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.