Well drilling is the process of drilling a hole in the ground for the extraction of a natural resource such as ground water, brine, natural gas, or petroleum, for the injection of a fluid from surface to a subsurface reservoir or for subsurface formations evaluation or monitoring. Drilling for the exploration of the nature of the material underground is best described as borehole drilling.
Tricone rock bit
PDC (Polycrystalline Diamond Cutter) Drill Bit
Early rotary drill bits
Tricone bit for well drilling (medium worn-out)
Howard Robard Hughes Sr. was an American businessman and inventor who founded the Hughes Tool Company. He invented the "Sharp–Hughes" two-cone rotary drill bit during the Texas Oil Boom. Hughes was the father and namesake of Howard Hughes the American business tycoon and founder of Hughes Aircraft.
Hughes Sr. in 1917
The Fishtail Bit. The drilling technology prior to the patent by Hughes.
Hughes rotary bi-cone bit.
Howard Hughes Sr. Patent for an Oilfield Drill Bit (1908)