For the oil industry to work as well as it does, it needs a way to extract the oil trapped underground. Oil rigs, large structures meant to pump oil from underground deposits, are essential to the oil industry’s efficiency. However, oil is not only found beneath the earth’s surface, but also below the ocean. Because of this, the industry requires both onshore and offshore rigs to keep moving forward.

Onshore Rigs

The biggest advantage of onshore rigs is that they are built directly on land in various environments, like plains, deserts, and forests. By being built on land, onshore rigs are not only simpler and cheaper to construct because of their location, but also easier to maintain. The transportation of extracted oil is also easier for onshore rigs, as vehicles such as trucks and trains can carry the oil directly from the rig site to the refinery. Onshore rigs are crucial, as they provide approximately 70% of the world’s oil.
However, onshore rigs have their fair share of challenges too. Weather is a major factor that affects all types of oil drilling, but onshore rigs are facing the risk of being impacted by windstorms and land erosion. There are also various environmental concerns related to onshore rigs, such as habitat destruction, air and water pollution, and degradation of land surrounding the rig. Workers face traffic accident risks while traveling to and from rigs, as multiple trucks are required for oil transport.

Offshore Rigs

Compared to onshore rigs, offshore rigs encounter more challenges due to their remote location. They are typically built miles offshore on complex structures, such as platforms and anchors, to properly pump oil from beneath the seafloor to the rig. These setups are difficult to build and maintain, requiring around 200 workers to live on the rig for up to two weeks at a time to ensure proper operation. Such high maintenance and complexity of offshore rigs make them much more expensive than onshore ones. Transport is also more complicated, with offshore rigs requiring boats and helicopters to transport the extracted oil.
Weather is also a major downside for offshore rigs. While weather is a problem anywhere for any rig, offshore rigs are more vulnerable to extreme conditions, especially hurricanes. Additionally, offshore rigs pose a significant environmental risk, as any malfunction can have devastating effects on marine ecosystems. However, despite all the disadvantages, offshore rigs can tap into larger reserves, yielding higher production numbers and benefiting both the economy and the companies that run them.

As it can be seen, onshore and offshore rigs have their own pros and cons. However, regardless of their geographical location, their shared goal remains the same: drill for oil and keep the oil industry thriving in an industrial society like ours.