What Is An Oil Rig?

February 9, 2024

What Is An Oil Rig?

Oil rigs make everything in offshore drilling possible. Drill crew spend their days and nights out at sea on rigs, keeping the oil and gas industry going. But exactly what is an oil rig?

Technically, there are four different types of oil rig. The term ‘oil rig’ refers to any apparatus built for the purposes of oil drilling by oil drilling companies. The rig this article will be about is also referred to as an “oil platform”, but there are also oil wells, drillships, and drilling rigs.

Oil rigs are large platforms that contain a great deal of machinery and equipment used to extract oil and natural gas from the continental shelf. They can be tethered to the sea floor itself, or held up by way of a float or artificial island. Once the oil is extracted, it is transported back to land either by a pipeline (higher cost but lower risk) or an oil tanker (lower cost but far higher risk of losing oil and pollution).

There are a large number of people who work on oil rigs, including:

  • Roustabouts
  • Drillers and Drill Assistants
  • Roughnecks
  • Derrickmen
  • Toolpusher
  • Seamen
  • Engineers
  • Welders

They either sleep within facilities on the rig itself, or on a separate platform attached to the rig. Rigs are self-sufficient, with plumbing, water purifying, and electricity generation built in. You can read more about the range of offshore jobs available here.

Oil rig safety regulations are strictly adhered to and exhaustive. All staff onboard need to attend oil rig safety training courses and acquire certifications such as BOSIETs.

We hope this has answered your question of “What is an oil rig?”. The offshore drilling industry is always on the lookout for new and existing talent to join drill crews on oil rigs. Offshore recruitment is Global Resources Network’s speciality. As the leading offshore agency in drilling recruitment for North Sea jobs, we provide clients and candidates alike with expert advice. Contact us today to learn more about available oil rig jobs, or any other offshore drilling jobs you might be interested in.

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