Roughnecks, Rock Bits and Rigs: The Evolution of Oil Well Drilling Technology in Alberta, 1883-1970Roughnecks, Rock Bits, and Rigs: The Evolution of Oil Well Drilling Technology in Alberta, 1883-1970, is a detailed study of an important and little-documented area of the history of oil and gas in Alberta. It is the first comprehensive study to focus on the technologies that made Alberta's oil industry viable. Author Sandy Gow provides an in-depth look at the evolution of oil well drilling technology from 1883 through 1970, the era of conventional oil exploration in the province. During the early exploration years, the individuals working in the oilfield developed and adapted technologies, such as drill bits and power sources, to suit their specific needs, largely through trial and error. This spirit of innovation and ingenuity is captured in accounts of the evolution of drilling processes and equipment, as well as in the personal stories of those who worked on the rigs. Gow puts the technology of the oilfield into context with an overview of the history and geology of oil and gas in Alberta, as well as a look at the human side of this vital provincial industry |
Contents
The Development of the Oil Business and Oil Well Drilling in Alberta 18831970 | 1 |
Finding Oil Petroleum Geology and Geophysics | 27 |
The Handmaidens of the Alberta Oilfields | 51 |
The Standard Cable Tool Rig and Associated Developments in Alberta Drilling Technology | 87 |
The Standard Cable Tool Rig Spuddingin Ceremonies and Related Developments in Alberta Drilling Technology | 109 |
The Rotary Rig | 139 |
The Drill String and Innovations in Rotary Drilling Methods and Equipment | 179 |
The Fluid Circulating System | 211 |
Some of the Problems Involved in the Alberta Oilfields to 1970 | 275 |
The Hazards of Alberta Drilling | 303 |
Conclusion | 333 |
Appenices | 339 |
Glossary | 353 |
Select Bibliography | 389 |
End Notes | 395 |
| 433 | |
Well Instrumentation Formation Evaluation Well Logs Well Stimulation and Rotary Well Completion | 237 |
Common terms and phrases
acid American anhydrite Archives of Alberta Beaverhill Lake Bill Lockhart blowout preventer boiler borehole bottom Brantly cable tool rig Calgary Canadian cement circulation core crew depth derrick device Dick Hazen diesel directional drilling downhole drawworks drill collars drill pipe drill stem drill string driller Drilling Contractors drilling fluid drilling mud drilling rig Drilling Technology early Edmonton equipment feet field formation Frank Hunter Frank Redford Fred Louth George Fyfe George Tosh History of Oil hole Ibid Imperial Oil Review Interview with Frank Interview with George Interviews with Bill Leduc limestone Lloydminster McCray and Cole mud pumps muskeg oil and gas Oil Bulletin oil companies Oil Well Drilling oilfield operation Petroleum Photo courtesy PIOHP pressure producing Provincial Archives Redwater reservoir rock rotary rig roughnecks sand seismic shale Shell steam steel surface tion toolpusher truck Turner Valley valve Wainwright weight western Canada Western Examiner Western Oil Examiner zone