deep hole driller 1 2013 13 T he Atlas Copco RD20 III XC is a big rig W ith a 755 hp engine 120000 pounds of pullback and equippe d wit h bails and a hydraulically activated elevator for oil feld pipe it s a selfcont ained mo bile deep hole drilling rig designed for hard duty in the oil patch Y et the RD 20 X C is the smallest rig in the feet for W ater W ell Services Inc in Pleasanton T exas whose next smallest drill is a double jackknife rig that takes 18 fatbed trailer loads to mobilize and a week on site to drill a oneday hole The range III RD20 rig s XC designation stands for Xtra Capabilities and that s exactly why W ater Services wanted it Boom time investment J ames Forehand vice pres ident of W ater W ell Services said the company is invest ing in equipmen t for the future buying rigs that will fll any gaps in their feet s market range W at er W e l l Se rvi c e s bre a d a nd but t e r jobs have been drilling water for some of the major oil producing companies Fore hand explained In the deeper drilling mar ket we don t have as much competition What is a shallow drilling job for us is right at maxim um depth for most of the truck mounted water well rigs But when it comes to some of the mu ni c i p a l j ob s i t c a n b e t ou gh t o b i d c o m petitively without a truckmoun ted rig he said So W ater W ell Services purchased its RD20 XC at the end of 2012 as an invest ment for the future increasing its capabili ties in several ways First Forehand said the RD20 XC is compact enough to get them in the tight spaces of many municipal water well job sites Y ou can back this RD20 up in a 200squarefoot space and go to work Y et the RD20 is no onetrick pony W a ter W ell Service s can also use it for some of its agricultura l irrigation projects and to support develop ment and production of its The RD20 offers safety Other water well drilling companies can t compete James Forehand V ice President of W ater W ell Services Richar d Bartosh drilling superintendent for W ater W ell Services Inc discusses with his sales r epr esentative fr om of V entur e Drilling Supply how the RD20 III XC per formed drilling a 450foot 175inch di ameter well on the CarizzoW ilcox aquifer 30 miles south of San Antonio Eagle Ford Oil Field customers oil wells And buying a rig capable of working in the oil patch should have a huge payof f if a March University of T exas study proves true The study announced that while in this region there were currently 5400 per mitted oil wells the area should see more than 24000 wells permitted over the next 10 years Forehand explained that all oil well de velopers and producers need water to drill and for hydraulic fracturing In this region almost every oil well you drill you will drill a water well Forehand said While there is very little surface water in the area ground water here is plentiful