How Does an Oil Rig Work?


Watching the boring and artsy-pretentious Western “There Will Be Blood” (or “Petrólico Sangriento” in the Spanish of my local BlockBuster), I started wondering HOW DO those old oil rigs actually work?–sucking oil from the earth and all that.

oil-drilling-derrickSuper Wiki says this about oil rigs, but what I really want is an image that explains the up and down, up and down part. How does that pump suck up fluids by bobbing its head?

How Stuff Works has a nice image of an oil rig but it’s way out of my league. Too complicated. Don’t get it.

I did some more searching and came up with nothing really satisfying until I bumped into

“Doctors view the penis pump—or ‘vacuum constriction device,’ as it’s called in the business—as a reasonable, low-cost treatment for erectile dysfunction.”

salwen_090105_blog_oilrigI’ll remember that.

You can find an Microsoft and Viagra-sponsored, family-friendly article on penis pumps (with a great, hairless, creepy illustration) here.

If you can explain the up and down, up and down thing of the historic oil pumps on the Western plains, please do. You’ll win a free penis pump!

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  1. #1 by Michael Kay on February 2, 2009 - 19:10

    Nice graphics. Now I understand a lot better how it works.

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