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Drilling Rigs Structure: A Comparison

between Onshore and Offshore Drilling Rigs
with Proposed Future Developments

Technical Report December 2014

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 STRUCTURE

Drilling Rigs Structure

A Comparison between Onshore and Offshore Drilling
Rigs with Proposed Future Developments

by
Khaled Hussein Al-Azani
201080760214-78
Major: Petroleum Engineering

for
Roger Horn
Academic & Professional Communication
English 214

30 November 2014

Abstract

This report mainly discusses the major differences between onshore and offshore drilling rigs
used in petroleum industry. It begins by a brief history of oil well drilling operations and drilling
rigs. It then outlines the different types of offshore and onshore drilling rigs. Finally, proposed
future developments related to drilling operations and drilling rigs are presented. These include
robotics technology and improving offshore operations.
 Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................... 4
I. BACKGROUND.................................................................................................................. 4
II. ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE ROTARY DRILLING RIGS..................................................5
A. Onshore drilling rigs.......................................................................................................... 5
1. Classification based on the drilled depth....................................................................... 5
2. Classification based on mobility....................................................................................5
B. Offshore drilling rigs.......................................................................................................... 6
1. Bottom-supported units................................................................................................. 7
2. Floating units................................................................................................................. 8
III. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO DRILLING RIGS.............................................9
A. Introducing robotics and automation into drilling operations..............................................9
1. Examples and advantages............................................................................................ 9
2. Disadvantages............................................................................................................. 11
B. Going deeper into the ocean...........................................................................................11
ENDING...................................................................................................................................... 12
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................ 13

2
 List of Illustrations

Figures

Figure 1 Mobility classification of land rigs.....................................................................................5

Figure 2 Derrick of the drilling rig...................................................................................................6
Figure 3 Mobile drilling rigs............................................................................................................ 6
Figure 4 Classifications of offshore drilling rigs..............................................................................7
Figure 5 Posted-barge submersible...............................................................................................7
Figure 6 Bottle-type submersible...................................................................................................7
Figure 7 Arctic-type submersible....................................................................................................8
Figure 8 Inland barges submersible...............................................................................................8
Figure 9 Jackup drilling rigs...........................................................................................................8
Figure 10 Semi-submersible drilling rigs........................................................................................8
Figure 11 Drillingship..................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 12 Robotic drilling systems.................................................................................................10
Figure 13 VR 500 Vertical DrillingRig (VDR)..................................................................................11

Tables

Table 1 Depth classification of land rigs.........................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION

Fossil fuel, especially oil, represents the engine of nowadays life. Oil companies work hard in
order to extract it from subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs. The operations at which oil is being
extracted from these reservoirs are referred to as drilling operations. Drilling operations are per-
formed with the means of drilling rigs. However, due to the high demand for oil, drilling for oil
becomes more challenging and oil companies are always looking for the most effective extrac-
tion methods and are they moving toward the automation of the drilling operation as well as in-
creasing the offshore operations by increasing the water depth where the operations take place
(i.e. by going deeper into the ocean).

This report is limited to discussing the different types of oil well drilling rigs and outlines the dif-
ferences between those that are used to drill at different locations either land or marineloca-
tions. It begins by a brief history of drilling operations and drilling rigs. Then, it outlines compara-
tive details between onshore and offshore drilling rigs. Finally, it presents the proposed devel-
opments that are related to drilling rigs and drilling rigs. The report will be of direct relevance to
the general public especially those who are interested in the drilling operations.

I. BACKGROUND

Oil well drilling rigs are mechanical structures that are used to make holes in the ground in order
to reach a predetermined hydrocarbon reservoir (i.e. a subsurface storage where oil and/or nat-
ural gas accumulate). They come in different types and structures. They are also classified
based on different criteria. To illustrate, drilling rigs are classified based on the location they drill
at, the maximum load they can handle and the ultimate depth they reach (Macini, 2005, p. 305).

Drilling for oil has begun for thousands of years. This evolution has been accompanied with the
utilization of different tools and mechanisms. For example, the first oil well was drilled in China
at about 1600 years ago. Its final depth was about 250 meters (m) and it was drilled using bam-
boo poles with a bit at its end (History of drilling, n.d, para. 1). This well was followed by an
evolution in the number of wells and the mechanisms used. For instance, by the end of the
1800s, the invention of the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) helped at introducing a new drill-
ing mechanism called Cable-Tool Drilling (CTD) (History of drilling, n.d, para. 2). In this me-
chanism, a chisel bit is placed at the end of a cable that oscillates up and down with the mean of
the ICE in order to make the planned hole. Furthermore, the first modern oil well was drilled in
mid nineteenth century by the engineer Semyonov in the northeastern of Baku (History of drill-
ing, n.d, para. 4). However, the CTD method was not effective for many reasons and this led to
 the introduction of other mechanisms. For example, the limited depth of this method has led to
the evolution of rotary drilling (History of drilling, n.d, para. 6). The CTD operation also needs
to be paused in order to clean the cuttings (Bommer, 2008, p. 16). In addition, drilling operations
were not limited to the land but they have been extended to the marine locations. For instance,
in 1891, the first marine well was drilled in Grand fresh-water Lake in Ohio (Offshore drilling,
2010, para. 4). Then the first well in a salty-water location was drilled about 120 years ago (Off-
shore drilling, 2010, para. 5).

II. ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE ROTARY DRILLING RIGS

As mentioned previously, one of the criteria by which drilling rigs are classified is the location
where they drill. Therefore,based on this, there are two locations where drilling rigs are used,
onshore and offshore.

A. Onshore drilling rigs

These rigs represent the first development in drilling operations. Land rigs come in different siz-
es and strengths. Land rigs are also classified based on two main criteria, maximum drilled
depth and mobility

1. Classification based on the drilled depth

According to Bommer (2008), land rigs generally look the same. However, their specific details
are totally different because their sizes depend on
Table (1) : Depth classification of land rigs
the maximum depth they drill (p. 22).As a conse- Rig Type Ultimate Drilled Depth
quence, many different types on onshore rigs are Light weight 2 km
Medium weight 4 km
categorized based on the ultimate depth they drill. To
heavy weight 6 km
illustrate, Macini (2005) says that there are four Ultra-heavy weight Higher depth
different depth categories for land drilling rigs, as shown in table (1) (p. 305).

2. Classification based on mobility

Another feature of onshore drilling rigs is
related to their transformation way. Based
this feature, Bommer (2008) refers to them
as portable hole factories (p.22). Further-
more, depending on rigs mobility, land rigs
are divided into different categories. As
shown in figure (1), Bourgoyne etal.(1986)
5
state that there are two different types of land rigs, con-
ventional and mobile drilling rigs (p. 3). Conventional land
rigs are the most commonly used in petroleum industry
and they cannot be moved to the drill site as whole units.
For example, the derrick of the rig, figure (2), is assem-
bled at the location where the drilling will take place
(Bourgoyne, Millheim, Chenevert & Young, 1986, p.3). In
contrast, mobile (movable) rigs refer to those in which the
drilling systems are mounted on wheeled trucks, figure
(3), and they come in two different types, jacknife and
portable mast, (Bourgoyne, Millheim, Chenevert &
Young, 1986, p.3).

B. Offshore drilling rigs

The other type of drilling rigs is related to those that are used to drill in the marine environments.
While land rigs are classified according to their mobility and the depth they drill, offshore rigs
have different classification. To illustrate, Bourgoyne et al (1986) state that the classification of
marine rigs is based on their movability and on how deep the sea bed is (p. 3). Water state also
plays an important role in marine rig selection and design (Bommer, 2008, p. 21). Therefore,
based on these, there are two different types of offshore drilling rigs, Bottom-Supported Units
and Floating Units (Bommer, 2008, p. 24), figure (4).
 1. Bottom-supported units
This refers to the rigs that are on contact with the
seafloor when they are placed in position. As
listed in figure (4), these types of rigs come in two
different categories, submersible and jack ups.
The submersible rigs are in contact with the
seabed (i.e. their bases rest on the seafloor) . Ac-
cording to Bommer (2008), submersible rigs come
in four different types. The first type, which is not
used anymore because of the new designs, is the

post barges, figure (5). The second, which has been re-
placed by jack ups, is the bottle types, figure (6). The
other two types, shown in figures (7) and (8), are the
arctic and inland rigs (pp. 24-25).

On the other hand, jackups, figure (9), refers to those

which are supported by three or five structured columns.
Companies use this type of rigs for different purposes.
McLondon (2010) claims that oil companies utilize jack-
up rigs for lower marine depths as well as for the explo-
ratoion wells (i.e. wells drilled initially to examine the ef-
fectiveness of the reservoirs) (para. 6). What is more,
jack-up rigs can operate at different sea depths and can
drill different well depths. For instance, jack ups are
used at marine depths of 120 meters and can drill to
about 9.1 kilometers (Bommer, 2008, p.28).
 2. Floating units
This type of marine rigs refers to those which are not directly in contact with the sea bottom
when placed in the drilling site. It is shown in figure (4) that there are two types of floating off-
shore rigs, semi-submersible and drillingships. Semi-submersible rigs, figure (10), are those
which are partially sub-
merged below the water
surface and are anc-
hored to the seabed.
The first semi-
submersible rig ap-
peared as a conse-
quence of an accident in
1960 (Offshore drilling,
2010, para. 12). This
type of rigs can drill at
different water depths and can drill for different well depths. For example, Bommer (2008)
shows that some semi-submersible rigs can operate at water depths ranging from 300 meter to
1,000 meter (1 km) and some others can drill at depths of about 3.7 km. They can also drill
wells reaching depths of 10.7 km (p. 32).

Similarly, drillingships, figure (11), come in dif-

ferent shapes and structures. They can also
drill at different water depths and can drill wells
of different depths. To illustrate, it is shown that
some drillships can operate at water environ-
ments of depths about 1,000 meters and oth-
ers can operate at depths of about 3,000 me-
ters. They can also drill wells of depths about
9.1 kilometers (Bommer, 2008, p. 33).

III. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO DRILLING RIGS

As a result of increasing the worlds demand for oil, oil companies always look for improving and
developing the extraction methodologies especially those related to drilling operations. Karki
and Shukla (2013) argue that the cost and the risk in oil industry are always increasing due to
the higher demand for oil (p.1153). Therefore, in the following sub-sections, two development
aspects related to drilling operations and drilling rigs are outlined.

A. Introducing robotics and automation into drilling operations

As mentioned above, risks and costs of oil related operations is increasing with the increase of
oil usage. Therefore, one of the developing aspects to overcome this includes introducing robot-
ics and automation into the drilling operations.

1. Examples and advantages

Karki and Shukla (2015) say that the effective methods to handle the operation challenges in-
clude the introduction of what they called intelligent drilling rigs, smart examination and auto-
operation into the oil industry (p. 2013). Furthermore, robotics technology is in progress and are
about to be installed and it will be able to perform many tasks. For example, the Robotic Drilling
System (RDS) is working on a new tool delivering technology that consist of robotics which will

9
make the drilling operations do not require any human nearby (Odjfell drilling, 2014, para. 1),
figure (12). This system is ready to be tested in 2015 and it will be tested at offshore operations
in 2017 and it can be applied to both the current and new rigs (Odjfell drilling, 2014, para. 12).
Since they operate independently (i.e. do not require human nearby), the drilling operation will
be safer and cost effective (Dupre, 2013, para. 7). What is more, according to Sintef (2008),
Anders Royroy says that automating drilling rigs will make them personnel-free which means
there will be no need for warning instruments. This will also improve the hydrocarbon recovery
efficiency (para. 7).

Another example of drilling automation includes the introduction of new drilling rigs which will be
more effective. For instance, in 2009, the American Directional Drill company released a video
on YouTube.com shown a new drilling rig called VR 500 Vertical Drilling Rig (VDR), figure (13).
According to the video, this rig has a new design and it contains no cables it can operate auto-
matically. The advantageous feature of this rig is that it is cost-effective reduction it does not
require and any crew abroad.
 2. Disadvantages
Despite the advantages of drilling automation and robotics technology, there are many draw-
backs of their implementation. To illustrate, Dupre (2013) shows that professionals are not in
line with the introduction of robotics in the operation as long as they require personnel nearby
(para. 10). The disadvantageous aspect of the VR 500 (VDR) is the limited depth they can drill
(YouTube, 2009). Furthermore, automating drilling operations and implementing robotics means
less job opportunities and higher number of unemployed engineers.

B. Going deeper into the ocean

The use of the offshore drilling rigs is due to the fact that a large amount of oil comes from the
marine location. To illustrate, Bommer (2008) says that about one-third of the global oil supply
comes from offshore deposits (p. 23). However, because of the tough environments and the far
location of marine operations, drilling at such locations is highly challenging (Offshore drilling,
2010, para. 18). As an example of the risk of these environments is the BPs Maconland well
explosion in 2010 which resulted in the death of 11 people, though the depth of operation was
not that high, only 1.5 km deep, (Callus, 2012, para. 17). As a result, petroleum industry is trying
to eliminate this challenge by introducing stronger drilling rigs and systems that will be able to
withstand tougher environment. The British Petroleum (BP), for example, is about to introduced
what is called 20K which can drill at deeper environment with higher pressures of about 20,000
pound per square inches (psi) and higher temperatures (Callus, 2012, para. 29).This is a great
step because the current offshore drilling rigs operate at pressures ranging from 13,000 to
18,000 psi and the deepest offshore rig in 2010 was the Perdido platform at the Gulf of Mexico
which operates at water depth of 2.4 km (Callus, 2012, para. 28; Offshore drilling, 2010, para.
16). Moreover, Callus (2012) says that there are some new technology features that are on their
way to be applied in the offshore operations including supercomputers, new materials, sen-
sors etc (para. 30).

ENDING

As has been shown, due to the challenges in the drilling operations, there are many proposed
methods to reduce these challenges. Automating drilling operations will be effective method to
overcome the risk and high costs of drilling operations, though it will reduce the job opportunities
for engineers. Furthermore, although large amounts of oil that come from the marine deposits,
these environments are highly challenging and require the introduction of new drilling systems
to overcome these challenges. Finally, I would recommend the petroleum industry should apply
the robotics systems to the drilling operations even though the job opportunities will be reduced.
If this robotics system applied, it would solve many challenges that represent obstacles to the
hydrocarbon extraction operations.

2,284
 REFERENCES

American Directional Drill VR500 Vertical Drilling Rig [Motion picture]. (2008). United States of
America: YouTube.

Bommer, P. (2008). A primer of oilwell drilling: A basic text of oil and gas drilling (7th ed., pp. 15-
16, 21-35). Austin: University of Texas at Austin.

Bourgoyne, A., Millheim, K., Chenevert, M., & Young, F. (1986). Applied drilling engineering (1st
ed., p. 3). Richardson, Texas: Society of petroleum engineers.

Callus, A. (2012, August 14). Offshore oil rigs drilling deeper than ever. Retrieved November 4,
2014, from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-
and-resources/offshore-oil-rigs-drilling-deeper-than-ever/article4481035/

Dupre, R. (2013, January 1). Is automated drilling the industry's future? Retrieved November 3,
2014, from http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/123099/is_automated_ drilling _
the_industrys_ future

History of Drilling. (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2014, fromhttp://www.rigsinternational.com/

our-offer/history-of-drilling/

Macini, P. (2005). Drilling rigs and technologies. In Encyclopedia of hydrocarbons (Vol. 1, pp.
305-306). Bologna, Italy: Universit degli Studi di Bologna.

McLendon, R. (2010, May 19). Types of offshore oil rigs. Retrieved September 28, 2014, from
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/stories/types-of-offshore-oil-rig

Odfjell drilling becomes a major shareholder in robotic drilling systems AS (RDS). (2014, April
4). Retrieved November 3, 2014, from http://www.rds.no/news-/odfjell-drilling-becomes-
a-major-shareholder-in-in-robotic-drilling-systems-as--rds--

Offshore drilling: History and overview. (2010, January 25). Retrieved November 12, 2014, from
http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/offshore-drilling-history-and-overview/
 Shukla, A., & Karki, H. (2013). A review of robotics in onshore oil-gas industry. International
Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, 1153. Retrieved November 3, 2014, from
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=6618077

SINTEF. (2008, January 1). Robots Taking Over The Job On Offshore Oil Drilling Platforms.
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