My initial job offshore was as a Logging Geologist, a ‘sample catcher’, but in actual fact it involves more Drilling Engineering and learning about Rig Systems than Geology. Typically we are based outside of the Accommodation Block close to the Shaker house in a positively pressured ‘office’ known as ‘The Unit’ – in reality it is a high tech converted shipping container.
Between the Data Engineer (the senior logger) and I, our primary responsibility is monitoring the Well while it is ‘live’, i.e. not sealed (cased and cemented) off from the extreme pressures trapped deep in the ground, to act as a second pair of eyes looking for anything out of the ordinary. Basically this involves maintaining and monitoring the Rigs sensors (that we have onboard monitoring various parameters) to let the Driller and Oil Company representative know if anything is out of the ordinary in an effort to maintain control of the Well and definitely avoid what happened with BP’s Macondo Well in the Gulf of Mexico a.k.a. the Deepwater Horizon incident.
Monitoring is primarily the Data Engineers role, the majority of the Logging Geologist time during active drilling operations is following the sample regime set out by the Oil Company and taking samples of the rock cuttings returning to surface at the requested intervals. We will have a station set up within our Unit to prepare (clean & dry), analysis and record the rock samples. We can even use a device that analyses for Oil ‘shows’, although this can be difficult as we often use an oil based drilling fluid (called OBM – Oil Base Mud) which obscures the ‘shows’ of oil bearing pores in the rock samples. From the information collected during our analysis of the samples, we produce Logs/Graphs which show the variation in the rock types with depth as the well progresses deeper. This is plotted along with other parameters recorded at that depth such as rate of penetration, torque, gas levels, gamma ray value, mud data and wellbore surveys at various depths. There are definite downsides to this sort of entry-level role offshore, such as the pay, but it’s a great role to learn about Drilling as we work in the Rig’s nerve centre where it’s obviously important to understand as much as possible about the systems to improve your monitoring ability.
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A very important system to monitor, maintain and troubleshoot is the gas system which monitors the gas content in the drilling fluid (via our gas trap) as we drill or circulate the wellbore fluids. This can yield early warning signs of a well approaching a ‘balanced state’ and provide information on the reservoir’s contents. Actual drilling, the busiest times for us, only makes up about ¼ of the actual time it take to drill and complete a well; typically taking around three to four months on average (obviously this is hugely dependent on the type and complexity).
Maintenance of our other sensors is also undertaken during the quieter periods to ensure they are operating and the data being recorded accurately at all times. However, much of the time once all your tasks are complete, there isn’t a whole lot to do monitoring wise (especially when everything is going according to plan) so two or three weeks of consecutive 12hr shifts can get pretty boring if you are unable to entertain yourself with other interests or being proactive to learn more about the job from the senior engineer.
As I mentioned we work 12hr shifts changing from day shift to nights and back to days often and the length of our stay on the Rig can vary from a few days, to three weeks, which can all get pretty tiring. However, we are then meant to get the equivalent time off, I like this part of the job, how you essentially get 6 months a year off. It’s not for everyone though especially for those with family or an exciting life onshore to miss; the experience of being offshore is pretty close to being in prison, for a free man. As a result turnover is steady as people either get sick of it or use it for experience until they find a role back onshore. Work offshore can pay well though if you stick with it, and that’s the golden handcuff situation for many that keeps them coming back.
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Other roles and how to get started in the Oil Industry
I’m no expert on job hunting, but I can tell you what I’ve heard. Times have changed a lot since I started in the Oil industry at the end of 2012 when the industry was busy and wages were high. Since the price crash that occurred at the end of 2014, there have been many people being laid off with very few roles to go too, even fewer advertised I assume. 2016 is definitely not a good time to be trying to get into the Oil industry and this is an important point about the industry, it’s cyclical. If you’re interested in the industry you have to appreciate that there will be booms and bust as with most resource industries. However, night follows day and eventually it will turn around and rebound. Some citing it may rebound dramatically on account of the severity of the rout the industry has experienced.
The majority of the people that work for the Oil companies, the ‘operators’ (who actually own the permits and manage the exploring / production) work onshore in their regional offices, but there are a few that do work offshore in supervisor roles that seem to have good jobs. One of the best would have to be health and safety representatives, if you have any interest in H&S and the offshore lifestyle, get into that. If you’re into engineering, particularly mechanical or drilling engineering, then a job as a night or day Company man would be great positions to aim for, but this personnel usually have 5-10 years of experience or are fast-tracked from Petroleum focused masters courses and come up through graduate schemes.
There are dozens of other companies that provide services offshore. Many employ engineers, but it ranges from general labourers, painters, divers, geologist, kitchen staff, cleaners and housekeepers etc. I got my job as a Logging Geologist by getting a hold of the Managers email at Sperry/Halliburton and went and met her for lunch in Aberdeen; turned out they were looking for people then and there.
Here are some names of service providers to North Sea Oil and Gas companies:
- Schlumberger
- Halliburton
- Baker Hughes
- Weatherford
- Brandt, Franks
- Geoservices
- Cameron
- Sodex
- HRH, STAG
- Subsea 7
- Vetco,
- Mi-Swaco
The Drilling Rigs themselves employ permanent staff to run all aspects of the Rig, not just roughnecks and drillers, there are all manner of systems onboard that need specialist skills. Often they employ people through agencies to start with and after a few successful hitches will be taken on permanently. I guess it’s a way of trialing people without employing them directly. Some to look up would be Ensco, Transocean, Seadrill, Maersk Drilling, Noble, KCA Deutag, Archer.
