Drilling for natural gas offshore, in some instances hundreds of miles away from the nearest landmass, poses a number of different challenges over drilling onshore. The actual drilling mechanism used to delve into the sea floor is much the same as can be found on an onshore rig. However, with drilling at sea, the sea floor can sometimes be thousands of feet below sea level. Therefore, while with onshore drilling the ground provides a platform from which to drill, at sea an artificial drilling platform must be constructed.