Drilling is an operation aimed at exploring the subsoil, on land or at sea, to identify oil and natural gas deposits. This soil sounding consists of detecting the presence or not of liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons, their nature, as well as the volume of the reserves, in order to develop there exploitation operations of the detected deposits, in other words the putting into production of the field, as well as well maintenance and optimization.

The location of a borehole is decided following geological and geophysical studies. These studies make it possible to get an idea of the constitution of the subsoil and the possibilities of deposits, but they cannot detect with certainty the presence of hydrocarbons. Only drilling will be able to confirm the hypotheses made and highlight the nature of the fluids contained in the rocks.

Drilling objectives

The drilling operation consists of:

  • develop the drilling and casing program for the well: specify the depth, the target objective, its characteristics of the different drilling phases,
  • design and build wells: working in close collaboration with the geological, reservoir and production engineers, the drillers are responsible for implementing the appropriate technical means in the field in complete safety for digging the wells,
  • drive a drill string into the subsoil, using a derrick, by injecting a special mud, called “drilling mud”*,
  • control the density of the drilling mud during the drilling operation: the preparation of the density of the drilling mud is a strategic step and its density must be controlled during the drilling operation to ensure its smooth running. A specialist must constantly monitor the characteristics of the mud and be reactive to modify its composition as quickly as possible in the event of a problem.

* Drilling mud is used to bring rock fragments and gas samples to the surface to determine the location of a potential oil or gas deposit. The drilling can go from a few hundred meters up to 9 km. If the drilling mud is too heavy, it may enter the reservoirs. If it is too light, on the contrary, it can cause an uncontrollable and dangerous eruption, both for the teams and for the environment.

Drilling and deposit exploitation professions

The drilling and exploitation of deposits call upon various categories of trades:

  • Geologist Engineer
  • Drilling Engineer
  • Reservoir Engineer
  • Production Engineer
  • Drilling Supervisor
  • Driller
  • Chief Rig Mechanic
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Other Drilling's Jobs

  • Reservoir Engineer – Oil and Gas

    Reservoir Engineer – Oil and Gas

    A reservoir engineer, also known as an oil and gas reservoir engineer, is a professional who specializes in the study and management of petroleum and natural gas reservoirs.

  • Production Engineer – Oil and Gas

    Production Engineer – Oil and Gas

    The Production Engineer is responsible for monitoring, optimizing and continuously improving the production of oil and gas fields.

  • Geological Engineer – Oil and Gas

    Geological Engineer – Oil and Gas

    A geological engineer is responsible for the exploration, evaluation and exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits.

  • Drilling Engineer – Oil and Gas

    Drilling Engineer – Oil and Gas

    A drilling engineer specializes in the design, planning and supervision of drilling operations for exploration and production wells.

  • Drilling Supervisor – Oil and Gas

    Drilling Supervisor – Oil and Gas

    Also called site manager or rig manager, the Drilling Supervisor is essential in the process of managing and supervising drilling operations in the oil and gas sector.

  • Driller – Oil and Gas

    Driller – Oil and Gas

    A driller is responsible for effectively conducting drilling operations by respecting safety procedures and ensuring the proper functioning of equipment.

  • Head Drilling Mechanic – Oil and Gas

    Head Drilling Mechanic – Oil and Gas

    A chief drilling mechanic is responsible for supervising and managing the maintenance and repair operations of drilling equipment.

Eva BERTON
Eva BERTON
Recruitment Manager

Faced with the acceleration of the energy transition, the skills of energy experts are a real challenge for the decades to come. It is important to us to analyze the strategic positions of the oil and gas, renewable and nuclear sectors so that our consultants can understand the possible bridges from one sector to another. This will allow us to transform the energy landscape together.

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