
Black Gold
Black Gold is a reality-documentary television series that chronicles three oil drilling rigs in Andrews County, Texas, 30 miles northwest of Odessa. It is partly produced by Thom Beers, creator of Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers. The Black Gold theme song is sung by country music star Trace Adkins. The title "Black Gold" comes from a slang term for oil. Black Gold airs Wednesday nights on truTV at 10pm. It is also shown as a special presentation on TNT in high definition. The show also airs in the United Kingdom on Five, under the title Oil Riggers.
- Created By
Thom Beers
- First Aired on
Jun 18, 2008
- Popularity: 2.525
- 3 votes
- Networks
- (US)
- Production
Original Productions (US)
- Status: Ended
Show Ended
5 seaons till Feb 20, 2013
Last episode: Showdown on Rig 28
Seasons & episodes
Total 5 seasons, 45 episodes

Season 1
Aired
Episode 1Black Gold 101 min
In the West Texas oilfields, three crews of roughnecks hit the ground running in the race for Black Gold, but all three face disaster on day one. The Viking rig has all the advantages that come with being state-of-the-art, but the crew can barely get the system started. On the tried-and-true Longhorn rig, the smallest roughneck, Peanut, gets crushed by a piece of equipment. And one crew leader will not survive the end of the first week.
Episode 2Black Gold 102 min
The race heats up in the oilfield. Longhorn Driller Gerald has his team in the lead but when a no-show puts the crew in jeopardy, the no-nonsense driller explodes. Wayne and the Viking crew work 'round the clock to go from dead last to neck and neck with the Longhorn men. Driller Justin takes over the powerful Big Dog rig, only to find out he's up against the toughest challenge he's ever faced: "The Well from Hell."
Episode 3Black Gold 103 min
There's big trouble on the rigs this week. Gerald's Longhorn crew is about to hit the pay zone, when suddenly, a crisis forces them to pull all their pipe out of the ground. Danger strikes Wayne and the Viking crew and one of his roughnecks could be down for the count. On the Big Dog rig, Driller Justin tries to show his rookie Derek the ropes, but the good times don't last long.
Episode 4Black Gold 104 min
Tempers flare on the West Texas oil rigs. The mighty Big Dog driller, Justin, is beginning to lose patience with his rookie Derek - planting the seeds for an explosive showdown. A tiny substance causes devastating problems for Wayne and the Viking crew, as they struggle to find oil. And, Gerald gets tough with his Longhorn crew but things get tougher when one of his roughnecks get seriously hurt.
Episode 5Black Gold 105 min
The West Texas oilfields unleash their fury in tonight's episode. Good-guy driller Wayne can do nothing as his crew is taken out by injuries. The powerful Big Dog rig is ground to a halt and driller Justin's job is on the line. On the Longhorn rig, no-nonsense driller Gerald is pushing his crew past their breaking point and winds up paying the ultimate price for it.