For those interested, at weekends I often post on technical issues related to oilwell production. These are simple explanations of what goes on, to give some basic understanding as various aspects of the technology. Because they have been going on for a bit now, the full list is given at the end of the post.

As we move through this explanation things do start to get a bit more complex. When we began a drilling rig was anything that punched a hole through the ground, to get at the oil underneath. And then we divided these structures into rigs and platforms. Well the new term for this week is workover rigs. (And these may be the old rigs left in place on a platform after the production wells are drilled - just to keep life clear).

See there you are, having sunk your kid's inheritance into this oilwell, and it just isn't producing the way you were promised. Sure it's making oil, but the supply seems to be dropping faster than it should, or perhaps there is too much sand coming out with the oil, or one of a variety of reasons. And suddenly the partnership is talking about hiring an oilwell service company to bring out a workover unit to come out and fix the problem. You might have heard of one of the two of the small companies that carry out this sort of work, the two more prominent are Halliburton and Schlumberger, although the latter came into the business first as a company that helped log or survey the hole to determine the types of rock that the drill had gone through. (And in true MSM tradition I should admit that I have consulted for both these companies).