Horizontal Drilling now allows these same operators to drill and set pipe for a mile or more horizontally through this same rock formation.

FORBES: Horizontal Drilling: A Technological Marvel Ignored

So, if your fancy, cordless drill doesn't set you apart from the beasts, what does?

NPR: Scientist: Cooking Sets Us Apart From Apes

Nevertheless, the Chinese companies hope to gain insight into how their new partners decide things like where to drill wells and how to set up the infrastructure around them, people involved in the deals say.

WSJ: China Foothold in U.S. Energy

Capiapo, Chile (CNN) -- Hedging their bets, officials in Chile said on Sunday they will set up an oil drill as a third option to rescue the 33 miners trapped underground since August 5.

CNN: Plan C for Chile mine rescue: Use oil drill

But many here are beginning to brace for change as the Illinois Legislature considers regulations that could set off a rush among energy companies to drill deep in the southern Illinois bedrock for oil and natural gas.

NPR: Scenic, Struggling S. Illinois Braces For Oil Rush

According to this 2002 article in Offshore, the Deepwater Horizon was set to be outfitted with a system called E-drill, which continuously beams data from rig operations to a monitoring center in Houston.

FORBES: BP's Deepwater Disaster: What Happened And Why?