Offshore Work

I'm Back

2011-09-26T22:52:00.002-05:00

There has many changes in my life, new addition to my family, new job, new adventures in general. Overall life has been great since the last time I posted. I will post a funny story I heard just the other day later, but first I was asked by a friend to tell you about his new website. Now I normally wouldn't do this but it directly involves what I do and many others. His new company is called Louisiana Explosive Training, and he was just recently approved by the state police to start teaching explosive safety for the oilfield. Here is the link to the page http://louisianaexplosivetraining.com/ and if you scroll to the bottom he even has Facebook since all the kids are doing it. If you or your company is in need of this training the look him up.

Still Oil

2010-09-18T21:33:00.002-05:00

No matter what they say you have to see it first hand. Working out in the West Delta field the last couple of weeks I have had time to see the BP oilspill first hand. Although 5 months ago now there is still oil in the water. Now I support BP's efforts, but I know for a fact there is still oil on the surface of the water. I saw it just the other day, not just a small sheen, but not thousands of gallons either. But there is still oil in the water and the skimmers should be out still picking it up. Work wise for me though we are busy as hell. The government is scared and wants all the old wells that have been shut in for years plugged. And that equals work for myself and other P&A companies. Looking to get into the oilfield? It's still a good time.

Oil,Oil Everywhere

2010-07-26T15:59:00.002-05:00

It has been a while since my last post and the oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico has drastically changed. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last 3 months then you know all about the Deepwater Horizon accident. I will not go into detail about it on here, but there is one fact you need to know. I realize this is a horrible accident but the gulf will recover. THERE ARE 643 quadrillion gallons of water in the gulf. So when people ask me if the gulf is jut a big bowl of oil I reply with" are you fucking kidding me?". Come on people. Yes there is oil in the gulf, but it will be ok.

E-Line

2009-08-20T21:11:00.002-05:00

Alright, I have some inside information on a company looking to hire some people immediately in the Lafayette LA area. If you are a experienced Electric line Engineer, Specialist,or Operator that actually runs the job, not just a helper contact me immediately and I can give you more info. Excellent benefits and pay.

Fire Watch

2009-06-30T00:26:00.004-05:00

Fire watch is a very important job offshore. It could save a life or many lives. That being said sometimes fire watch isn't taken as serious as it should. It's not a hard job. If you haven't done it or been around one the fire watch is a job where you watch for fire while Hot Work is being done, anything like cutting, grinding, or welding. The basic things are monitoring a gas detector for dangerous gases, having a fire hose or fire extinguisher in hand or close by, and after the hot work is done then you have to stay and monitor the area for 30 minutes. Not hard huh? A job I don't mind volunteering for. But during fire watch you must stay awake and alert where the hot work is being performed. Now as exhausting as that may sound some people find it hard to stay awake during this time. For example, while doing some work on the plus 10 ( the area about 10 feet above the water line) some cutting was being done with a cutting torch. Some pretty basic work that was approved and and a hot work permit was filled out. The fire watch we will call "Johnny" loved being fire watch because he could catch up on his sleep. Johnny and Rick put on there work vest and proceeded to the plus 1o, where the torch and fire hose was lowered down and the hose was turned on. As Rick started cutting Johnny sat down on the stairs and proceeded to lay back and "do fire watch" as he described it, the rest of us called it sleeping. Johnny was good and asleep and from what he said he was dreaming. while holding the fire hose. After everything happened that I am about to explain Johnny said that he was dreaming that Rick was on fire. So Johnny woke up out of his dream still thinking that Rick was on fire dropped the hose and pushed Rick off the platforms plus 10 and into the water. Wearing his life jacket Rick was now floating in the gulf, and Johnny picks up the fire hose and throws the end of it to Rick to pull him back to the platform. Needless to say Rick was pissed. Now all of this sounds unbelievable, and I might not have believed it either if Rick wasn't completely soaked when him and Johnny came walking back upstairs.

Back to work

2009-04-18T15:22:00.004-05:00

Wow what roller coaster ride, not only emotionaly but physically. I was employed by one of the largest oilfield service companies for a matter of about three weeks until my former employer called me back. Now being a loyal person I do not like to jump job to job especially in todays job market but when money pays your bills and not loyalty It's time to go towards the money.So leaving a company after three weeks doesn't look so well notonly on a resume but also on me as a person. However my old employer coincidently my previous employer gave me all my seniority back along with my same pay. Not bad considering when I was caught up in the lay off hoopla the remaining emploees got paycuts. I was told the lay off was because I was low on the totem pole which was true only being there about a year. And I learned there was alot of us laid off, to many in fact that now I am back I am working my ass off. But I'm not complaining I have been on the other side of the ball. Now I understand that a few of my co-workers had stuck their necks out and wanted me to come back which I am greatful for. It's nice to have people that you don't even know all that well looking out for you. I like to think of myself as a likeable person who can get along with just about everyone and the people I don't care for I can just fake it. I am a loyal and honest person who enjoys his job and I do a good job, all qualifications that make me a good friend and employee. Now on to my physicall roller coaster ride. When I applied for the big company, I'll call Red I had to take a physical. Not to bad from the last time I remembered that I had taken a while back but this one was different. I had the typical breath and DOT urine which wasn't bad but then came to the "Work Steps". What a pain in the ass. One of the tests was to squat down and move pegs with both hands up and down the board. Easy Huh? Ya it was for the first 10 minutes. I don't know how long I did this but It seemed like forever. The other things were like carrying a tool bocc up and down stairs and basic stuff you would do day to day working offshore.

2009-03-29T21:25:00.004-05:00

Well I know it's been a while since I blogged but a lot has happened since my last posting, So here it goes. With Gustav ravishing the Gulf of Mexico and my platform being deemed uninhabitable I was let go by my employer. Which came at a very inconvenient time since i had recently bought a new house and I needed the money. Well everybody knows how bad the job market is and I would say Louisiana is fairing a little better than other places I know. Except for me the industry seemed fairly busy. Well the day I got the dreaded phone call from my employer, who coincidentally a month or so before had told me NOT to look for another job I hit every local and Internet job board I could think of. I updated my resume on Rigzone, Monster, Carreerbuilder, and Hotjobs. Then I went to any oil field related company on the net that had a job board an searched for and sent in applications and resumes. I called contacts that I had including an old HR manager and a regional manager. It didn't help that a lot of companies had put into effect a hiring freeze. Due to oil prices plummeting, and the rig count falling.
For example the Grand Junction Colorado area rig count went from 133 to 32 and the bases began shutting down. I know Baker Atlas alone shut down not only the Casper Wyoming shop but also the Grand Junction shop which was there fastest growing shop in the Rockies. It was weird having to go to my own blog to contact a company about a job.
But I feel I was one of the lucky ones. Because after dealing with the Louisiana department of labor to get my measly 284 dollars which I had to fight for and I finally received only after I was employed again. I only went unemployed for about a month but my new job was nowhere as rewarding as my last. Not only that but I took a big pay cut.
I want to share my advice on how I was able to get a job quickly. It might not be the best way to go about getting a job but the results seem to come faster. I found a listing of companies involved in my expertise area. I have quite a bit of experience but not as much as some guys. So I went to their websites and found contact information. I usually skipped past the HR contacts and went directly to managers, and if there were multiple managers I emailed all of them. What I stated in the letter was that I did not know if they were hiring or not but if they were to take a look at my resume then they would see that I could be an asset to their company. I then attached my resume and reference letter, which is nice to have. and sent it off.
So I'm off to my new job and will post more shortly.

Job Postings

2008-11-23T10:46:00.006-06:00

Well it's been awhile since I have posted lately. So I have decided to use my blog for a job board too. As you may or may not know The hurricanes ravished the gulf, damaging or destroying rigs and platform. My platform was not destroyed but it was badly damaged, to the extent that I have not been back to work. I spend my time doing other things, and trust me I keep busy, but I can't wait to be back out in the gulf. So frequently I will put up job listings of different types of offshore work that I know is available in my area and other areas. So here is the first list.
Baker Hughes --They have many entry level jobs
Expro -- Website shows limited listings but Lafayette has openings 337-837-3355
Nabors -- Website shows no listings but sign in Lafayette shows openings 337-359-3300
Sclumberger -- website shows limited listings
Rigzone -- great website to fine job listings
Perf-O-Log - Local Number is 337-560-5225
J-W Operating
Superior Energy Services Entry level Job available atLINK
Pratt well Service
Energy Crane
Stratograph 337-232-5510 Mud Logging
QCP-QPM-Quality
Delmar Mooring Always has openings in Lafayette LA
SeaQuest Diving
PetroQuip-- experienced machinist only 337-839-2587

Hurricane

2008-09-17T10:20:00.004-05:00

If you have read my posts before or are a subscriber i am sure you are wondering why I have not written in a while. The answer is simple. Due to Hurricane Gustav and Ike the offshore business down here in the Gulf has been at a virtual standstill. Refineries are only putting out 2 % of capacity, hence the rise in gas prices. And with crude oil at a 7 month low this is the last thing that we need. SO since I am not offshore and have been doing lots of hurricane clean up I am not writing in the blog. I will start writing back as soon as I head offshore because crazy things happen everyday out there and I want to bring it to everyone that works in the oilfield or those who are just curious about it.

Passing Time

2008-08-16T11:24:00.005-05:00

A popular way for us to pass time while working in the gulf is grocery day. Grocery Day? you might ask. Yes Grocery Day. The reason that you are thinking though does pass time but is not nearly as fun as what we do. So for those of you that don't know Groceries arrive on a boat in a large container that has to be kept cold, how? you might ask Dry Ice. I know the wheels are turning in your heads now. And you should have seen how happy I was when I realized that there was dry ice in these containers. So after the work of carrying the groceries up stairs we all go for the dry ice. Now if you have never made a dry ice bomb it is really simple take a bottle with a screw on lid( larger the bottle seems to make a bigger boom, but a small orange juice container works pretty good too. Heavier the plastic = more boom ) and put some dry ice in it, I find more the better. Then put some water in the bottle, and squeeze the bottle slightly(to give you a little extra time before it blows) and put the cap on it. Then get rid of it. Being offshore we like to throw them in the water. They can take anywhere from 10 seconds up to 5 minutes. just don't touch it after you've put the lid on and tossed it because any movement of the bottle is liable to set it off. Now that you know how to make them let me tell you some fun things to do with them. This has personally been tested by me and are sure to get results, not always the results that you may want but results none the less.
1. Build your dry ice bomb while the night crew is deep asleep. Put the lid on just before you open the door to the sleeping quarters. Now slide the your bottle into the room, preferably under a bed ,so no one gets hit with shrapnel, and gently close the door. The just wait outside the door preferably with a crowd (so you can push the blame off on somebody else) and wait for the show to start. If you have done everything right the show will start with an explosion and some profanity.
Now go out and and have fun, but be careful.

Check back frequently for new Dry Ice Bomb suggestions and some Videos.

Shark Week

2008-08-13T20:07:00.000-05:00

So a couple weeks a go was shark week on Discovery Channel. While fishing offshore there are many fish you can catch, Red Snapper,Grouper, and Mackerel to name a few. But the favorite out here to catch is a Shark. They are fairly easy to catch if they are in the area. And it doesn't take much to get them into the area.A few cans of Vienna sausages and a slop bucket and they come right in. The slop bucket is what all the table scraps and leftovers go into. After you dump a slop bucket into the water three times a day for the last 20-30 years fish seem to take notice on this free meal and stick around the platforms in the Gulf. And when you have thousands of fish in a feeding frenzy the shark come in to. Now there is nothing like catching a 100-200 pound shark and fighting him. You start out by catching some trash fish for bait, usually hardtail about 10-15 inches long. You cut these into steak slices and hook them into your large hook. We all use 80-100 pound test line and use stainless steel wire, yes wire to hook from your line to the hook, otherwise as soon as the shark takes the bait their razor sharp teeth will cut your line. now you just cast your line out as far as you can and wait. The nice thing is without a wait and just your bait your line stays on top of the water and you can watch the shark come in and take the bait. And these shark just don't bite the bait the grab it and run so they are immediately hooked.Sometimes you are lucky and the shark will turn and swim towards the platform,I was not so lucky the other day. I only had about 150 feet of line on my reel and at least 100 ft was in the water when the shark grabbed it. Now this was no ordinary shark it was a monster,and this is my story and I am sticking to it. Jaws took the bait and headed towards the beach, Jaws is what I call him because that is how big he was. Instead of jaws being nice and headed towards the platform he decided a beach vacation would be nice and took all of my line and was swimming like hell. Remember I only had about 25-50 feet on my reel when Jaws headed north, and my drag was not holding him back. So me being smart put my thumb on the bait casting reel to stop it and Jaws did not slow down. He continued heading in the same northerly direction and after about 10 seconds he had ran all of my line out and broke it. So Jaws got away but another guy caught his little brother. Now once a shark is on deck it becomes a challenge to remove the hook so it can be thrown back or kept. Most are thrown back unharmed. So when they are on the deck a pair of pliers are needed to remove the hook. Usually one person will hold the shark down sitting on its back somewhat like you would do an alligator. Now remember these are 6-7 foot long shark, the other person will use the pliers to remove the hook from its mouth which can be hard due to the tough skin. Once the hook is removed and the pictures are taken the shark is returned to the water. The shark the other day had other plans then having the hook removed. He played possum until the pliers were put by his mouth, and no one was sitting on his back. This shark leaped off the deck and grabbed the pliers in his mouth. I found this rather amusing especially since there was no severed hand attached to the pliers. Sharks have an amazing bite force but that is not the worst the teeth are like razors and there are a a bunch of them in their mouth. Now this shark new he was getting thrown back and I guess wanted to take a souvenir with him. Once the pliers were taken out of the sharks mouth you could see the deep scratches in them. The shark was then thrown back in the water.

Water Fights

2008-08-11T22:03:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been in a water fight? Water balloons or a water hose or just a bucket. Well offshore we have water fights to. They are just on a bigger level. Imagine coming around a corner and being shot in the chest with a fire hose. Now the fight is on and you are running for your life being shot in the back with so much pressure that your about to fall down. And you come around the next corner and here is someone else with another fire hose just waiting for you. That is exactly what happened to me, Luckily I work with a good bunch of guys and they reliaze that one morning when they come out of their rooms at six am and go to strech I will be waiting for a water hose with their name on it. After our small water fight lasting about an our and thousands of gallons of water we called a truce and laid down the hoses. At this time one of the guys in the fight had decide that while our backs were turned it was a good time to break the truce and soak us a little more. Good idea at the time for him but it will be hard for him to sleep at ight when we continually tell him we are gonna get him. And you might ask what starts these water fights? Sometimes it's just somebody who happens to have the hose, other times such as the one above it started with a fish. Now let me explain, you can only make fun of one person so long about the small fish that he is catching and how you have bigger ones in your fish tank, it tends to make the fisherman a little upset. So what would the reasonable thing be to do, throw a fish at the person talking about your fishing skills of course. Now a fish thrown close will let them know that you don't appreciate what they are saying, but a fish hitting them will let them know that it would be a fine time for a water fight. And the fight is on. Although i had an inch of water in my boots and my coveralls were soaked I still had a good time and will not hesitate to start or be involved in another waterfight.

2008-08-09T09:03:00.000-05:00

OK, so offshore work can be dangerous and that is why there are so many rules and regulations to keep you safe. Today something that could have been bad didn't and instead it is hilarious. Our cook, I'll call him Sammy so I don't embarrass him to bad, came out side to wet a mop. instead of using a sink or shower he decides to use a fire hose. Now for those who do not know these fire hoses are situated on all levels all around the platform in case a fire breaks out. The water is pumped directly out of the Gulf of Mexico and comes out a high powered 2" fire hose.Now on the movies you see the hoses picking fireman up because they have such high pressure, and these only take one person to hold but it will push you over if you are not careful. We use these water hoses on a daily bases to fill tanks, wash the floor and the ever enjoyable water fight. And you have never been in a water fight until you've been in one with a fire hose. So the procedure after using the hose is to shut the water off at the spool and drain the water out of the hose. Usually the hose is then shut off. Sometimes however it is not. So Sammy goes over and starts to turn the water on at the spool and the hose starts to spray, instead of turning off the hose Sammy turns it on full and so now the hose is dancing around spraying Sammy. Me on the other hand am standing there watching and instead of trying to be the Hero I turn and run to get behind a wall, which sounds easy. But when you are laughing as hard as I was, I nearly was hit with the water. The good news is that no one was hurt and we all got a good laugh.

Time to hang it up

2008-08-06T09:25:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you need to realize that it is time to retire. Day two offshore this hitch and our company man I will call him Oompa , who we only deal with for 4 days then our regular one comes out, is running around slamming doors and complaining, again. Let me paint a picture for you. Picture a man 70 years old and shaped like a pear. Got it?, but this isn't like yours or my grandpa, he is a man that doesn't enjoy his job anymore, and who would after 50 years. He has said money is not an issue, so why keep coming back month after month if you hate it so? Now picture this the heliport is 75 or so stairs to the top and guess who is always first, on the stairs holding everybody up and complaining? You got it the Pear. Lets back up a little bit. Coil tubing was out a couple of weeks a go and one day after he got here he decided they were not getting anything done and sent them in. It took them 2 days to rig up originally and now they had to rig their equipment down and load it on the boat and go, which would be fine except we need them to finish the job. So when we finally get them or another company out then we have all that lost time. Again. Glad i am not footing the bill. So today he is ranting and raving about people being late to the heliport, which it ended up not mattering cause they sent two flights. And just now he started ranting about needing a crane operator. Now some things are not a big deal but saftey is, so when you have a tropical storm or hurricane that is projected to smash directly into you then you should evacuate. Oompa did not want to evacuate and it took someone else to force the evacuation. A few people did stay on and yes the Tropical storm directly hit the platform with 25-30 foot waves. So must I say something or will he figure it out that it is offically time to hang it up and enjoy your crabby retirement.

2008-08-02T12:42:00.000-05:00

So I thought it might be fun writing down everything that happens while I am working offshore. I will not use the names of people but since I work with the same group of people I will make new names. I guarantee half the stuff i put on here you will not believe, but i promise it is all true. I will try to write everyday while i am offshore but can't guarantee anything because i get bored easy. Because I have a lot of time on my hands though i should be able to write often.