I fell in love with drilling at an early age because of the size, power and capabilities of a drilling rig. Six-year-old Brock believed drill rigs had superpowers like his favorite comic book characters. Thirty-two years and many drilling projects around the world later, I know that drill rigs do have superpowers.
The late, great Stan Lee (1922-2018), who co-created the Marvel superhero universe, introduced this quote during his decades of influence at Marvel Comics: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Those words should be stamped across the top of every drill rig control panel. A driller should be required to read them every time they take control. A great driller must respect the power of a drill rig and the damage it is capable of doing. It is the driller’s responsibility to utilize the rig, tooling and drilling method effectively, without destroying the borehole and surrounding geology. Again, “With great power comes great responsibility” — and the more powerful the rig, the more often these superpowers are misused.