Top Drive Drilling

Top drive drilling replaces the kelly method of rotation used in conventional rotary drilling. Using hydraulic or electric motors suspended above the drill pipe enables top drives to rotate and pump continuously while drilling or during the removal of the drill pipe from the hole. An increasing number of land rigs use top drives.

Petroleum Communication Foundation. Our Petroleum Challenge: Exploring Canada's Oil and Gas Industry, Sixth Edition. Calgary: Petroleum Communication Foundation, 1999. With permission from the Petroleum Communication Foundation.