The Drilling Rig and Its Crew

Types of Rigs• Onshore or land rigs• Offshore rigs

– Barges– Drilling Tenders– Platforms– Jack-ups– Semisubmersibles– Drillships

Land Rigs

• Cantilever mast – most common arrangement• Portable mast – usually mounted on trucks that

incorporate the hoisting machinery, engines and derrick as a single unit

Land Rigs

Land Rigs

Drilling Barges• Mobile, flat bottomed shallow draft vessels• Used for drilling in swampy or shallow coastal

waters (8-20 ft)– West African river deltas, US Gulf Coast,

Maracaibo, Kalimantan• Limited stability and can be used in very calm

waters• Need utility barges because of limited storage space

Drilling Barges

Drilling Tenders

• Non-self-propelled barges or semisubmersibles• Moored alongside a platform• Derrick equipment on platform• Allows less costly platforms to be used for

development

Drilling Tenders

Platforms

• Fixed-bottom or rigid – rigid structures extend from the seabed to all the way above the surface of the water– Steel jacket or concrete gravity (CGS)

• Floating – float near the water surface– Tension leg (TLP), Spar

Type of Platforms

Type of Platform Connection to Seabed Example

Fixed-bottom Piles Gravity

Steel jacket Concrete Gravity Structure (CGS)

Floating Tethers Catenary mooring lines Single Point Mooring (SPM)

Tension Leg Platform (TLP) Semi-submersible, Spar Ship-shaped vessel (FPSO)

Platforms

Jack-ups

• Mobile self-elevating rigs equipped with long support legs

• Designed to drill in <350 ft of water

• Very stable

Jack-ups (NEW)

• Spud cans xxxxxx

Semisubmersibles• Have a water ballasting system

that can partially submerge its vertical stabilizing columns

• Anchor-moored or dynamically positioned

• Can operate in water depths of up to 6000 ft.

• Operational depth limited by mooring equipment and riser handling capacity

• Can work in harsh environments like the North Sea

Semisubmersibles

A Word On Dynamic Positioning• Dynamic Positioning – is a technique used on floaters utilizing large

computer-controlled on-board propulsion units (pitch propellers or “thrusters”) controlled by a satellite navigation system to maintain the position of a vessel with respect to a point on the seabed

• Range of weather conditions is limited• Generally not used in water depths of less than 3000 ft• Because of large fuel consumption it is only economically feasible in

the ff circumstances:– Frequent location changes are required– Anchor lengths required are excessive (>3000 ft)

Drillships• Capable of drilling in

very deep water (>6000 ft)

• Offer greater mobility than a “semi” or jack-up

• Greater storage facilities• Anchor-moored or

dynamically positioned• Limited to areas where

wave action is not severe

Keyway

• The keyway is the opening on an inland barge or offshore jackup in which the drilling operations are performed.

Moonpool

• The hole through a floater or semi-submersible structure is which the drilling operations are performed.

Rig Setup

Rig Crew

• Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) (for offshore rigs only)

• Rig Superintendent or Day Toolpusher• Night Toolpusher• Drillers• Assistant Drillers• Derrickman• Motorman• Roughnecks

Rig Crew

• Roustabouts• Electricians• Mechanics• Crane Operator• Catering Crew

Driller

Derrickman

Roughneck

End of Topic