02 — Equipment

Rig Equipment

Every core mechanical system on a drilling rig, from the rig itself down to the bit thousands of feet below.

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Types of Drilling Rigs

Land rigs, jack-ups, semi-submersibles, drillships, platforms, and barges compared with specs and day rates.

The Drill String

Every component from top drive to bit — drill pipe, collars, BHA, MWD tools, and bit types.

Blowout Preventers

How a BOP stack seals the well — annular preventers, rams, pressure ratings, and testing requirements.

BOP Types & Stack → 🧯

Accumulator Function Test & Drill

Initial pressure, per-component open/close timing against API STD 53, recharge time, and drill report sections.

Bridge Plug

Drillable vs. retrievable, wireline vs. mechanical setting, pressure/temp ratings, failure modes, and how it differs from a cement retainer.

Casing Cutter

Mechanical vs. chemical cutting, running and actuation, generic ratings, failure modes, and how it differs from a section mill.

Section Mill

Single-trip vs. two-trip mills, swarf handling, generic ratings, failure modes, and how it differs from a casing cutter.

Window Mill

The starting/window/taper mill sequence, whipstock setting and orientation, failure modes, and how it differs from a section mill.

Safety Joint

Mechanical vs. hydraulic release designs, where it's placed in a fishing or liner string, and common failure modes.

MWD Tool

Mud pulse telemetry, MWD vs. LWD, where it sits in the BHA, and common failure modes.

Packer

Permanent vs. retrievable, the polished bore receptacle, and how it differs from a bridge plug.

Whipstock

How its concave face deflects a window mill into the casing wall, the pilot lug, and orientation before milling.

Liner Hanger

Why a liner runs instead of full casing, how the slips carry its weight, and the liner top packer.

Cement Retainer

How the pump-through valve works during a squeeze job, drillable vs. retrievable, and how it differs from a bridge plug.

Float Sub

How its flapper or ball-and-seat check valve stops backflow, and how it differs from a float shoe or collar.

Crossover Sub

Joining different thread types and diameters in a string, the tapered-shoulder failure point, and how it differs from a bit sub.

Under-Reamer

Folding arms that pass a restriction closed then cut hole wider once extended, hydraulic vs. mechanical actuation, failure modes, and how it differs from a hole opener.

Stabilizer

String vs. near-bit vs. roller-reamer placement, straight vs. spiral blade design, failure modes, and how it differs from an under-reamer.

Reversing Tool

How reverse circulation carries junk and debris back up the string, port actuation, failure modes, and how it differs from a float sub.

Hydraulic Jar

Up jar vs. down jar, how a jar accelerator stores extra energy, failure modes, and how it differs from a safety joint.

Sliding Sleeve

Shifting tool operation, zonal isolation and circulation uses, and common failure modes.

Burr Mill

Dressing sharp edges after a cutting or milling pass, and how it differs from a section mill.

NMDC / Pony NMDC

Why MWD tools need non-magnetic spacing, how it's calculated, and what happens when it's wrong.

Lifting Sub

A handling accessory, not a downhole tool — how it differs from a crossover sub.

Pup Joint

Precise string spacing with the same thread and diameter, and how it differs from a crossover sub.

Positive Displacement Mud Motor

How the Moineau principle converts fluid flow into bit rotation, sliding vs. rotating drilling.

SCSSV Safety Valve

Fail-safe by design, regulatory requirements, and common failure modes.

Gas Lift Mandrel

Side-pocket design for wireline valve retrieval, and mandrel spacing for staged unloading.

Blast Joint

Thick-wall erosion resistance opposite perforations or gas lift mandrels.

TCP Gun

Run on tubing instead of wireline — how it's fired downhole and common failure modes.

Tubing Plug

A wireline-retrievable plug set into a landing nipple to block tubing flow at a chosen depth.

Casing Patch

A short expandable liner that restores pressure integrity across damaged casing from the inside.

Landing Nipple

A precision-machined profile giving plugs, valves, and gauges a fixed point to lock into on wireline.

On-Off Tool

Lets the tubing string disconnect and later reconnect to a packer below without unseating it.

Casing Shoe

The rounded nose on the bottom of a casing string, guiding it past ledges on the way into the hole.

Centralizer

Clamps onto the casing OD and holds the string centered so cement forms an even sheath.

Mule Shoe

A beveled guide nose that helps a string slide past ledges and sharp window edges on the way in.

Bull Nose Plug

A solid, blind guide nose that protects whatever's below the string from debris, no flow passage.

Jetting Tool

Directs high-velocity fluid jets to erode fill and debris out of the wellbore.

Expandable Sand Screen

Runs at a reduced diameter, then expands against the formation wall to filter sand.

Casing Roller / Dressing Tool

Restores a round internal profile to dented casing by rolling the wall back toward shape.

Wash Pipe

Large-diameter pipe run over a stuck fish to circulate away the fill actually gripping it.

Well Protector

Shields wellhead sealing surfaces during intervention, and doubles as a debris-collection tool during BOP cleaning.

Fishing Swivel

A bearing-based downhole swivel that isolates torque in a fishing string, letting a releasing tool turn independently.

Bumper Sub

A telescoping tool that lets a jar's impact strike cleanly instead of stretching out through the pipe.

SABS vs. DABS

Single- vs. double-acting bumper subs — whether impact transmits in one direction or both.

Power Swivel

How a workover rig rotates a string without a kelly, rotary table, or full drilling-rig top drive.

Hydraulic-Set Retainer Packer

Standard vs. sour-gas high-spec configurations, setting method, and how it differs from a cement retainer.

Core Systems

Every Rig's Six Systems

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