by | Apr 7, 2023 | Drilling

If you got an interest in offshore drilling, it’s essential to understand all types of water rigs. There are four types of oil and gas drilling equipment. Besides, every rig has a design that works best in different water depths. So, you should pick what suits your drilling operations.

What are some different types of rigs?

Offshore drilling uses water rigs to extract oil and gas from the oceanic crust. The oil rigs may float on the water or get installed on the ocean floor during drilling. Notably, some rigs have storage and refinery facilities with many workers aboard.

Are you wondering what types of offshore rigs suit your drilling operations? Here are the four major types of water rigs. Share on X

Here are some types of water rigs you should know.

  1. Barge Rigs
  2. Jack Up Rigs
  3. Floating Rigs
  4. Submersible Rigs

1) Barge Rigs

These rigs operate best in shallow waters, usually less than 20 feet deep. Operators must float the rig to the drilling location and rest the hull on the ocean floor. That helps to build a stable drilling platform. Notably, most barge rigs operate in the Gulf of Mexico.

2) Jack Up Rigs

Jack-up rigs can move directly over the drilling location to drill and pump oil. The rig can also self-elevate from the bottom of the ocean floor to keep it in place. The best thing is that these rigs are well-suited for deep and shallow waters of 400 feet or less.

3) Floating Rigs

Attaching an offshore rig to the deep waters ocean floor is impractical. That’s where the floating rigs come in handy to help extract oil and gas. Workers use dynamic positioning systems or anchors to keep the rigs in place, then connect pipes to the ocean floor.

4) Submersible Rigs

A submersible rig can be helpful when the water is too deep for a barge rig but lower than 50-70 feet deep. First, operators must submerge posts or columns into the water and fill them to some level determining their depth. Then, drilling equipment on the rig will drive a floating drill below.

BOP Products Can Help

Now that you understand four types of water rigs in offshore drilling, consider adopting a method that suits your operation best. Also, don’t forget to install safety equipment like blowout preventers (BOPs). Thankfully, you can get such equipment at BOP Products.

Contact us today to order high-performance and reliable blowout preventers.

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