Not sure how many of you have ever seen a drilling rig in the flesh (so to speak), but one set up about 500 yards east of the house this morning. It is just a small one, so it should be gone in a few days. Here is a picture I took this morning...
No, never seen a drilling rig in the flesh ruben72. Don't think I've seen a picture of one either. Didn't expect to see it here.
Yes, they used one of those to drill my well 30 years ago. I see them all the time on my street....new houses going up and all. They drilled down 300 feet for my well....that's a lot of 6 inch steel pipe just to give me water.
I think it's a catapult for tossing turnips over the state line.
My my what a big erection....
Sorry
L
Actually, they are drilling for oil. The large black tanks in the background are all at producing wells (they are all either 750 or 1000 barrel tanks). I expect that this well will be completed and on production in under 2 weeks. With oil approaching $90.00 a barrel, they are punching holes as fast as they can around here.
As far as it being big - well, everything is relative. This rig is interesting in that appears to be all hydraulically driven - there are no draw-works/elevators and it seems to spin the drill pipe at the top of the derrick with an in-line hydraulic drive as opposed to the floor turning on a traditional rig. Also, there doesn't appear to be a pipe rack in the derrick. Really curious. I may have to walk over for a closer look. The upside of all this is that it makes a steady drone of noise as opposed to engines revving up and down to move the pipe.
Oooh baby, yes yes, deeper deeper!!
Ruben, you sound like you've either spent time in the oil industry or you have a very unusual fetish.Originally Posted by ruben72
pee x
Ruben, you sound like you've either spent time in the oil industry or you have a very unusual fetish.
pee x
Fetish? Hey, come on. If someone has an interesting bit of news to share, especially if it's something unusual that a lot of us haven't seen or experienced — like a drilling rig on their doorstep — than that's cool, isn't it?
I thought that was interesting and I appreciated Ruben's sharing that news and the pic.
takochan
No worries - it does sound kind of fetishistic when you read it out of context. It gets even more fun when you get into the production side of it and start dealing with things like "strokes per minute", "polish rods", "tagging bottom before you pull out", etc :-) And having 15+ years in the industry you tend to forget that other people don't have the same background....
Anyway, I took another photo this afternoon - closer this time. Unfortunately, when I reduced it it in size, it lost a lot of detail. So here is kind of closer look.
Haha, what a funny thread ruben, but I like it... I haven't quite seen a drilling rig as close up as those pictures, but I've seen some kinds close up... not far away from the home I grew up in they did some drilling with a rig almost identical to those pics... then at night, if you went down to the beach your could see about 5 bright orange lights out on the ocean horizon which were big oil rigs out in the ocean... it looked pretty cool...
ahahaha, love the rigging lingo ruben, with expressions like those people could be forgiven for thinking it was a fetish!
Luv Melinda
Hey takochan, easy fella - I thought we were buds - have you gone off me or something? I'm finding Ruben's thread fascinating and I hope he shares a heap more of his expertise and experience with us. And I did pick he's an oil man.
Thanks Ruben - and welcome. We're really friendly here - honest.
pee x
ps tak - friends?
Howdy ruben. How about an update on how the drilling rig is going in your backyard? Have they found anything yet? Cheers.
pee x
Yeah, when do the "grasshoppers" show up???
Sorry, I guess an update is in order.
They were done in about two days. The rig was laid down on the third morning after it arrived and rolled out shortly thereafter. I assume that they will be completing the hole right away - it was drilled right amongst a bunch of other wells so they knew depths, zones and all that before hand.
I really doubt that a pumpjack will go on the hole. The oil around here is really heavy, so unless they use steam to loosen it up, they use a PC (progressing cavity) pump. I'll try to get a picture up shortly - they are not nearly as impressive a pumpjack though.
If they were done in two days the oil must be pretty close to the surface ?
I believe that they are around 700 meters.
Most of the oil companies contract the drilling rigs to drill by the foot - so they drill as fast as they possibly can to make as much as they can. Which has the adverse result in a lot of deviated holes - the downside of drilling "quick and dirty".
My Father in Law spent most of his Adult life as a water driller. Used cable rigs as opposed to rotary. That kept him in work as the rotaries would (deviate)? in rocky soil. The sound would drive me nuts when I visited the sites. Didn't bother him as he was deaf from coal mine blasting as a teen. Drilling is hard work.
this might seem like a stupid question, but I wanna know - can you pull up a bit from a deviated hole, correct it and carry on or do you have to abandon the entire hole and start again from the surface?
pee x
ham, with cable rigs do you need a bore casing to stop loose dirt filling in behind the drill bit ?
pee x
I'm not positive but think they use a mud that forms a casing. Val's rig is the only one I've been very close to. Seem to remember him making the mud comment though. He past a few years back so I can't ask him.
no worries ham. ruben might know.
Here are a couple of pics of a completed, producing well that is on the next quarter over. The location of the earlier pictures is being worked on right now - I expect that it will be completed and set up shortly.
As you can see, there is a rotary drive on the well. This is a pretty common set up in this area.
looks fairly small scale operation - what sort of volumes are we talking about from this size well ( ballpark ) ?
Talked to wife last night and she thought that rotary used a used a smaller diameter casing not in the typical small lenghts that feeds while drilling. she says her Dad DID use a gel at times when he hit a boulder to loosen things up. I suppose it's google time when I get a little time.
pee - as far as volumes go, an exceptional well produces around 95 cubic meters of fluid per day. I don't know what the net oil would be - considering the amount of water and sand that would also be coming in. Average - probably around 60. I'd have to confirm with some people in the know. Individually, the wells are small scale. But when you consider that there are literally thousands of them producing, it all adds up.
presumably if an oil company wanted to set one of these gizmos up in your property you'd get paid a royalty or something ?
pee x
It is actually fairly lucrative for the landowner. They get an upfront fee for the right to drill and then a yearly lease fee until the well is abandoned.
And if they have mineral rights, it is extremely lucrative. One neighbor who has mineral rights gets (according to local rumor) close to seven figures every year.
Crikey !! Be real handy to own a patch of dirt in the right place. Thanks for info ruben - fascinating stuff.
pee x
I own a piece of property that the former owner received about $300.00 US a month in royalties in the '50s. They were pumping oil from a slant drilled well. Field was closed. Still waiting for them to re-open field. BTW property was gift in the '60s.
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