Platform
An oil company, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP etc will do geological surveys using specialist vessels to way up the chances of certain areas of seabed containing reservoirs of oil or gas. If the results are favourable, they will hire a Jack-Up or a Semi-Submersible drilling rig, or possibly a drillship to drill some exploration wells. If these wells prove fruitful, the oil company will develop the field with the drilling unit before constructing and placing on site a production platform, or if the reserves are marginal, an FPSO might be used.

The platform or FPSO will pump the oil out of the ground into a pipeline to shore, or as is sometimes the case to an 'export' tanker directly which then takes the oil to it's final destination. There are several different types of platform as technology has advanced so rapidly over the years.

The Jade platform seen above is a more conventional production platform placed on top of a steel structure (the 'jacket') which is permanently secured deep into the seabed. There is no way it can ever be moved once it is set in place, short of blasting it with dynamite. The main differences between a drilling rig and a production platform are the fact that drilling rigs move from one location to another and float on the surface of the water, while a production platform does not and also the large flare boom present on production platforms which vents off excess gas from the production wells.