A Report from Energy Ant—My Trip to Kerr McGee's Oil-and-Gas Drilling Rig

We visited Kerr McGee's oil-and-gas drilling rig (recently sold to Anadarko Petroleum)! Thanks to the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, we were able to see how a drilling rig works. The rig is powered by a huge diesel engine. Next to the rig, there is a little white building, called a doghouse, from where the drilling is monitored (and where rig workers take breaks!).

New technology is used in the oil industry all the time. One way drilling has become more efficient is through the use of directional drilling. At this site, this method was used to reach an oil reserve under a small wetland—instead of having to place the rig directly above the oil. And in the wetland, drillers were able to come in from the side without disturbing the wetland.

The stuff that comes up from the ground during drilling isn't just oil, though. It is actually a mixture of oil, gas, and water. The mixture is sorted out by a three-phase separator, which has a computer run by a photovoltaic (solar) cell. After the oil is separated from the water and gas, the oil moves by pipeline to a refinery where it will be turned into products like gasoline, diesel fuel, and heating oil.

To learn how a refinery works, read the Refining page of this site, or check out my field trip to the Carson City Refinery.