Offshore drilling refers to a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled through the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum which lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the term is used to describe drilling activities on the continental shelf, though the term can also be applied to drilling in lakes, inshore waters and inland seas. Offshore drilling presents environmental challenges, both from the produced hydrocarbons and the materials used during the drilling operation. Controversies include the ongoing US offshore drilling debate. There are many different types of facilities from which offshore drilling operations take place. These include bottom founded drilling rigs, combined drilling and production facilities either bottom founded or floating platforms, and deepwater mobile offshore drilling units including semi-submersibles and drillships. These are capable of operating in water depths up to 3,000 metres. In shallower waters the mobile units are anchored to the seabed, however in deeper water.Drilling engineering is the science behind the wells that produce oil and gas. Drilling engineering involves the planning, costing, developing and supervising of oil and gas well operations. Drilling engineering usually involves temporarily intense projects related to well design, testing and completion. The science of drilling engineering is divided into the four different activities.
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