Despite the current blip in gas prices, we're still addicted to oil. So this week we visited the Offshore Technology Conference to find the seven coolest and toughest vehicles used to find more black gold.

Cooper is an old name in mobile drilling, and the TL550 Mobile Servicing Rig is one reason why. Once a well is tapped it needs lots of work and this rig can service 2 1/2" pipe nearly four miles into the ground. One of the best features of the sweet Cooper is the uncovered 550 HP Detroit Diesel engine. Covering the…

As with the auto industry, the Chinese are all over the oil industry and have rigs with a conspicuously similar look to other vehicles. This rig is from a company called RG Petro-Machinery, whose ironic slogan is "humanism above all." A workover rig, as opposed to a drill rig, is used to support drilling operations like…

Even without the Texas flags everywhere, we'd know this Loadcraft 1000 Carrier rig was made in the Lone Star State. How? The platform attached to the back of the rig included two gigantic leather couches. While we're sure this is just for demonstration purposes, it does speak to a certain Texaness. The Carrier 1000 is…

Exploring and drilling for oil requires using massive winches pulling cords and wires with massive diameters. Rather than setting up gigantic spools with each trip to a new well, companies like ASEP have built portable wireline trucks capable of controlling the movement of tubing and wire thousands and feet into the…

Unfortunately, the aliens put some of the oil out in the middle of the ocean, which can sometimes be dangerous. In order to assure a well-paid crew doesn't die when a fire or storm threatens a rig, most rigs are equipped with these safety boats. This one is the Caddy of emergency equipment, capable of handling a crew…

It would take us years to describe everything we love about the Atlas Copco Predator. Let's start with the paint, which we think is P***Y Magnet yellow. Let's move onto the efficiency, which helps the Predator use less of the stuff it's sucking out of the ground. Rather than featuring a pair of diesel engines, the rig…

For some reason, we're always being threatened by killer machines. When this time does come it'll likely be something like this Schilling Underwater ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle). Similar what James Ballard used to unearth the treasures of the Titanic, this ROV is the size of a Ford Focus and comes equipped with two…