Derrick Drilling Tower

An oil tower is a drilling rig designed for use in oil and natural gas production. The base version has a vertical stationary section that is potentially capable of supporting hundreds of tons of weight, combined with a movable arm that is used for lifting and lower equipment. Derrick's of various designs have been in use for centuries to extract precious resources from beneath the ground, and continue to be widely used today.

The term derives from Derrick Thomas Derrick, a man who invented a type of scaffold using a mobile beam and pulleys system during the Elizabethan era. During his life, Derrick performed more than 3,000 people, many of whom with his modified scaffolding device, and the frame in support of his forks became known as Derrick. The term was adopted to describe cranes and other lifting devices that used a similar support mechanism.

The first towers consisted of a frame that was designed to contain a large pole used for percussion drilling, which is achieved by repeatedly tearing the ground to make a hole. A modern drilling tower typically uses a tip that is able to bite through the substrate, and cooled with a constant mud dough to prevent it becoming too hot. Typically, as the tip sinks in, the hole is coated to prevent a quarry. Once the drill reaches the oil, it is withdrawn so that the pumps and pipes can be inserted into the hole to extract it.

In an oil-rich area, a drilling tower is designed to be a permanent structure, and will continue to function for many years. Portable petroleum towers are also used in areas with less resources, or for preliminary exploration in areas of potential interest. Generally, a portable tower is not able to handle as much weight as a permanent, which can be anchored to the ground and constructed with weight equipment as it should not be moved.

The basic drilling tower design is familiar to residents of oil-rich areas, and is also used on offshore oil rigs that extract water from below the sea. A large tower requires a large crew to function properly, and is often located in a field of similar towers, which operate on a constant basis. The drill tower crew generally includes geologists, engineers, mechanics, and security inspectors to ensure that the workplace is well maintained.