For the average Joe or Julia, the world of drilling can be a complete and utter mystery. When you hear terms like auger drilling, directional boring, and horizontal boring, the most your mind can invoke is a series of cartoonlike question marks and an immature joke that ‘boring’ must be true to its name, and an entirely boring subject.
But knowledge is power. When you learn about a subject, you are more likely to become more invested in it. Here’s a quick lesson in directional drilling that will make you the most interesting boring aficionado you or any of your friends have ever met!

So let’s start with some cool facts about drilling. Did you know:

Cool! But what does it all mean?

Well, my friend, I’m glad you asked. Here’s a breakdown of some of the simplest drilling terms.

Boring: No, it does not just mean an unappealing situation. In the world of drilling, boring is a trenchless drilling process that minimally impacts the surrounding environment. Underground boring is becoming the preferred method of drilling.
Horizontal Driling: This means any wellbore that is more than 80 degrees. Basically, this kind of drilling drills upwards.
Directional Drilling: This kind of drilling is considered low cost and minimally impacting on the surrounding environment. Directional drilling has 4 different categories: horizontal directional drilling, directional boring, surface in seam (IS), and oil field directional drilling.
Auger Drilling: This is basically the screw of the drilling world. Auger drilling employs a drilling device that can essentially drill deep into the earth, sometimes 50 feel deep!

Hopefully this little drill didn’t bore you too much (see what I did there?!).