How do oil rigs actually work?

Big drills, big profits. Here's how black gold is made

By BONNIE CHRISTIAN
14 Aug 2017

Every day, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) extracts around three million barrels of oil and 270 million cubic metres of raw gas from 5,000 metres below the sea's surface. Its oil rigs off the coast of the United Arab Emirates stretch deep into bedrock beneath the Persian Gulf.

Adnoc begins by performing a seismic survey of the site they want to drill. "This is when we send signals to the ground and it reflects back, so we can identify the areas where oil and gas exist," explains Qasem Al Kayoumi, manager of Adnoc's technical centre.

Once Adnoc has identified a site, it can start drilling. Rigs are raised and slid into place by a cantilever. "We connect the wells to pipelines, which take the oil and gas to facilities where the fluids - oil, gas and water - are separated," Al Kayoumi says. Next, the cargo is moved to a holding site before being shipped off to feed fuel-thirsty industries. WIRED takes a look at the machines that make black gold.

EXPLORATION
A 3D seismic survey locates oil and gas. "This gives us a good understanding of the geology of the field," says Al Kayoumi. "We learn whether there's gentle layers of geology or fractures. We can also discover information about the properties such as whether they are porous or tight rocks."

Credit ENRICO SACCHETTI

DRILLING
A derrick is used to drill wells down to a depth of 3,000 metres for oil and 5,000 metres for gas. The derrick is made of a collagen-resistant alloy material, which can resist high pressure and temperatures, as well as the hydrogen sulphide found at those depths.

Credit ENRICO SACCHETTI

EXTRACTION
Once it's known how many wells can be drilled, Adnoc needs to connect them with pipelines. These are used to deliver the oil and gas to central processing facilities. Electrical submersible pumps are sometimes used to bring oil to the surface.

Credit ENRICO SACCHETTI

TRANSPORTATION
When the oil and gas is ready to be transported, they enter the midstream-distribution phase. This involves the processing, storage and wholesale marketing of oil products. They are then sent downstream for distribution to sites such as petrol stations.

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