UKH

Hello

Anyone has feedback on working offshore in the oil and gas industry? Isolated environment, work conditions, safety...

Thanks


Maria

In reply to maria277:

Not any more after the slump! Did it for 22 years. What do you want to know?

In reply to maria277:

I work in the industry.... Well, oil, gas And renewables to be accurate. I don't go offshore myself any more, but I send people offshore and manage projects. Mostly on the upstream side... Seismic Surveying, Sites and Geotechnical. We've been in a horrible crash for over 2 years now, with huge job losses across the board and most of those still left taking significant pay cuts. There are a few small signs that things are improving again, but so far they're very modest.

In reply to maria277:

As regards work conditions etc, they're generally pretty good, at least working for the reputable companies. Most survey vessels these days are purpose-built and offer pleasant work environments. Rotations tend to be 5 weeks on and 5 off, so any "isolation" is short duration. Most have Internet access. Single cabins are the norm, which does seem to mean that there's less off-shift interaction than there used to be.

Safety is paramount these days, with strong training regimes and continuous highlighting of issues. Daily "toolbox" meetings are the norm, and crews are encouraged to report any unsafe acts or potentially poor practices they see.

In reply to maria277:

The economic climate is pretty harsh at the moment, the difficulties you began to list have only been made worse for those left in the industry ????

In reply to maria277:
Here's an overview of one of the newer generation of survey vessels in operation (there are more short clips showing different aspects...eg cabins, mess, leisure facilities, etc):

youtube.com/watch?v=eFrvrHqnPVk&

A far cry from the hot-bunking in 8 man shared cabins, communal showers and leisure facilities generally just the odd film shown in a cramped "day room" when I first started. Most of the ships were converted trawlers, and even years later they still stank of fish throughout.

Still, we had beers in the day room fridge and an honesty system of not having more than a couple when you came off shift. They're all dry now!

In reply to maria277:

A friend worked on cable ships which class as being part of the offshore industry until last year. He said the previous year was carnage - investment in the fossil fuel side of the industry had dried up due to the oil price falling through the floor, and the stopping of UK subsidies on the windfarm side stopped all the projects there. Mass voluntary redundancy, mass compulsory redundancy, and mass paycuts (30% of your salary) were the order of the day.
As stated above, there's a lot on health and safety these days but people still work in bad parts of the world (war zones,piracy etc.) and in/on the sea which takes no prisoners when it's angry. It's safer than commercial fishing which is now the most dangerous occupation since the demise of the mining industry.

In reply to maria277:

I came across an offshore job a couple of days ago; still wondering whether I go for it or no...

In reply to Rob Naylor:

Who worked in North Sea?

In reply to maria277:

Worked in the industry for 10 years. West and South Africa, mainly onshore.

Your questions can be answered dependant on position and location.

Isolated? Not always.
Work conditions. Desk, phone, business lunches, lots of evening dinner schmoozing. Enjoyable.
Safety. Well, money comes before safety, always. They will pretend otherwise, but safety is a secondary consideration.

Offshore......Pretty crap in the UK. Better abroad.

In reply to Andy Dines:

Not any more either! Started a new job today. Well. Some offshore, but not oil and gas!

In reply to estivoautumnal:

Here it is http://www.oilandgasbestjobs.com/oil-and-gas-jobs/offshore-adhoc-riggers-ab... judge by yourself and give me tips man.

In reply to estivoautumnal:

Survival... What do that mean to you?

In reply to maria277:
It means you'll need an Offshore Safety Certificate (BOSIET...Basic Offshore Safety Induction & Emergency Training). If this is for the North Sea (and many other places as well) it will need to incorporate HUET (Helicopter Underwater Escape Training) and EBS (Emergency Breathing System) training:

http://www.opito.com/media/downloads/bosiet-huet-foet.pdf

You'll probably need an OPITO Stage 3 Rigging Competence Certificate too: http://www.opito.com/media/downloads/rigger-competence-stages-3-and-4.pdf

In reply to Rob Naylor:

Thanks for the tips Rob

In reply to maria277:

For shutdowns it will be platforms or FPSOs. Generally better conditions than semis or jack ups. Decent gyms onboard, food is ok and your laundry is done for you.
BOSIET and MIST will cost you about 1000GBP and you also need a medical and shoulder measurement. There are lots of companies offering these courses.

In reply to maria277:
2 people I knew very well died in N sea helicopter crashes - Chinook and Super Puma, so it matters

In reply to Alasdair Fulton:

Nice one chap, stay out! Might be doing a few hitches this year but it will be with gritted teeth!

In reply to maria277:

You don't make it clear if you have experience as a rigger and what your qualification is, it used to be that during the shutdown period riggers were like hens teeth not sure that is the case now. if you don't have the tickets then even if you got the job you would probably only get 2 rotations (2week trips) out of it making it unlikely you would get much return for your outlay

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Millions of riggers now, mind you many are OPITO as opposed to NVQ and time served.