subject: So You Want a Job in the Oil and Gas Industry… [print this page] So You Want a Job in the Oil and Gas Industry
How about a job on a drilling rig? Sounds good? Looks great on TV. Okay, so which one do you want to work on?
Gas and Oil Rigs as Far as the Eye Can See
From its drill bit all the way up to its spouting crown block, the drilling rig is a robust yet intricate form of rugged, technical ingenuity. The rigs themselves are an entire family of excavators.
Jack-up drilling rig-Asia and Africa; 400 feet water depth and drilling depths of 30,000 feet
Semi submersible-GOM and North Sea; water depth up to 10,000 feet and drilling depth of 35,000 feet
Drilling rig-USA; truck mounted; up to 8,000 lb. capacity hydraulic winch; 2000 HP
Water drilling rigs-USA and Dubai; drill engine 1508 HP; pullback up to 50,000 pounds
Mobile rigs-USA and Dubai; truck mounted; pullback up to 80,000 pounds
Off shore rigs-Kullu; water depth 600 feet and drilling to 20,000 feet
Land drilling rig-Mid East, Africa, South America, Asia;3000 HP
Barges, cranesthe list goes on and on. Big, heavy equipment operators are in high demand.
Not Good For All?
The most noteworthy fallback of offshore drilling is, of course, oil spills. Ironically, the latest BP oil spill crated hundreds of jobs while they scrambled to clean up not only the spill, but their reputation as well. Produced water is also dumped into the ocean containing not just oil remnants but other chemicals and drilling fluids; heavy metal cuttings are yet another discarded byproduct.
In 2010, mid June, 620+ offshore rigs including barges, and drillships were available for drilling. That's a lot of jobs. Lay-offs, cut backs, firings and pension eliminations don't seem to be affecting energy careers.
