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4 rathole d water held underground in the soil or in pores
5 buoy e a prospector who sinks exploratory oil wells
6 borehole f pieces cut off from something, especially what remains
when something is being trimmed or prepared
7 groundwater g a device for controlling the passage of fluid through a pipe
or duct
8 gravel h an anchored float serving as a navigation mark, to show
reefs or other hazards
9 wildcatter i make the initial drilling for (an oil well)
10 valve j a deep, narrow hole made in the ground, esp. to locate water
or oil

Pre-reading and while-reading tasks

3 Scan the text and define the main idea of the text.
4 Skim the text and answer the questions.
- What is the drill site?
- What are the factors of choosing the site?
- How is the site prepared?
- What is the function of a reserve pit?
- What are the sizes of the cellars?
- In what way is the mousehole used by the drilling crew?
- What vehicles and in which situations are used for the rigs carrying?
- What are the main functions of conductor pipes?
- How is the rathole drilled?

T he drill site – the location of the well – varies as the surface geography of the earth varies.
In the early days of the industry, geologists and wildcatters were able to find oil and gas in places
that were generally accessible. As people began to use more hydrocarbons, however, the oil
industry extended its search for oil and gas to all corners of the globe. Today, companies drill wells
in frozen wildernesses, remote deserts, mosquito-ridden marshes, hot and humid jungles, high and
rugged mountains, and deep offshore waters. In short, a drill site is anywhere oil and gas exist or
may exist.
CHOOSING THE SITE
The operating company decides where to drill by considering several factors. The most
important is that the company knows or believes that hydrocarbons exist in the rocks beneath the
site. In some cases, the operator drills a well in an existing field to increase production from it. In
other cases, the operator drills a well on a site where no one has found oil or gas before. The
company often hires geologists to find promising sites where no production exists. Geologists ex-
plore areas to try to determine where hydrocarbons may exist. Major companies sometimes have a
staff of geologists; independents often hire consulting geologists or buy information from a
company that specializes in geological data.
Legal and economic factors are also important in the selection of a drilling site. For
example, the company must obtain the legal right to drill for and produce oil and gas on a particular
piece of land. Further, the company must have money to purchase or lease the right to drill and
produce. What's more, it must have money to pay for the costs of drilling. The costs of obtaining a
lease and drilling for oil or gas on the lease vary considerably. Costs depend on such factors as the
size of the reservoir, its depth, and its location (offshore and remote sites cost more to drill and
produce than readily accessible land sites). A company can easily commit several million dollars to
find, drill for, and produce oil and gas. The rewards, of course, can be great, but so can the

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