Petroleum: Drilling Contractors (OG-06)
About 98 percent of all drilling in the United States is done by the drilling contractor, whose main job is to drill the hole to the depth and specifications of the operating company. Because drilling is usually secured by bids, the contractor must be competitive in prices and services to stay in business. Because drilling requires large quantities of expendable supplies, such as casing, bits and drilling mud, the operator and the contractor buy these materials from companies that specialize in particular services. Numerous service and supply companies work at large drill sites at one time or another. Coordinating these services are the managers and engineers of the operating company, who work as a team with the drilling contractor.

Our Hoosier State Beneath Us: Oil and Gas