Once the drill site has been selected and surveyed, a contractor or contractors will move in with equipment to prepare the location. If necessary, the site will be cleared and leveled. A large pit will be constructed to contain water for drilling operations and for the disposal of drill cuttings and other waste. A small drilling rig, referred to as a dry-hole digger, will be used to start the main hole. A large-diameter hole will be drilled to a shallow depth and lined with conductor pipe. Sometimes a large, rectangular cellar is excavated around the main bore hole and lined with wood. A smaller-diameter hole called a "rat hole" is drilled near the main bore hole. The rat hole is lined with pipe and is used for the temporary storage of a piece of drilling equipment called the "kelly." When all of this work has been completed, the drilling contractor Will move in with the large drilling rig and all the equipment required for the drilling of the well.
Rigging up
The components of the drilling rig and all necessary equipment are moved onto the location with large, specially equipped trucks. The substructure of the fig is located and leveled over the main bore hole (fig. 22). The mast or derrick is raised over the substructure and the other equipment such as engines, pumps, and rotating and hoisting equipment are aligned and connected. The drill pipe and drill collars are laid out on racks convenient to the rig floor so that they may be hoisted up when needed and connected to the drill bit or added to the drill string. Water and fuel tanks are filled. Additives for the drilling fluid (drilling mud) are stored on location. When all these matters have been attended to, the drilling contractor is ready to begin drilling operations (spud the well).
Figure 22--A drilling rig with its major components and related equipment.