Preparing an Oil Drilling Site

Modern oil production is quite different from the way it has been portrayed in the movies. Black crude oil gushing out of the ground is not what typically happens. Technology has made the exploration and drilling of oil a more precise art.

The modern oil exploration methods today include using sensitive gravity meters which indicate the flow of oil, sensitive magnetometers which measure tiny changes in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by flowing oil, sensitive electronic noses called sniffers which detect the smell of hydrocarbons, and seismology which produce shock waves through the hidden rock layers of the Earth. Shock waves are created by a compressed-air gun shooting pulses of air into the water for exploration over water, a thumper truck which slams heavy plates into the ground for exploration over land, and by explosives drilled into the ground for exploration over both land and water.

Once a prospective oil strike is found and the location to drill is selected, the site must be surveyed to determine its boundaries, and environmental impact studies may have to be done. Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation purchase the lease agreements, obtain titles, and evaluate legally right-of-way accesses for the land. For sites on the water, legal jurisdiction must be determined. With the legal issues settled, the oil company’s crew goes about preparing the land.

The land is cleared and leveled, and access roads may have to be built. Because so much water is used in drilling, there must be a source of it close by. If there is no natural source, a water well is drilled. A reserve pit is made, used to dispose of rock cuttings and drilling mud during the drilling process, and it is lined with plastic to protect the environment. If the site is an ecologically sensitive area, such as a marsh or wilderness, then the cuttings and mud must be trucked away instead of placed in the reserve pit.

After the land has been prepared, several holes must be dug to make way for the main hole and rigging structure. A rectangular pit, called a cellar, is dug around the location of the actual drilling hole. The cellar provides space around the hole for the workers and drilling accessories. With a small drill truck, the crew then begins drilling the main hole. The first part of the hole is large and then lined with a large-diameter conductor pipe. To temporarily store equipment, additional holes are dug off to the side. When these holes are done, the rig equipment can be brought in to be set up.
Depending upon the remoteness of the site and the access to it, equipment may be transported by truck, helicopter or barge. Some rigs are built on ships or barges for work on inland water where the land will not to support a rig, as in marshes or on lakes.


Chris Jent is the chief marketing officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.