Oil and gas wells are generally created by drilling a hole into the earth with a drilling rig that rotates a drill string with a bit attached. After the hole is drilled, sections of steel pipe (casing), slightly smaller in diameter than the borehole, are placed in the hole. Cement may be placed between the outside of the casing and the borehole. The casing provides structural integrity to the newly drilled wellbore, in addition to isolating potentially dangerous high pressure zones from each other and from the surface.
Drill strings of pipe for oil and gas wells are generally assembled or disassembled vertically on a derrick one joint at a time, and are stored horizontally on pipe racks situated on the ground adjacent the rig. The work floor of the rig is typically elevated substantially above the pipe rack such that transferring sections of pipe to and from the racks and the work floor is necessary, and further requires careful handling of the heavy pipe to protect the workers and the pipe.
Various pipe handling systems are known for presenting sections of pipe to a raised derrick work floor. Some common systems are referred to as “pipewranglers,” generally include a platform having a boom that may provide pipe to a raised rig work floor.