Changes in Oil Production Technology
There have been significant changes in technology in the production of oil since its first production as you will read more here. Considering the value of oil to our lives, it is suitable to review the changes that have followed its discovery. Traditionally, people in Mesopotamia used bitumen to make boats and hold earrings, necklaces, and bangles together. The Kings of Egypt used bitumen for the construction of the famous pyramids. Bitumen, asphalt and mortar although did not require drilling, were the substances that led to the discovery of oil.
From this site, you find out that oil was first extracted by digging. The people living in this period used oil to heal diseases, light their lamps and heat their houses. Little information about oil existence was available at the time as you have seen in this site.
The technology that followed drilling was the use of spring poles. This apparatus which was connected to a tree was made popular by the Ruffner brothers with the intention of reaching more salt deeper in the earth. Oil was still not the primary goal but the people believed it could serve several purposes. With the introduction of steam to power ,the spring pole salt extraction proceeded at higher rates. A Yale chemist Benjamin Silliman discovered more about how oil could be converted into kerosene that is used for lighting lamps. Following this information, people saw the importance of oil and processes to extract it began.
From this website, you will read more about how the need for oil increased significantly. Following the demand; there was an increase in the number of oil fields that were discovered. While drilling using the spring pole, the machine encountered a challenge going past the hardened sediments. Consequently, a method called rotary drilling emerged whose head could move past the hard sediment with great ease. The success of the rig was witnessed in Beaumont Texas where the drill hit a field and a lot of oil started flowing towards the surface. As the world war 1 was set to begin, the demand for this product increased resulting in dire need for improved equipment following strong competition among nations. The most successful development for the rotary drill was the ability to dig deeper.
At the moment as we learn more here, rotary rigs are still in use for extracting oil. However, they are advanced technologically as they are fitted with digital tracking devices, touchpads and video control to monitor and access the rigs from a fur. From what you have read in this website, you can see that the rigs can do more work than they did in the past. For example ,as you see here is that one rig can drill multiple oil wells and even move on their own.