When an oil deposit (also known as a “discovery”) has been located, it must be extracted from the earth in a process known as oil drilling.  Since oil typically resides far below ground, the process is rather complicated. Extracting oil involves many steps and in some cases, special environmental constraints.  Let’s take a look at the various things that energy companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. have to do to get crude oil out of the ground and into the barrel.

Preparing The Land For Drilling
                                                             

First, the land must be prepped for drilling.  Access roads must be built to allow vehicles to enter and leave the drill site unimpeded. This generally involves clearing the land area that the drilling will take place on.  Once the land is cleared, a source of water must be made available as it is needed during the drilling process.  For this reason it is important to bring trucks on site to supply the water.

In addition to the water well, a special area called a reserve pit must be created.  As the drilling proceeds, the water will mix with drilled earth to produce significant quantities of mud which goes into the reserve pit.

Setting Up In The Oil Rig
                                                             

With the drill site prepped and ready, it’s time to bring the rig in.  To ensure that there is adequate room for the work crews, energy groups such as Triple Diamond Energy Corp. dig a large pit called a cellar that is dug around the drill hole.  Before bringing in the full rig, a drill truck will be brought into the cellar to begin preliminary drilling of a wider and shallower area in which a conductor pipe will be fitted.  This pipe will provide stability when the rig is brought in.

With the conductor pipe in place, the rig is brought in and positioned over the drill hole.  The drill descends and begins working its way downward. Along the way, its spinning blades and its water supply that create large amounts of mud that is removed with a pump-based circulation system.  When the desired depth is reached, a long casing pipe is fitted into the hole to keep it from collapsing.

Striking Oil
                                                             

After drilling, the process of testing for oil begins.  Core samples and drill-stem testing measures are used to confirm that the shaft depth is sufficient to reach the oil deposits.  Once confirmation has taken place, an oil pump is run down the shaft and the process of extraction begins.  Oil flows up the well, into pipes and then into tank batteries for storage until it is picked up by trucks where it is then sent to the refinery.  If there is difficulty getting heavy oil to flow up the pump, steam may be injected into a second, nearby hole to create upward pressure.  In this way, companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp extract oil from the earth and send it to be refined into the fuel you pump into your tank each week.