DRILLING TEAMS
“roughnecks” or “driller’s helpers,” assist the driller
COMPANY MAN - Also called company representative.
• He represents the operating company and their
interests at the drilling site.
• He usually live on a trailer on-site and is on duty
24 hours a day.
• He is in charge of all the company’s activities,
including the drilling plan or strategy of the well,
overseeing the safe and efficient operations of
the expensive complex equipment, coordination
of services and supplies, and he makes any onsite
company decisions during drilling operations.
TOOL PUSHER - Also called rig superintendent
• He represents the drilling contractor at the
drilling area.
• Typically, the tool pusher is an experienced
driller having worked as a rotary helper or
derrickman, and is an expert in drilling
operations and rig equipment and machinery.
• He is on-site, is on duty 24 hours a day and is in
direct charge of drilling operations and related
matters, such as the coordination of drilling and
service crews.
DRILLER –
• The driller is in charge of the drilling crew
that actually drills the well and is directly
responsible to the tool pusher.
• He supervises the crew and the routine
drilling operations from a control console
located near the draw works on the rig floor.
• The console allows him to operate the
equipment used in the rig’s component
system and to monitor drilling operations.
DERRICKMAN- called the “assistant driller”
• During trips, when sections of the drill stem
are moved in and out of the wellbore, he is
stationed high above the rig floor on a
platform called monkey board.
• He is directly responsible for the condition of
the drilling fluid and maintenance and repair
of the circulating system equipment.
Rotary Helpers- called the “floormen,”
and derrickman during routine drilling operations.
• There are at least two or three rotary helpers
assigned to the crew.
• Their primary responsibility is to handle and
maintain the equipment and tools used in
routine drilling operations.
• A new inexperienced rotary helper is called a
“worm.”
WORKSHIFT
• Drilling crews usually works a standard eight-
hour shift called a “tour” once every 24
hours.
• Several crews are usually rotated.
• Drilling operations are usually continuous
with three hours worked each day;
1.) a morning or daylight tour from about 6AM to
2PM;
2.) an afternoon or evening tour from 2PM to 10PM;
and
3.) a midnight or graveyard tour from 10PM to 6AM.
• OFFSHORE DRILLING CREWS usually work at
twelve-hour tour once every 24 hours for
consecutive days. However, this may vary
depending on the contractor and rig location
THE DRILLING CREW IS ASSIGNED
• The regular drilling crew is supported by a
number of other men, such as specialty
crewmen and service company personnel.
• Specialty crewmen may be assigned to
several rigs on an “as needed” basis.
• In addition, many service companies are
needed to assist in drilling the well. Of these
certain company personnel are usually
needed on most wells.
SPECIALTY CREWMEN
THE MOTORMAN - He is responsible for keeping the
prime movers and auxiliary engines that supply
most of the power equipments to the rig’s
component systems in good working order. He is
also responsible for their repair.
THE RIG MECHANIC- He is an all-around handy man
who can inspect, maintain and make minor repairs
on almost any piece of mechanical equipment on
the rig.
THE RIG ELECTRICIAN- He is responsible for
inspecting, maintaining and making minor repairs
on the electrical generators and their distribution or
wiring systems. This includes everything from rig
lighting to small electrical appliances
SERVICE COMPANY PERSONNEL
MUD ENGINEER - Also called as mud man
• He is assigned to the drilling complex by the
“Mud” company that will supply the
components for the drilling fluid used in the
circulating system during drilling operations.
• His major function is to test and maintain the
drilling fluid properties as directed by the
“planned mud program” for the well and
down hole conditions encountered.
MUD LOGGER - He lives and works on-site in a
portable trailer laboratory.
• He monitors the cuttings, determines the
type of formation being drilled and whether
any oil or gas is present
CASING AND CEMENTING CREWS - They work for
specialty service companies that assist in the regular
drilling of a well.
• They assemble, operate and maintain their
specialized equipment, which is used during
casing cementing operations.
DRILLING RIGS - Are massive structural
equipment that is used to drill water, oil wells, or
natural gas extraction wells. By rotating a bit, a hole
is drilled using a downward force.
TYPES OF DRILLING RIGS
LAND DRILLING RIGS - They typically come in light,
medium or heavy configuration.
• Is moved using heavy trucks and cranes
• Small rigs may only drill to a thousand feet.
• But larger ones are capable of 12,000 and
more.
SUBMERSIBLE DRILLING RIGS - Tend to drill in fairly
shallow water. They flood the legs with water and
submerge.
• Some of the rig is above water, and crews
drill from that location.
• Swamp type, river and inland by areas.
• Typical water depths are 20feet
JACK- UP DRILLING RIGS - Have lattice legs which
can be hoisted and lowered at will.
• They are hoisted and the rig is either towed
or transported by ship. When in location, the
legs are lowered to the sea-bed.
• Jack-up rigs can drill in water depths up to
400ft.
PLATFORM DRILLING RIGS - Are immobile once built
• However, they drill several wells from one
location.
• They can be tender assisted.
• Steel Jacket, Caisson type, Concrete Gravity.
SEMISUBMERSIBLE DRILLING RIGS - Has hollow legs
and pontoons. Like the submersible, the legs are
also Flooded.
• However, anchors and/or thrusters and
positioners keep the rig in position.
• When thrusters are used, it is called dynamic
positioning.
DRILLSHIP - Are self propelled, floating offshore drill - The derrick is assembled piece by piece at the
units. drilling site.
• A template which has holes drilled though it - The standard derrick has become rare today
is fitted to the sea bed. except for extremely deep wells and offshore
drilling.
MAST
RIG COMPONENTS
- has a smaller floor area.
- It can be raised from a horizontal to a vertical
position.
- The mast has almost completely replaced the
conventional derrick for drilling on land because:
– It can be quickly dismantled and erected on
another location by the regular rig crew

– can be moved in large units without

complete disassembly.
– 135 to 145 feet in height is the most
common size.
SUBSTRUCTURE
- The rig floor, rotary table, casing and drill pipes
rest on a substructure.
- The rig floor provides an area for handling the
drill stem and related equipment.

MAJOR SYSTEM IN A DRILLING RIG

1. HOISTING SYSTEM

DERRICK - To support the rotating system in drilling the

well by providing appropriate equipment and
- Standard drilling rig derricks are tall steel
working areas needed for lifting, lowering and
structures with four supporting legs standing on
suspending the tremendous weights
a square base.
- Used to lift, lower and suspend the drilling stem.
- The derrick and substructure plays an important
role in drilling operations.
- The derrick provides the vertical height
necessary for the hoisting system to raise and
lower the pipe.

Hoisting Equipment:
1. Drawworks
- enabling heavy loads to be raised or
lowered by means of wire rope wound on a
drum.
- It also enables the driller, through the
catheads, to make or break drill pipe, drill
collars, and other connections equipment.
2. Hoisting tackle (tackle system)
- Crown block is static and rests at the top of the
derrick and the traveling block moves up and
down during making/breaking of the drilling
joint’s block and has a number of pulleys.
2. Overhead tools - crown block, traveling block,
hook, elevator
3. Drilling Line
2. CIRCULATING SYSTEM
- To circulate drilling fluid down and up the
drilling string
- Main functions:
- To remove drilled cuttings
- To exert a hydrostatic pressure to
prevent formation fluid
- Drilling Fluid is used as a circulation fluid
(water + bentonite + weighting material +
chemicals.
1. Mud Pumps - remove large volumes of
drilling fluid under high pressure
2. Shake Shaker - removes drill cutting
3. Desander - removes granular waste
4. Desilter - removes fine particles
5. Degasser - removes toxic gasses
Desilters and Desanders: The desilters/desanders
must be equipped with centrifugal pumps capable
of providing sufficient pressure to the
hydrocyclones to allow them to operate in the
desired pressure range.
3. ROTARY SYSTEM
- To rotate the drilling string and to rotate the
drill bit on the bottom of the hole
- It includes a rotary table and kelly which is a
rectangular-shaped pipe placed in the rotary
table.
- The rotary system is the set of equipment
necessary to promote the rotation of the bit.
- The bit must be mechanically and
hydraulically connected to the rig.
 - This is the connection made by the - The thread connector of the swivel is cut left-
drillstring. hand so that it will not tend to disconnect when
the drill string is rotated by the kelly or by the
top drive.
3. Drill Pipes - furnish the necessary length for the
drill string and serve as a conduit for the drilling
fluid.
4. Drill Collars - provides weight and stability to the
drill bit, maintain tension on the drill pipe and
help keep the hole on a straight course.
5. Heavy Wall Drill Pipes - provides additional hole
stability and aids in directional control.
6. Stabilizers - centralize the drill collars, help
maintain the hole at full-gauge diameter
7. Jars - provide sharp upward or downward
impact to free stuck pipe
8. Reamers - helps to maintain a full-gauge hole
diameter
9. Crossover subs - join components having
different types of connections.
10. Kelly Bushing - torque is transmitted to the kelly
Major Components of ROTATRY SYSTEM: by the kelly bushing.

1. Kelly - a square or hexagonal length of pipe that 11. Kelly Valves

fits into a bushing in the rig rotary table. As the
- consists of a ball valve which allows free passage of
rotary table turns to the right, Kelly turns with it.
drilling fluid without pressure loss.
- To transfer energy from the rotary table to the
- It isolates the drillstring from the surface
rest of the drill string.
equipment and allows disconnecting the kelly
- 40 to 54 ft (12 to 16.5m) during critical operations.

- To transmit rotary motion and torque to the 12. Kelly Saver Sub
drillstring and consequently to the drill bit.
- male threads and female on the other.
2. Swivel
- it is screwed onto the bottom of the lower kelly
- suspends the drill string and allows rotation at the valve or top drive and onto the rest of the drillstring.
same time.
13. Master Bushing and Master Casing Bushing
- Without the swivel drilling fluid could not be
- The kelly bushing fits in the master bushing
pumped downhole, or the drillstring could not
which, in turn, attaches to the rotary table.
rotate.
- Master bushing is used to handle casings,
14. Rotary Table
- Receives power from the power system.
- A gearbox allows several combinations of torque
and speed.
15. Top Drive
- Combined rotary table and kelly.
- Consists of a DC drive motor that connects
directly to the drill string without the need for a
rotary table.
- Is mounted on the rig’s swivel.
- Elevator and Elevator links are supported on a
shoulder located on the extended swivel stem.
- Advantages: it circulates while back reaming,
running a hole or pulling out of hole in stands.
4. POWER SYSTEM
Prime Movers
- used to supply power to drilling operations.
- these can be steam engines, electric motors or
internal combustion engines.
5. WELL PRESSURE CONTROL SYSTEM (BLOWOUT
PREVENTERS)
- The main components of the well pressure
control system are the blowout preventers
(BOPs), which are located under the rig floor
on the casing head.
Blowout Preventer
- a large, specialized valve used to seal, control
and monitor oil and gas wells.
- developed to cope with extreme erratic
pressures and uncontrolled flow emanating
from a well reservoir during drilling.
- Drilling fluid in the hole helps prevent formation
fluid from entering the borehole.
- If formation fluid does enter the well, it may rise
to the surface and cause some of the drilling
fluid to flow out of the hole.
- If the drilling crew cannot control the flow, it is
called a kick.
- If the flow is continuous and cannot be
controlled, a blowout has occurred.
- A blowout preventer (BOP), in conjunction with
other equipment and techniques, is used to shut
off and control a kick before it becomes a
blowout.
- Several BOPs are usually installed on top of a
well, with an annular preventer above and two
or more ram preventers below.
- An annular preventer has a resilient sealing
element.
- When activated by fluid pressure, the sealing
element closes on the kelly, drill pipe or drill
collars.
- Ram preventers have two steel ram segments
that are pushed together from both sides to seal
around the drill pipe.
- Both annular and ram preventers are operated
by hydraulic fluid pressure.
- Blind ram preventers can be used to close an
open hole (hole with no drill pipe in it).
- Blowout preventers are opened and closed by
hydraulic power.
- The fluid is stored under pressure in an
accumulator.
- High-pressure lines carry the hydraulic fluid from
the accumulator to the BOP stack.
- When the driller turns the proper valves, the
fluid operates the BOPs.
- Because the preventers must be able to close
quickly, the hydraulic fluid is put under 1,500 to
3,000 psi of pressure by nitrogen gas in the
accumulator unit.
 Draw works, Fast line, Dead Line
Draw works- enabling heavy loads to be raised or
lowered by means of wire rope wound on a
drum. It also enables the driller, through the
catheads, to make or break drill pipe, drill
collars, and other connections equipment.
Fast line – travels
Dead line – do not move or static
Cellar, Rathole, Mousehole
Cellar – pit kung saan nakalagay BOP
Rathole - a hole in the rig floor 30’-60’ deep and
lined with pipe. It is used for storing the Kelly while
tripping. That part of the wellbore which is below
the bottom of the casing or completion zone.
Mousehole – a small diameter pipe under the
derrick floor in which a joint of drill pipe is
temporarily stored for later connection to the drill
string.
Two main types of bits:
Rolling cutter bits - consist of cutting elements
arranged on cones (usually three cones, but
sometimes two) that rotate on bearings about
their own axis as the drill string turns the body of
the bit. These bits can have teeth or buttons
Fixed cutter bits - also known as drag bits, consist
of stationary cutting elements that are integral
with the body of the bit and are rotated directly by
the turning of the drill string. The principal types of
fixed cutter bits are natural diamond and
polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC)
Rotary slip - edge-shaped pieces of metal with
teeth or other gripping elements that are used to
prevent pipe from slipping down into the hole or
to hold pipe in place.
Make up vs break up thongs
Mud return line - a trough or pipe through which
the mud being circulated up the annulus is
transferred from the top of the wellbore to the
shale shakers. Sometimes called a “flowline”.
Blind vs shear vs pipe ram
Blind Ram - can be used to close an open hole (hole
with no drill pipe in it). one of the valves on the
BOP stack. It is designed to close off the wellbore
when the drill string is out of the hole.
Shear Ram - the component of the BOP stack which
cuts through the drill pipe and forms a seal across
the top of the wellbore.
Pipe Ram - a sealing device in a blowout preventor
which closes off the annulus around the drill pipe.
The size of ram must fit the drillpipe which is being
used.
Casing spool - a large receptacle which is installed
on top of the casing head housing or a previous
spool. It has both an upper and lower flanged
connection. Once it is installed it provides: a
landing shoulder for the next casing string; access
to the annulus between the casing strings and a
flanged connection for the BOP stack to be
connected to the well.
Drilling spool - Choke and Kill lines may be
connected either side outlets of the BOP or to
Drilling Spool installed below at least one BOP
capable of closing on pipe.
Choke line - a pipe connected to the BOP stack
which allows fluids to be circulated out of the
annulus and through the choke manifold when a
well killing operation is being performed.
Kill line - High-pressure line between the mud
pump and the blowout preventer to facilitate the
pumping of fluid into the hole to overcome well
pressure with the preventers closed.