In our last blog post, we discussed in detail the different types of wells, which included natural gas wells, oil and natural gas wells, and strictly just oil wells. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the different locations of gas wells, namely offshore oil wells.
Northern Oilfield Services based out of Williston but covering most of the western United States, including Wyoming, is an oil field services company that specializes in renting and maintaintain wellhead equipment, fracking equipment and oil drilling equipment. By helping you with maintenance of oil field equipment, you have less downtime and more time to focus on the actual work rather than the drilling equipment itself. Continue reading, and then contact us today!
DIFFERENT LOCATIONS OF OIL WELLS
Oil wells have two main locations:
- Offshore drilling
- On land drilling
THE OFFSHORE DRILLING PROCESS
Offshore drilling are wellbores that are drilled below the seabed in order to extract petroleum reserves. Most of the offshore oil rigs are instantly recognizable as many now are huge structures that house hundreds of workers. There are large oil reserves located beneath the ocean floor that is extracted to help meet the demands of the world’s energy needs. While the main act of drilling offshore is the same as for on shore, there is much more involved due to the nature of water. After all, you can’t extract oil with water flowing into the hole or oil surging up from the continental shelf.
A subsea drilling template is used that is basically a large box that guides the drilling process that then marks the site of the well. Then drill pipes are connected to from a drill string to reach the depth of the earth’s ocean floor. Then these pipes are spun around with a drill bit doing the actual drilling. This can be a long process, taking anywhere from weeks to months to completely drill the hole.
As the borehole moves down into the earth, drilling mud is sent down to the drill bit that provides lubrication and seals the wall of the well to keep the pressure under control. Rock is filtered out and then sent back to the ocean floor as drilling continues. Metal casing is put in to line the borehole and then a packer is sent down to expand and make sure the well is sealed. Many systems are in place, including a blowout prevention system, to control the pressure when drilling. So if petroleum begins to push up the well, the petroleum is pushed into containment systems to prevent pollution.
The next big step in drilling is extraction. Once the drilling is done, it’s time to take the petroleum out of the earth. The important thing with extraction is to control the flow of oil out of the hole. This is done with production casing, which uses a cap to close the well and allow the petroleum to flow in a controlled manner. Explosives are used to crack the casing to allow the oil and natural gas to flow to the surface.
The pressure from the oil is enough to push the petroleum to the surface and then fluids, water, and sometimes steam are sent down when this pressure decreases. Depending on the capabilities of the oil rig, some of the petroleum that is collected is refined a bit on the rig itself. Crude oil is mixed in with natural gas, water, and sediments. Once this is done, oil tankers transport the oil back to the mainland to finish the refinement process, which yields what we use every day, such as gasoline.
THE NORTHERN OILFIELD SERVICES DIFFERENCE
Northern Oilfield Services offers essential oilfield services to companies in North Dakota and throughout the western United States. We offer oilfield rental equipment, such as drilling rental equipment and fracking equipment, as well as wellhead equipment to our customers. We also offer pressure testing, well maintenance and design, crane services, and storage services at our yard. We take pride in going the extra mile to help you with your fracking and extraction processes. From supplying the individual components you will need for your fracking and drilling operations, such as ball valves, casing heads, and tubing spools, to making sure you have everything you need to get the job done with our oilfield rental equipment, we’ve got your oilfield service needs covered. Contact us today to get started!