Bearings for Oil & Gas Drilling
On a drilling rig, a bearing failure is not a maintenance ticket — it is non-productive time on one of the most expensive workplaces on earth. NKEN supplies the bearings rigs run on: rotary-table thrust bearings, hook bearings and mud-pump bearings matched to original rig references, backed by a large-bearing renovation service that returns worn bearings to work.
Matched to the rig, not approximated
Oilfield bearings are specified by the rig builder’s reference, and the positions are unforgiving: the rotary table carries the full drill-string load on a thrust bearing, the hook and swivel suspend that same string, and mud pumps hammer their cylindrical roller bearings with every stroke. NKEN matches rotary-table thrust, hook and mud-pump bearings against the original rig references the operator supplies — the reference, the rig type and the position are confirmed in the quotation, because a near-enough bearing in these positions is not enough.
Renovation: large bearings returned to service
Some rig bearings are too large or too specialised for economical replacement — and scrapping a sound core wastes most of its value. NKEN renovates large bearings from 2 in ID to 100 in OD: worn raceways and rolling elements are assessed and restored so the bearing returns to service instead of the scrap bin. For rigs working far from supply bases, renovation also turns a long-lead new bearing into a planned turnaround item. Send the bearing designation, dimensions and condition, and we assess what renovation can recover.
One call for the rotating equipment list
Drilling contractors standardise hard, because every rig in the fleet shares positions and references. From a single NKEN inquiry an operator or rig-parts distributor can cover the named oilfield positions plus the standard thrust and cylindrical roller ranges behind them, all under one ISO 9001 quality system. Send the rig reference list you currently buy against — cross-referencing it is the first step of the quotation, and it costs nothing to ask.