So Herman, what was your past occupation(s)?

[JOE]

...were you one of those guys who worked on the rig?

Lifting up the drill, positioning it?



http://i.cbc.ca/1.3618777.1465256441!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_620/mexico-oil.jpg">



Is that what they call the 'roughnecks' or less flattering...the 'rig pig'?

Give us the details.

I'm interested to know what goes on in the rigs, what the working conditions are like, the hours, etc.

[Anonymous]

That is a huge rig floor Joe..



You can't even see the dog house..



My husband's company installs and maintains the top drives on drilling rigs.

[Anonymous]

I started out as a leasehand on a small double drilling rig right after I graduated from high school. I moved up to roughneck and graduated to motors by the time my first spring break came around. It was a long spring break up, so I went to a service rig contractor that was working around Kindersley. I did that for one year and was already a derrick hand and relief operator. I went back to drilling rigs as a motor hand and quickly moved up the stick. Went to big triples working in the Peace country as a derrick man and they had me relief drilling. Passed my first line well control and BOP tickets at Enform and got my own rig. I drilled for 3 years, including one overseas and started relief pushing. I passed my second line well control certs. Our toolpush died of a heart attack and I became a full time rig manager. I did that for 5 years, 4 of them overseas and came back to Canada as a consultant or drilling supervisor. I have been doing that ever since.

 

Most of my years in the upstream patch have been outside Canada. I hope to only work winters after this year. Farming is what I want to do.

[kiebers]

You just confused him Herman...  

If you broke those positions down for him, not only would it take severl "max character" posts, he would never be able to understand everything that goes on.

Google is your friend on this one J0E.

[Anonymous]

You just confused him Herman...  

If you broke those positions down for him, not only would it take severl "max character" posts, he would never be able to understand everything that goes on.

Google is your friend on this one J0E.

Google is what you do if you want to know what a roughneck does. If you want to know what Herman does, you ask him.

[JOE]

You just confused him Herman...  

If you broke those positions down for him, not only would it take severl "max character" posts, he would never be able to understand everything that goes on.

Google is your friend on this one J0E.

I don't claim that I know anything. It does however, look like incredibly dangerous backbreaking work. A mans job for sure. I wonder how many fingers, hands or limbs have been lost in work related accidents. Must be a lot of fatalities too.

[kiebers]

You just confused him Herman...  

If you broke those positions down for him, not only would it take severl "max character" posts, he would never be able to understand everything that goes on.

Google is your friend on this one J0E.

Google is what you do if you want to know what a roughneck does. If you want to know what Herman does, you ask him.

You totally missed the point of my statement.

[Anonymous]

You just confused him Herman...  

If you broke those positions down for him, not only would it take severl "max character" posts, he would never be able to understand everything that goes on.

Google is your friend on this one J0E.

Google is what you do if you want to know what a roughneck does. If you want to know what Herman does, you ask him.

You totally missed the point of my statement.

I totally get it and I agree with you.

[cc]

Joe certainly is Joe. He did manage to get Herm's very interesting career story out

[Renee]

Joe certainly is Joe. He did manage to get Herm's very interesting career story out

That's because Joe puts everyone at ease and makes them open up.



Shit, wrong thread.

[cc]

lol



OOPS ... I left out the key word "inadvertently"

[JOE]

Well folks, if someone offered me a job on the rigs, and I was (fool)hardy enough to accept, I'd be glad to make it through just 1 twelve hour shift I should think. I tried my hand at construction, and that was bad enough. After some near mishaps on the job, I was relieved to make it out alive, with my hearing intact, my eyes, and retain the ability to walk. Nails through steel toed workboots. Saws cutting right into the glove right next to the finger tip. Nailguns accidentally shooting nails like bullets at your head. 400 lb beams that can land on you if someone can't hold the load. Frug, who cares about the money. I just wanted my life and ta come in one piece!



I can't imagine how dangerous that kind of work is on the rigs. The way they string those chains up and they wind around. There must be a lotta fingers, hands and arms lost in those 'tings. It's stressful just looking at it.

[Twenty Dollars]

I started out as a leasehand on a small double drilling rig right after I graduated from high school. I moved up to roughneck and graduated to motors by the time my first spring break came around. It was a long spring break up, so I went to a service rig contractor that was working around Kindersley. I did that for one year and was already a derrick hand and relief operator. I went back to drilling rigs as a motor hand and quickly moved up the stick. Went to big triples working in the Peace country as a derrick man and they had me relief drilling. Passed my first line well control and BOP tickets at Enform and got my own rig. I drilled for 3 years, including one overseas and started relief pushing. I passed my second line well control certs. Our toolpush died of a heart attack and I became a full time rig manager. I did that for 5 years, 4 of them overseas and came back to Canada as a consultant or drilling supervisor. I have been doing that ever since.

 

Most of my years in the upstream patch have been outside Canada. I hope to only work winters after this year. Farming is what I want to do.

Interesting Herman. When you talk motors, your must be referring to very large electric motors? What's the voltage, load in amps, would think DC drives? Powered from the grid or generators? Sounds like interesting work.  

[Anonymous]

I started out as a leasehand on a small double drilling rig right after I graduated from high school. I moved up to roughneck and graduated to motors by the time my first spring break came around. It was a long spring break up, so I went to a service rig contractor that was working around Kindersley. I did that for one year and was already a derrick hand and relief operator. I went back to drilling rigs as a motor hand and quickly moved up the stick. Went to big triples working in the Peace country as a derrick man and they had me relief drilling. Passed my first line well control and BOP tickets at Enform and got my own rig. I drilled for 3 years, including one overseas and started relief pushing. I passed my second line well control certs. Our toolpush died of a heart attack and I became a full time rig manager. I did that for 5 years, 4 of them overseas and came back to Canada as a consultant or drilling supervisor. I have been doing that ever since.

 

Most of my years in the upstream patch have been outside Canada. I hope to only work winters after this year. Farming is what I want to do.

LOLZ, spring break. Herm meant spring break up when the rigs cannot get into skeg country.

[Anonymous]

You just confused him Herman...  

If you broke those positions down for him, not only would it take severl "max character" posts, he would never be able to understand everything that goes on.

Google is your friend on this one J0E.

I don't claim that I know anything. It does however, look like incredibly dangerous backbreaking work. A mans job for sure. I wonder how many fingers, hands or limbs have been lost in work related accidents. Must be a lot of fatalities too.

That is one old obsolete piece of shit of a rig. I can't remember the last time I had a rig with spinning chains on any lese I supervised.



And so you know Joe, leasehand and floorhand are entry level jobs. Motor hand requires a little more knowledge and is the last step before you are standing on the monkey board and running the circulation system.  



There are lots of other jobs that service the drilling rig. From power ting hand to water hauler to wireline to MWD hand there are lots of different jobs in the upstream patch besides working twelve hour tours, two weeks on and one week off.