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Whilst there are a number of methods of evaluating various resources that lie below the surface of the earth’s crust, drilling is by far the most common. While the drilling industry has its own identity, its activities are integral and vital to a number of other industries, especially the agriculture, construction and mining sectors.
Drilling is carried out in every state and territory within Australia, and many nearby countries in the Pacific and South East Asia, including the Antarctic.
The industry is made up of the following principal sectors:
- Waterwell – obtaining water for domestic & commercial use
- Mineral Exploration – finding minerals under the earth’s crust
- Blast Hole – for blasting in quarries & mines
- Environmental – identifying hazardous materials in the ground
- Seismic – used for initial Oil & Gas investigation
- Foundation & Piling – large diameter holes on construction projects
- Geotechnical – for analysing the structure & strength of soils & rock
- Raiseboring – large diameter holes for shafts and ventilation
- Horizontal Directional Drilling – for underground cables & services
- Oil & Gas – finding large oil and gas deposits
Currently there are approximately 3450 drilling rigs operating within Australia, and there is a high demand for their services in all sectors, especially mineral exploration. Equipment is usually mobile and typically operated by a small crew of 2 – 5 per rig. Drill crews must be skilled, knowledgeable and versatile, and able to solve a wide variety of problems posed by variable ground conditions, terrain, isolation and adverse weather conditions.
Drilling is a skilled profession, where practical problems require practical solutions. Given that the fundamental principles are common to most sectors, trained crew can readily transfer to other sectors, which all have their unique attributes. For example, waterwell crews do not usually operate more than 200km from home base, whereas mineral drillers are frequently located on FIFO (Fly In – Fly Out) camps. Some sectors drill on a new site every day; whereas some are on the same hole for weeks! Very few industries offer such a variety of work, location and life-style to that available in the Drilling Industry! Additionally, there are a significant number of Australian drilling contractors carrying out contracts overseas, utilising the skills and experience of Australian managers, supervisors and drillers.
While the equipment in most sectors must be mobile, the Oil & Gas rigs are the exception. Most drills are large, with semi-submersible platforms (in particular) being very large, and the total crew on a shift may exceed 30 people! Furthermore, some functions are routinely handled by service companies who specialise in critical parts of the drilling process (e.g. drilling fluids; coring; direction drilling, resource testing, etc.).
Drilling plays an important part in agriculture, civil construction and mining sectors, and the success or viability of many projects has rested on the skill, tenacity and ingenuity of the drilling crews. |