The technology in the production oil has not been left behind in advancing as you will read more here. Since oil is an essential commodity for the survival of man, a look into the changes in technology in production is a good idea. In the past, in Ancient Mesopotamia bitumen a hardened substance was used in ship construction and holding jewelry together. The pharaohs in Egypt used the substance to make the pyramids stand tall. These minerals which oozed to the surface freely requiring no extraction equipment led to the discovery of oil.
From this site, you find out that oil was first extracted by digging. At the time, oil was used as medicine and the Chinese also lit their lamps as well as warm their houses using this product. There was not much knowledge of oil and the people came up with myths about the earth releasing gases and liquids.
The next discovery to be made as you will find here, was the spring pole. The device as you discover more here, was attached to a tree which provided the required resistance to reach greater depth, was used by the Ruffner brothers to enhance salt extraction. Oil was still not the primary goal but the people believed it could serve several purposes. When steam was introduced to provide energy for the spring pole for the extraction of salt the process became enhanced. A Yale chemist Benjamin Silliman discovered more about how oil could be converted into kerosene that is used for lighting lamps. It is at this point that the society became interested in the commodity and commercial drilling began.
From this website, you will read more about how the need for oil increased significantly. The number of oil deposits discovered in the earth increased. However there were hard sediments that made drilling difficult hence the need for improved equipment. Consequently, a method called rotary drilling emerged whose head could move past the hard sediment with great ease. One historic moment was witnessed in Texas where a rig in Beaumont struck oil and it rose to the surface trickling like rain water. As the world war 1 was set to begin, the demand for this product increased resulting in dire need for improved equipment following strong competition among nations. The most successful development for the rotary drill was the ability to dig deeper.
Right now the world still uses the rotary drill for oil extraction. Besides been in use, the equipment has had significant changes technologically to improve efficiency. As you will see here, the rigs are enhanced compared to the past. For example ,as you see here is that one rig can drill multiple oil wells and even move on their own.