for offshore drilling equipment or you're looking for an onshore drilling machine, familiarize yourself with the types of drilling oil rigs and other oil drilling machinery, as well as with oil drilling supplies and accessories. Below are some ways to help you recognize and understand drilling equipment key terms:

1. Get explanations about different types of oil drilling machinery.

2. Learn many common terms used in the drilling equipment industry.

3. Know some of the many kinds of accessories and parts, such as drill bits, used for drilling equipment.

 

Find examples and definitions of the types of oil drilling equipment

You'll soon discover that there's not only one type of drilling rig. From floating rigs to immobile offshore rigs (called platforms) made of steel or concrete that are mounted on the ocean floor, to drill ships (which as the name suggests, are large ships that anchor to the ocean floor and can drill in up to 10,000 feet of water), and even onshore oil drilling equipment, there are several types of oil drilling machinery available.
Try: Adventures in Energy, a tool of the American Petroleum Institue (API), provides definitions of the many kinds of drilling rigs, from jackup drilling rigs (floating barges that hold an oil drill and are used in shallow water) to semi-submersible rigs (rigs supported by pontoon-like structures under the water for drilling in depths over 300 feet), and more. Visit GE Oil & Gas and click on the equipment or systems of oil drilling machinery, such as Capital Drilling Equipment or Subsea Drilling Sytems, to get definitions of terms associated with each type.

Become familiar with most drilling equipment key terms, phrases and acronyms

From directional drilling, which is drilling laterally from the point where the drill enters the ground, to a process called workover, which is using many types of operations to increase well production, there are many terms and phrases unique to the oil drilling industry. Even acronyms like BOE (Barrel of Oil Equivalent), COST (Continental Offshore Stratigraphic Test) and OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) are used primarily in relation to offshore oil drilling and drilling equipment.
Try: The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) defines most drilling equipment key terms from A to Z. Find definitions of many terms uniqe to the oil drilling industry at the U.S. Department of the Interior Gulf of Mexico Region Minerals Management Service.

Recognize drilling equipment key terms in relation to parts and accessories

Once you decide on what kind of drilling machinery you need for your business and have familiarized yourself with many key terms, learn what you can about parts and accessories. From different drill bits to parts such as kelly hoses, which are high-pressure rotary hoses used to deliver drilling fluid from a standpipe to a drill, it will prove beneficial to know at least some terms relating to drilling equipment accessories and parts.
Try: Get details about the different kinds of drilling bits available for drilling equipment at GAEA Technologies. T&T Oilfield Services supplies an exhaustive list of parts and accessories for drilling equipment, some terms you're likely to hear time and again. World Rig Supply give specifications and uses of many types of hoses and fittings used for drilling equipment.

 

• Visit an onshore or offshore drilling site, if possible, or local oil drilling equipment manufacturers or vendors and speak with individuals involved in the field to find out how many drilling equipment key terms are used in everyday business.

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