Texas Tech University in Lubbock recently made history with the nation’s first full-scale and fully operational, on-campus oil rig.
On Jan. 6, a 140-foot mast was raised on the oil drilling rig at the East Campus Oilfield Technology Center, the university announced on social media.
“The first full-scale, fully operational oil rig on a university campus was raised to working position today on our campus,” Texas Tech wrote on Twitter.
The Oilfield Technology Center sits on 10 acres and includes the 42,000-square-foot Terry Fuller Petroleum Engineering Research Building with eight research labs, two teaching labs, classrooms, and more.
With the mast in place, the substructure will be lifted another 25 feet to its final working position, where the team will install the blow-out prevention (BOP) equipment. BOPs are a safety feature used to cut off the drill pipe or seal the top hole in the event of uncontrollable pressure from the well….