When you’ve never been to an oil drilling site, you might wonder, “How does oil drilling work?” Well, a lot happens during oil drilling, which involves technical processes and sophisticated drilling equipment. The drilling process involves many risks, including possible blowouts, necessitating safety equipment like blowout preventers (BOPs).
Oil and natural gas lie deep below the earth’s surface, making the drilling process quite complex. One has to drill a hole through the earth’s crust to reach the fossil fuel deposits. Next, the oil must get pumped out of the oil well while maintaining safety. Thankfully, this guide explores the entire drilling process.
How does oil drilling work? Learn the entire oil production process, including how the oil wells get drilled and closed at their economic limit. Click To TweetThat said, let’s look at how the hole gets drilled to reach the oil and gas reserves.
The Hole is Drilled
Oil drilling starts with drilling a hole through the earth’s crust. It requires a long bit attached to a drill string. Note that the drill bit comes in various diameters ranging from 5-50 inches. After drilling a hole, a steel pipe with a slightly smaller diameter is inserted, and the gaps around it filled up with cement. This helps to keep the steel casing stable.
The Drilling Process
During the drilling process, the operators fill up the hole with a mixture of solids, fluids, and chemicals, also known as “mud,” to lubricate the rotating bit and remove the broken rocks from the way. New pipes must be added to the drill string as the bit drills deeper. The pipe connections must be screwed to ensure they don’t separate in the well.
Reaching the Economic Limit
When the oil and gas extracted from an oil well can no longer cover the operation costs, we say that the well has attained its economic limit. For that reason, the extraction must be stopped by removing the drill pipe and filling up the hole with cement. This prevents the hydrocarbon reservoirs from mixing up with water. Finally, the pump head is removed and capped to fill up the entire hole.
BOP Products and Oil
So far, you can answer the question, “How does oil drilling work?” Whether onshore or offshore oil drilling, both have a significant environmental impact. Besides, they both pose safety risks to workers, calling for safety equipment like blowout preventers. The good news is that you can acquire quality BOPs at BOP Products.
Contact us to learn how offshore drilling varies from onshore drilling.
