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eventually wear out and have to be replaced but normally last a long time. Likewise, supply
companies market safety equipment, rig components, tools, computers, paint, grease, rags, and
solvents. Think of any part or commodity that a rig needs to drill a well, and you'll find a supply
company on hand to provide it.
Service companies offer special support to the drilling operation. For example, a mud
logging company monitors and records, or logs, the content of the drilling mud as it returns from the
well. The returning mud carries cuttings and any formation fluids, such as gas or oil, to the surface.
The operator can gain knowledge about the formations being drilled by analyzing the returning
drilling fluid.
In many instances, when a well reaches a formation of interest (usually, a formation that
may contain oil or gas), the operator hires a well logging company. A logging crew runs
sophisticated instruments into the hole. These instruments sense and record formation properties.
Computers in the field generate special graphs, called “well logs”, for the operator to examine. Well
logs help the operating company determine whether the well will produce oil or gas.
Another service company provides casing crews. A casing crew runs special pipe, casing,
into the well to line, or case, it after the rig drills a portion of the hole. Casing protects formations
from contamination and stabilizes the well. After the casing crew runs the casing, another service
company – a cementing company – cements the casing in the well. Cement bonds the casing to the
hole.
Most offshore rigs, and land rigs in very remote fields, require cooking and housekeeping
services, since personnel live as well as work offshore or in isolated regions for long periods. The
drilling contractor or operating company often hires an oilfield caterer to furnish these services.

PEOPLE
While it is true that you can’t drill a well without a drilling rig several companies to back up
the rig, it is equally true that you can’t drill a well without skilled people. Personnel run the rig and
keep it running until the well reaches its objective. Many people are involved in drilling. Let’s cover
the drilling crew first – the group whose job it is to make the rig drill.
Drilling Crews
The contractor requires trained and skilled personnel to operate and maintain a drilling rig.
Keep in mind that a rig, when on site and drilling, operates virtually all the time, night and day, 365
days a year. Personnel directly responsible for making the rig drill are collectively known as the
“drilling crew”.
The person in charge of the drilling crew, the top hand, may be called the “rig manager”,
“rig superintendent”, or “toolpusher”, depending on the drilling contractor’s preference. Besides the
rig manager, or superintendent, each rig has drillers, derrickmen, and rotary helpers (also called
“floorhands”, or “roughnecks”). What’s more, large land rigs and offshore rigs often have assistant
rig supervisors, assistant drillers, as well as additional personnel who perform special functions
particular to the rig.

Rig Superintendent and Assistant Rig Superintendent
The rig superintendent (rig manager or toolpusher) oversees the drilling crews that work on
the rig floor, supervises drilling operations, and coordinates operating company and contractor
affairs. On land rigs, the rig superintendent is usually headquartered in a mobile home or portable
building at the rig site and is on call at all times. Offshore, the rig superintendent has an office and
sleeping quarters on the rig, and is also on call at all times. Because offshore drilling and large land
drilling operations can be very critical, the contractor may hire an assistant rig superintendent. The
assistant rig superintendent often relieves the superintendent during nighttime hours and is thus
sometimes nicknamed the “night toolpusher”.

Driller and Assistant Driller
The rig superintendent supervises the driller, who, in turn, supervises the derrickman and the

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