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.

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.