When do they install Oil Derricks?

Isn't that a pumpjack? The derrick is part of the actual drilling rig I believe (the big tower looking thing).

 

Yeah, that's a horse head pump, not a derrick.

 

If you've ever seen a water well drilling truck, that's what would be used rather than the old days when derricks were built on site and then drilling begins. The pump you posted is installed after the shaft has been drilled, casing cemented in place and electricity brought to the well site. The blob on the lower right is the motor which causes horse head to push & pull the pump up and down. What you are looking at in your pic is a mature and producing well.

 

The rig (derrick) is first. It's what does the actual drilling of the well. Once the well is drilled and casing installed, the rig moves out and the frac crew comes in and fracs the well. Then a pumpjack is installed to aid the well in producing oil/gas over the long term.

 

When a wells production goes down it means the well needs to be fracked again. If the price of oil ever goes up and you think you're a man apply for a job with a frac company. It will amaze you how many steps are involved getting oil out of the ground it was the hardest most dangerous job I've had and I really liked the challenge. And you haven't lived until you've fracked a natural gas well!

 

And if you are an actual man you will apply with a coil tubing company and really know what it's like to work.

Just kidding with you, frac crews aren't a joke either with all that #### iron running every direction.

 

Most wells that are fracked don't have pump jacks, they use ESP's because you can only use a pump jack on a vertices well, they don't work on a directional well.

 

Pump jacks and sucker rods do work on horizontal wells. There's still a lot of them being used and probably won't being going anywhere. Yes there are other methods such as ESP's, gas lift but pump jacks are still being used.

 

This is a derrick, I was at this rig Sunday nite, watch the video.
http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/jruac5qh

My Dad worked in the oil patch in the 50' and 60's in southern CA, they used gas lift back then to get the oil out, the good part about pump jacks is you can use gas from the well to power them.