Drilling rigs, explained from the ground up.
Everything that turns a patch of dirt or open water into a producing well: the types of rigs, the equipment that makes them work, and the operations that crews run on them. Start here, then go deep on any topic.
Rig types & equipment
From land super-spec rigs to ultra-deepwater drillships — what each kind of rig is, where it works, and the components inside it.
Land vs. Offshore Rigs
The top-level fork in drilling — mobility, cost, environment, and the rig families under each.
Read guide → OffshoreThe 7 Types of Offshore Rigs
Jackups, semisubmersibles, drillships, platforms, spars, TLPs — and the water depths they drill.
Read guide → OffshoreWhat Is a Jackup Rig?
How a bottom-supported rig jacks its legs to the seabed, and where jackups are used.
Read guide → DeepwaterSemisubmersible vs. Drillship
The two deepwater floaters compared — stability, mobility, and water-depth reach.
Read guide → LandLand Rig Classes Explained
Mechanical, SCR, AC, and super-spec — how land rigs evolved and what "super-spec" means.
Read guide → EquipmentAnatomy of a Drilling Rig
20 key components — derrick, drawworks, top drive, mud system, BOP — and what each does.
Read guide → EquipmentWhat Is a Blowout Preventer?
The rig's last line of defense against a blowout — how the BOP stack seals a well.
Read guide → FoundationsDrilling vs. Workover Rigs
Why building a new well and servicing an existing one need very different machines.
Read guide →How drilling works
The operations crews run on the rig floor — from spud to total depth and everything in between.
How an Oil Well Is Drilled
The full sequence — spud, drilling ahead, casing, cementing — step by step.
Read guide → TechniqueDirectional & Horizontal Drilling
How rigs steer underground to run mile-plus laterals through the reservoir.
Read guide → TechniqueWhat Is Pad Drilling?
How walking rigs drill many wells from one surface location — standard in shale.
Read guide → SafetyWell Control & Kicks
How crews detect an influx and shut a well in before it becomes a blowout.
Read guide →Need a clear rig reference right now?
rigs.work is a structured drilling knowledge base for rig systems, crew roles, well-control terms, basin context, and operating economics.