Since oil is found in the ground, we have to dig for it. Rarely does it decide to just appear on the surface of the earth for the taking. And dig, or drilling in the case of oil wells, oil companies do — and do quite well — in order to fuel the demand for oil, which, once refined, fuels our cars, our planes, and gives us hundreds of products that we love, from Barbie dolls to chewing gum and balloons. Oil is a non-renewable natural resource that we must search for, find, and extract, which is largely done by oilfield service companies.
Northern Oilfield Services, an oilfield service company in Williston, specializes in oilfield equipment rentals, including oil drilling equipment. This helps other oilfield drilling companies execute their jobs better by hiring us to handle all of the maintenance, upkeep, and compliance that is required for oilfield service equipment. It also saves them time, money, and hassle. In this blog post, we’ll review what is directional drilling. Contact us today for all your oilfield equipment rental needs!
WHAT IS DRILLING?
Drilling is the process of boring a hole into the earth’s surface in order to bring crude oil up from the ground. After the hole is drilled, steel pipes (known as casing), which are slightly smaller than the hole, are put into place. Sometimes cement is used between the outside of the casing and the hole (or borehole). Then the well is drilled deeper as much as needed.
The well then enters the completion phase (or the term used to describe the process of making the hole produce oil and/or gas). Small holes, or perforations, are made in the casing, which allows the oil to flow from the rock into the tubing. After this flow path is made, the well may be fracked, which is where fracturing fluids are pumped into the well to fracture the surrounding rock and stimulate it to release more hydrocarbons. Next, the area above the reservoir where the hydrocarbons are living is paced off and connected to the surface through a pipe called tubing. This allows the crude oil to flow to the surface faster, as well as prevent leaks of the oil.
Usually, the pressure forces the oil and gas to flow to the surface, but not always. This is why tubing is used, as well as downhole pumps, pump jacks, or packer systems. These new extraction and completion methods, executed most often by oilfield service companies, have increased the production of wells considerably.
Finally, a production tree, otherwise called a Christmas tree, is placed on the top of the well. The production tree is basically a bunch of valves that can control pressure, flow, and access. One valve of the production tree is usually connected to the pipes and tanks that allow the crude oil to be transported off location to a local oil refinery. Sometimes workover rigs are needed to aid the flow of the oil, which uses well intervention techniques that often uses coiled tubing. Pump jacks are often used, which is what most people envision when they think of drilling for oil. It’s the above-ground pump with a piston and horse head that mechanically lifts the oil out of the well when there is a lack of pressure in the ground to do so.
Northern Oilfield Services based out of Williston is an exceptional oilfield service company that specializes in helping other oilfield service companies by renting and/or selling oilfield equipment, including oil drilling equipment rentals. We help oilfield companies in all stages of the oil drilling process, including drilling, completion, and production. Contact us today to learn more!
WHAT IS DIRECTIONAL DRILLING?
Now that we’ve taken a hard look at what is drilling, we can now take a look at directional drilling. Traditionally, oil wells were drilled only vertically, or in a straight line. Directional drilling is where oil wells are drilled in non-vertical lines. Directional drilling has been around for almost 100 years and is mainly used to better reach the oil and gas reserves.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF DIRECTIONAL DRILLING?
- Directional drilling is mostly used when, for some reason, drilling a vertical well is not feasible. This would be for instance when you wanted to drill for oil underneath existing structures or a town.
- Directional drilling allows more wellheads to be closer together, which saves on production costs and hassle from constantly having to move your equipment around.
- Directional drilling is sometimes better to gain better access to the crude oil reservoir. Irregular reservoirs of crude oil is quite common, and directional drilling allows oil companies to better find these pockets of oil and bring them to the surface.
- Directional drilling can be used to drill a relief well in the case of a blowout.
- Directional drilling can reduce the impact on the land since you can drill multiple wells from the same vertical bore, or hole.
Directional drilling can be more expensive than traditional drilling, and it can be slower as well. However, in recent years, technological improvements in directional drilling have made huge strides in angles and distances covered.
HOW NORTHERN OILFIELD SERVICES CAN HELP
Northern Oilfield Services based out of Williston helps drilling companies, including those that use directional drilling, with oil drilling equipment. We rent and/or sell drilling equipment, wellhead equipment, and hydraulic fracturing equipment. We then maintain, refurbish, inspect, and deliver your drilling equipment to ensure safety standards and code standards are met. We can service your oil drilling rental equipment at your site, in the field, or at our Williston facility.
Northern Oilfield Services began two years ago when a need arose to supply oilfield service companies with equipment. Our team rose to that challenge and now is known all throughout the Bakken as the go-to company for oil drilling rental equipment, fracking rental equipment, and wellhead rental equipment. Our professionally trained and highly qualified technicians can have your drilling rental equipment serviced and repaired quickly, resulting in little downtime. When you need the best oil drilling equipment, call us today!