Offshore Oil Rig Work

[krabicriminal]

I'm 26 years old, got 2 arms and 2 legs. Anyone got any work?

I have just read through this thread because I want to get on the rigs myself. Sounds like it won't be easy.. I do hold a city and guilds nvq l2 in heating and ventilation. Worked in UK for about 5 years as a pipefitter, hoping this will help my chances of getting a foot in. I have a list of drilling company offices in bkk so gonna start enquiring. Fingers crossed ay? Any help from u lads would be great.

[IrishIvan]

Best way to get in is do some courses. Thats where you meet other people in the game. Also the teachers spear you in the right direction

[krabicriminal]

Ok cheers, I will look into that. Any courses in Thailand u know of that r worth doing?

[eeeya]

Sorry to burst anyones bubble. But unless you got experience working in the oil game at a supervisory level, be that Assistant Driller and up. Or supervisor for third party service company... theres just no chance to get a start in sth east asia.

[IrishIvan]

Sorry to burst anyones bubble. But unless you got experience working in the oil game at a supervisory level, be that Assistant Driller and up. Or supervisor for third party service company... theres just no chance to get a start in sth east asia.

Yes but he is a pipe fitter by trade and young. Best bet would be to try and get a start in Australia or the North Sea first. The pay is generally better there than SE asia also.

[IrishIvan]

@krabicriminal . Try doing a bosiet ticket in your home country and then work out what you want to do on the rigs. Try get a start as a roustabout and work your way up. Or start from scratch and become a marine engineer/oficer on merchant ships then go to the offshore sector. I started with zip experience and zip trade qualification but 100% effort

[eeeya]

@krabicriminal . Try doing a bosiet ticket in your home country and then work out what you want to do on the rigs. Try get a start as a roustabout and work your way up. Or start from scratch and become a marine engineer/oficer on merchant ships then go to the offshore sector. I started with zip experience and zip trade qualification but 100% effort

Agreed. Home country for experience is really the only way to go and then get a posting overseas. Can take a number of years to get to the level that can work internationally.

I started with nothing but a road train licence carting rig gear around.

[Soutpeel]

@krabicriminal . Try doing a bosiet ticket in your home country and then work out what you want to do on the rigs. Try get a start as a roustabout and work your way up. Or start from scratch and become a marine engineer/oficer on merchant ships then go to the offshore sector. I started with zip experience and zip trade qualification but 100% effort

I personally wouldnt bother with a BOSIET ticket until you have something firmed up as regards a job, having this ticket will not get you a job, so save your money but to follow on from what others have said, you would basically no chance in SEA until you have put your time in somewhere closer to home and get some marketable skills,

as an expat you will not get on a rig these days as a roustie in SEA, plenty of Thai's/Malaysians/Indo's and Phil's who can do the work for less money than you will want...

[IrishIvan]

The reason I said do a bosiet in your home country is you can guarantee thst at least half the class will have experience or jobs. Easiest way in is to talk to people.

[eeeya]

Its an expensive gamble to do a bioset on the hopes of networking.

Id jump online and send a resume to one of the third party service companies like Schlumberger or Weatherford or Halliburton or Baker Hughes,

More chance there.

Youd be the luckiest bloke alive if they employed you as a trainee out of thailand though..

Never happen.

[IrishIvan]

For the sake of 1000 - 2000 bucks it aint that big of a gamble. Thsts what I would do if I were a tradesman looking for a job. You might meet some rig supervisors revalidating their tickets then youve already got contacts

[IrishIvan]

But you are right. More chance of winning the Thai lottery than pulling a job here. Although I do know 2 Rov drivers that did. But both from electronics backgrounds

[Soutpeel]

For the sake of 1000 - 2000 bucks it aint that big of a gamble. Thsts what I would do if I were a tradesman looking for a job. You might meet some rig supervisors revalidating their tickets then youve already got contacts

and then again you might not...you may meet up with a gang of guys who are trying the same thing as your suggesting...

In 25 years in the game yet to hear of anyone getting a job from someone they met at on a BOSIET course, granted the business operates on contacts, but not that way..

[Soutpeel]

But you are right. More chance of winning the Thai lottery than pulling a job here. Although I do know 2 Rov drivers that did. But both from electronics backgrounds

ok but the ROV drivers have marketable skills, if you have needed skills you will pull a job in Thailand, I know cos I work the gulf of Thailand, but for jobs like Rousties, medic's, crane drivers (except heavy lift), mechanics, welders, fitters, safety officers, radio operators, camp bosses, catering etc just about all these positions are filled by Thai nationals and some of them are very good..

[eeeya]

You could talk to the rig manager until you were blue in the face, but at the end of the day nearly all big companies hire through HR only.

Its up to them only. And they're evil people who have no interest in hiring people.

[Soutpeel]

You could talk to the rig manager until you were blue in the face, but at the end of the day nearly all big companies hire through HR only.

Its up to them only. And they're evil people who have no interest in hiring people.

Evil people who typically no idea what day it is and operate in an alternative universe...certainly my experience over the years...

The times I have had the misfortune to deal directly with a HR dept on one phase comes to mind.... something about p*ss up and brewery's...

[therealmrbrightside]

Again i have to disagree with Soutpeel on the BOSIET.

If you have a BOSIET in hand, and you register with agencies or apply to service companies you will take favour over people without the BOSIET (both equal skills).

You NEED the BOSIET to get offshore, so how could it possibly be a waste of money? You are saving the service companies money by doing this course yourself, and thus making yourself more attractive to potential recruiters. Throw in a Banksman or rigging course and go to agencies - you will get a start eventually.

Can you tell me your own experience in offshore job SEARCHING? Because from the sounds of things you've not been unemployed and job hunting in this industry for a while, and completely lost the knowledge of 'standing out from the rest'

No offence intended.

[Soutpeel]

Again i have to disagree with Soutpeel on the BOSIET.

If you have a BOSIET in hand, and you register with agencies or apply to service companies you will take favour over people without the BOSIET (both equal skills).

You NEED the BOSIET to get offshore, so how could it possibly be a waste of money? You are saving the service companies money by doing this course yourself, and thus making yourself more attractive to potential recruiters. Throw in a Banksman or rigging course and go to agencies - you will get a start eventually.

Can you tell me your own experience in offshore job SEARCHING? Because from the sounds of things you've not been unemployed and job hunting in this industry for a while, and completely lost the knowledge of 'standing out from the rest'

No offence intended.

I must admit, i havent been on a serious job hunting mission in the last 12 years, but even prior to that when I was "job hopping" different companies, different countries, the BOSIET thing never really came up, if mind was valid fine, if it wasnt, they would pay for it, bearing in mind, you are employable based on your technical skils/experience etc, not based on the fact that your safety training is not current.

I do see your point, but still dont agree with you... yes you do need a BOSIET or some derivative to get offshore, but this on its own is not going to get you a job, if someone has no experience or marketable skills to the offshore game a BOSIET alone is not going to get you very far.

Further why should I be saving money for a service company/agency etc ?....in their T&C"s typically the operating company pays for this training and PPE in the day rate, so all you are doing is making the who ever you are working for "more" money.

The myth that is thrown around, is that get your BOSIET, "greenhands", basic rigging/slinging etc you will get a job realtively easily...my answer is rubbish, know of people trying to get onto the North sea who have spent literally thousands of pounds doing various offshore courses trying to get a start and years later they are still trying to get a start....money wasted.

the biggest thing to understand is that typically the number of jobs that come up offshore are relativiely few and for one opening there are probably 30 people lined up through agencies and on top of that the contacts network comes into play, most jobs in the game are not even advertised, somebody knows somebody and they get the job...its the nature of the beast

The easiest thing to do is put it down on your CV that you have a BOSIET and if someone comes sniffing and there are prospects go and do it quickly, just tell them BTW your BOSIET is almost up for renewal and they may say you have to pay for it yourself or they they even pick up the tab, this has certainly been my experience over the last 25+ years

no offence taken...I have no problem debating these things...I am giving you my opinion based on many years in the offshore game

[therealmrbrightside]

Yup...I can see the logic in your thinking, I am also guessing you are from an older generation than me? I'm under 35 btw.

I was kind of brought up in the way that you need to 'sell' yourself to the companies. So if you are saving them the cost of a mandatory training course then you are doing the right thing, as you will know ALL companies cut costs wherever possible. This would be different when dealing with more skilled workers - as you accurately stated, they wouldn't knock back say, an engineer or supervisor because their BOSIET was expiring, but this is not the case with green hands.

My own experiences and from people I know who have got their feet in the door using O&G agencies, some companies in the UK offer these offshore training packages including rigging/banksman/H2S etc etc. Again as you say this certainly doesn't guarantee you a job, but I have heard of guys who have done these courses and registered with websites like 'rigzone' or 'oil&gasjobsearch' and have been contacted by drilling companies offering them a trip as a roustabout thus getting that foot in the door.

The biggest problem I have noticed and again you stated is the guys who act on bad advice in regard to courses. My good friend spent thousands doing a diving course, but spent almost 1 year waiting for a start, and when he did, he ended up going offshore as a roustie.

If I could give some advice to new starts, pick a trade, then go for the trade in the service companies. DON'T pay for a course without researching the job openings. NEBOSH is probably the best course you could do, as even if you don't get offshore immediately, you can always start HSE work onshore. Oh - and if you do manage to get offshore in Health and Safety, you will have the slackest best job on the rig.

[IrishIvan]

Yup...I can see the logic in your thinking, I am also guessing you are from an older generation than me? I'm under 35 btw.

I was kind of brought up in the way that you need to 'sell' yourself to the companies. So if you are saving them the cost of a mandatory training course then you are doing the right thing, as you will know ALL companies cut costs wherever possible. This would be different when dealing with more skilled workers - as you accurately stated, they wouldn't knock back say, an engineer or supervisor because their BOSIET was expiring, but this is not the case with green hands.

My own experiences and from people I know who have got their feet in the door using O&G agencies, some companies in the UK offer these offshore training packages including rigging/banksman/H2S etc etc. Again as you say this certainly doesn't guarantee you a job, but I have heard of guys who have done these courses and registered with websites like 'rigzone' or 'oil&gasjobsearch' and have been contacted by drilling companies offering them a trip as a roustabout thus getting that foot in the door.

The biggest problem I have noticed and again you stated is the guys who act on bad advice in regard to courses. My good friend spent thousands doing a diving course, but spent almost 1 year waiting for a start, and when he did, he ended up going offshore as a roustie.

If I could give some advice to new starts, pick a trade, then go for the trade in the service companies. DON'T pay for a course without researching the job openings. NEBOSH is probably the best course you could do, as even if you don't get offshore immediately, you can always start HSE work onshore. Oh - and if you do manage to get offshore in Health and Safety, you will have the slackest best job on the rig.

health and safety jobs you can spend all day telling people the benefits of wearing safety glasses while applying tobasco sauce on your poached eggs at breakfast and how you should fill out 3 different job hazard cards before hanging a dump

[Soutpeel]

Yup...I can see the logic in your thinking, I am also guessing you are from an older generation than me? I'm under 35 btw.

I was kind of brought up in the way that you need to 'sell' yourself to the companies. So if you are saving them the cost of a mandatory training course then you are doing the right thing, as you will know ALL companies cut costs wherever possible. This would be different when dealing with more skilled workers - as you accurately stated, they wouldn't knock back say, an engineer or supervisor because their BOSIET was expiring, but this is not the case with green hands.

My own experiences and from people I know who have got their feet in the door using O&G agencies, some companies in the UK offer these offshore training packages including rigging/banksman/H2S etc etc. Again as you say this certainly doesn't guarantee you a job, but I have heard of guys who have done these courses and registered with websites like 'rigzone' or 'oil&gasjobsearch' and have been contacted by drilling companies offering them a trip as a roustabout thus getting that foot in the door.

The biggest problem I have noticed and again you stated is the guys who act on bad advice in regard to courses. My good friend spent thousands doing a diving course, but spent almost 1 year waiting for a start, and when he did, he ended up going offshore as a roustie.

If I could give some advice to new starts, pick a trade, then go for the trade in the service companies. DON'T pay for a course without researching the job openings. NEBOSH is probably the best course you could do, as even if you don't get offshore immediately, you can always start HSE work onshore. Oh - and if you do manage to get offshore in Health and Safety, you will have the slackest best job on the rig.

Yes...quite a bit older than you, but not that old...LOL....Everything you have written there is solid....I have been talking in general terms and of course certain people will get a lucky break, but normally the exception not the rule, this is a tough business to get into and even harder to stay in....have a few c*ck ups and the word get round and you end up with a black mark against your name and finding a job becomes harder and harder.....

The only part of your post i have a problem with is the bit about the safety qualifications.....please no more safety numb nuts offshore..LOL... ...your suggestion about doing the nebosh ticket is great one, but even better is them doing their HSE work onshore...yes please let them stay there on shore...

please understand I have no problems or issues as regards the implemtation of safety offshore and am a big supporter of it...but no more numb nuts offshore who typically dont have a clue about the the job they are suppose to be providing safety advice on and their sole contribution to safety is put your safety glasses on...

Over the years lost count on the number of safety "officers", Safety professionals, safety advisors or what ever the flavour of the month job title they give themselves I have run off, just being complete d*ckheads and making an already hazardeous job even more dangerous

Dont get me wrong over the years have worked with a few of these guys who were excellent, but these guys came from a trade/deck background, they had been there, seen it and got the T-shirt before they got into the safety side of things

My wrath is directed at the safety numbties who have no background in industry at all whether onshore/offshore, pass an exam and somehow manage to get offshore and start causing mayhem because they havent got a clue...so please dont encourage this...

Suppose If we have any safety guys reading this they are not going to be happy bunnies with me..

[Soutpeel]

Yup...I can see the logic in your thinking, I am also guessing you are from an older generation than me? I'm under 35 btw.

I was kind of brought up in the way that you need to 'sell' yourself to the companies. So if you are saving them the cost of a mandatory training course then you are doing the right thing, as you will know ALL companies cut costs wherever possible. This would be different when dealing with more skilled workers - as you accurately stated, they wouldn't knock back say, an engineer or supervisor because their BOSIET was expiring, but this is not the case with green hands.

My own experiences and from people I know who have got their feet in the door using O&G agencies, some companies in the UK offer these offshore training packages including rigging/banksman/H2S etc etc. Again as you say this certainly doesn't guarantee you a job, but I have heard of guys who have done these courses and registered with websites like 'rigzone' or 'oil&gasjobsearch' and have been contacted by drilling companies offering them a trip as a roustabout thus getting that foot in the door.

The biggest problem I have noticed and again you stated is the guys who act on bad advice in regard to courses. My good friend spent thousands doing a diving course, but spent almost 1 year waiting for a start, and when he did, he ended up going offshore as a roustie.

If I could give some advice to new starts, pick a trade, then go for the trade in the service companies. DON'T pay for a course without researching the job openings. NEBOSH is probably the best course you could do, as even if you don't get offshore immediately, you can always start HSE work onshore. Oh - and if you do manage to get offshore in Health and Safety, you will have the slackest best job on the rig.

health and safety jobs you can spend all day telling people the benefits of wearing safety glasses while applying tobasco sauce on your poached eggs at breakfast and how you should fill out 3 different job hazard cards before hanging a dump

you forgot about the 50 slide powerpoint presentation on the hazards of using a tooth pick in the mess, or the 1001 hazards of making toast....

[stoneyboy]

I'm 26 years old, got 2 arms and 2 legs. Anyone got any work?

I have just read through this thread because I want to get on the rigs myself. Sounds like it won't be easy.. I do hold a city and guilds nvq l2 in heating and ventilation. Worked in UK for about 5 years as a pipefitter, hoping this will help my chances of getting a foot in. I have a list of drilling company offices in bkk so gonna start enquiring. Fingers crossed ay? Any help from u lads would be great.

Well firstly forget about drilling companies in Bangkok.

It goes like this.

You start with working on construction sites in the UK,HVAC,services and all related pipe work installation,usually none coded welding and often using various pipe systems Mapress,copper and all related stuff.

Food factories can be good sites to gain experience also,try to move onto Ammonia refrigeration and get used to some coded work and related plant lots of this work about but the money is not as good as offshore.

After a few years of jobbing around you need to break into working on offshore related stuff,big fab yards like Heerema,SLP,Amec,Bifab,Global,Fabricom,etc etc.

Also look to get on some shutdown work at petrochemical sites such as Easington,Bacton,Theddlethorpe,Peterhead etc.

Once you've built a decent CV up and have made lots of pipefitting and welding buddy's who you regularly keep in touch with you can look to go offshore and take things further.

It's all about gradual progression,the older you get the better the jobs are believe me,but you have to start at the bottom and work up,you don't just work offshore because you want to,people need to want you and you need to be known in the industry.

Much depends also where you are in the UK,if you live in Aberdeen you have more chance of getting involved with the offshore industry than if you live in Wolverhampton for example,unless your prepared to travel,but no one pays dig money now LOL.

There is lots of work about here in the UK sector and as time goes on the people to do these jobs are becoming fewer,I'd love to know the average age of offshore Pipefitters and welders lots of the the guys are late fifties early sixties from personal observation.

[Soutpeel]

I'm 26 years old, got 2 arms and 2 legs. Anyone got any work?

I have just read through this thread because I want to get on the rigs myself. Sounds like it won't be easy.. I do hold a city and guilds nvq l2 in heating and ventilation. Worked in UK for about 5 years as a pipefitter, hoping this will help my chances of getting a foot in. I have a list of drilling company offices in bkk so gonna start enquiring. Fingers crossed ay? Any help from u lads would be great.

Well firstly forget about drilling companies in Bangkok.

It goes like this.

You start with working on construction sites in the UK,HVAC,services and all related pipe work installation,usually none coded welding and often using various pipe systems Mapress,copper and all related stuff.

Food factories can be good sites to gain experience also,try to move onto Ammonia refrigeration and get used to some coded work and related plant lots of this work about but the money is not as good as offshore.

After a few years of jobbing around you need to break into working on offshore related stuff,big fab yards like Heerema,SLP,Amec,Bifab,Global,Fabricom,etc etc.

Also look to get on some shutdown work at petrochemical sites such as Easington,Bacton,Theddlethorpe,Peterhead etc.

Once you've built a decent CV up and have made lots of pipefitting and welding buddy's who you regularly keep in touch with you can look to go offshore and take things further.

It's all about gradual progression,the older you get the better the jobs are believe me,but you have to start at the bottom and work up,you don't just work offshore because you want to,people need to want you and you need to be known in the industry.

Much depends also where you are in the UK,if you live in Aberdeen you have more chance of getting involved with the offshore industry than if you live in Wolverhampton for example,unless your prepared to travel,but no one pays dig money now LOL.

There is lots of work about here in the UK sector and as time goes on the people to do these jobs are becoming fewer,I'd love to know the average age of offshore Pipefitters and welders lots of the the guys are late fifties early sixties from personal observation.

for the people who have apsirations of getting offshore is a perfect example of how you get there

Of course we do know that large numbers of people wanting to get offshore, dont want to bother with all this experience sh*t, they want to do a few courses get a few bits of paper, and fast track their way offshore on a big pay packet and expect a single bunk offshore on arrival...

[IrishIvan]

These are the guys to steer clear of offshore

Edited March 28, 2013 by IrishIvan

[IrishIvan]

I'm 26 years old, got 2 arms and 2 legs. Anyone got any work?

I have just read through this thread because I want to get on the rigs myself. Sounds like it won't be easy.. I do hold a city and guilds nvq l2 in heating and ventilation. Worked in UK for about 5 years as a pipefitter, hoping this will help my chances of getting a foot in. I have a list of drilling company offices in bkk so gonna start enquiring. Fingers crossed ay? Any help from u lads would be great.

Well firstly forget about drilling companies in Bangkok.

It goes like this.

You start with working on construction sites in the UK,HVAC,services and all related pipe work installation,usually none coded welding and often using various pipe systems Mapress,copper and all related stuff.

Food factories can be good sites to gain experience also,try to move onto Ammonia refrigeration and get used to some coded work and related plant lots of this work about but the money is not as good as offshore.

After a few years of jobbing around you need to break into working on offshore related stuff,big fab yards like Heerema,SLP,Amec,Bifab,Global,Fabricom,etc etc.

Also look to get on some shutdown work at petrochemical sites such as Easington,Bacton,Theddlethorpe,Peterhead etc.

Once you've built a decent CV up and have made lots of pipefitting and welding buddy's who you regularly keep in touch with you can look to go offshore and take things further.

It's all about gradual progression,the older you get the better the jobs are believe me,but you have to start at the bottom and work up,you don't just work offshore because you want to,people need to want you and you need to be known in the industry.

Much depends also where you are in the UK,if you live in Aberdeen you have more chance of getting involved with the offshore industry than if you live in Wolverhampton for example,unless your prepared to travel,but no one pays dig money now LOL.

There is lots of work about here in the UK sector and as time goes on the people to do these jobs are becoming fewer,I'd love to know the average age of offshore Pipefitters and welders lots of the the guys are late fifties early sixties from personal observation.

for the people who have apsirations of getting offshore is a perfect example of how you get there

Of course we do know that large numbers of people wanting to get offshore, dont want to bother with all this experience sh*t, they want to do a few courses get a few bits of paper, and fast track their way offshore on a big pay packet and expect a single bunk offshore on arrival...

If you are pushy enough you will get there. Its how I got in, but I started on home turf first, had some great paying jobs, had some bad ones, had time on the beach. Its not all beer and skittles all the time but it is a good job

[Soutpeel]

These are the guys to steer clear of offshore

Very good LOL

[jonnyscot]

Good one Irish, gets me thinking about an occasion a year or so back,,, this rigging team arrived on the construction vessel I was on, one of the team ( a fellow Scotsman I'm ashamed to say) arrived without any PPE whatsoever, and the vessel didn't have enough supply to give him, I'd just finished commissioning some winches and was taking a breather, just got my glasses off to wipe my brow and the Scotsman joined me on deck, mentioned he shouldn't be on deck without any PPE, just then the safety man fresh aboard came up and told me to get my glasses back on,, not a word to the other guy,,, priceless

quote name='IrishIvan' These are the guys to steer clear of offshore

[eeeya]

+1 for learning the ropes with service companies.

But you gotta want to learn and not just looking for a job chasing a hook around the deck or doping a pin.

Lots of pressure, pay is reasonable but less than rig crew (for the first years). More like apprenticeship wages i guess.

Sometimes busy, most of the time watching movies and eating all day.

After 5+ years work is worldwide if you want it.

Safety pushers love giving us a hard time. Ha ha

[Soutpeel]

most of the time watching movies and eating all day.

This is not on...giving away offshore secrets to the general public....

but you forgot to mention, facebook, E-bay, U-tube and downloading naughty movies, (if your company hasnt closed that loop hole yet)...