Well drilling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Well drilling is the process of drilling a hole in the ground for the extraction of a natural resource such as ground water, natural gas, or petroleum. Drilling for the exploration of the nature of the material underground (for instance in search of metallic ore) is best described as borehole drilling, or 'drilling'.
The earliest water wells were probably shallow pits dug by hand in regions where the water table approached the surface, possibly with masonry walls lining the interior to prevent collapse. Modern drilling techniques utilize long drill shafts, producing holes much narrower and deeper than could be produced by human labor.
[edit] See also
- Drilling rig
- Driller (oil)
- Deep well drilling
- Blowout (well drilling)
- Water well
- Underbalanced drilling
