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Oilfield and Mining Tea shack

45K views 608 replies 58 participants last post by  Leethal 
#1 · (Edited)
A dedicated Oilfield and Mining tea shack thread were people in trade can chat just about anything related to global operations including. Work, operations, locations and general banter.

this not a job agency or seeking employment thread.
 
#2 ·
So Benno's how you feeling after completing your first 8 weeks with our Sub Sahara operations.

Not easy is it, but not hard either first hitch is always the hardest mate. As for me I am totally worn out looking forward to kicking back in SA for a few days then of I'm to TETE. Africa can drain and harden sole due to location, heat and just hundred different dialects to deal with. Don't worry AUS is just around the corner. Have good flight back to SA and Oz and pleasure having you on crew. PS I increased the odds today to 4/1 if you come back. Mark has you at 9/1 not coming back "LOL"

P.s I told him your not Amish. Just sporting a long beard.
 
#3 ·
Got home this morning at 01:30, then an hour drive south, left Lagos at 21:20 Thurs GMT. Gonna kick back and do bugger all today (actually, been crawling under the troll getting serial number off roo bar to get parts from nizbizz, now I am going to do bugger all).
 
#4 ·
First hitch well um how do you sum it up into words. Hell springs to mind at present haha.
All in all it hasn't been to bad. Certainly an eye opener il Give it that. Working in oz is simple compared to that. There is just nothing that I could think of that compares to Africa.


And db I'm in a similar boat. Just departed port gentil this morning. Sitting in libreville now. Back to sa tonight on the red eye flight then back to Perth Tuesday night and over to Brisbane Wednesday night. Arrive in brisbane Thursday 545am.



Sent from somewhere where I shouldn't be posting on forums
 
#14 ·
First hitch well um how do you sum it up into words. Hell springs to mind at present haha.
All in all it hasn't been to bad. Certainly an eye opener il Give it that. Working in oz is simple compared to that. There is just nothing that I could think of that compares to Africa.


And db I'm in a similar boat. Just departed port gentil this morning. Sitting in libreville now. Back to sa tonight on the red eye flight then back to Perth Tuesday night and over to Brisbane Wednesday night. Arrive in brisbane Thursday 545am.



Sent from somewhere where I shouldn't be posting on forums

PG is a great place as far as Africa goes, hate LBV.

You should see if they will let you fly LBV Dubai Perth. Beats the hell out of SAA / Quantshyte and Jo'burg and there are more flights per day with Emirates.

But then again, knowing HaliB for the tight barstards they are, they will likely tell you to phish off coz it costs $10 more lol.
 
#5 ·
Only strong survive it takes a certain person to do this work. It's not suited to all that's why we and other company's have a shortfall. I love it and know nothing else really I guess that's why it suits ex military people as there use to time away and just been able to make the most of the situation. Your role is quite demanding as carries way more preparation then most jobs due to constant locations changes.

I wasn't sure if you made it out as that storm came in quick. I spotted a few planes circle and return back to LBV. Weather seems to be clearing and it better clear as I need window to get out.

Get home safe, fix them tires and switch off.
 
#6 ·
Lucky buggers all on your way home . I was in between flights last on my way home Tuesday week ago ( 5th ) then got called to another job .
Just a couple of days they told me . Job wont take long they told me .
Well here I am almost 2 weeks later and I think I'll still be offshore next week .
Stupid bloody oil wells and them not doing what they're supposed to .
Why do workovers never go as planned
 
#7 ·
Not on the way home. week 8 and 4 more to go but I'm taking the weekend off in country were I will just catch up on some sleep. When I was offshore with slickline they always say can you make up the crew just for a few days. 28 days later same old same old. Stupid old me then transferred to coil tubing and spent two years milling out valves, pumping or nitrogen. That was the hardest two years of my life. Rebuilding a spm pump offshore in online time in rain and covered in base oil was not what I call golden days. The flip side to it was the amount of experience you can absorb. Every time I jumped on chopper I looked back after departing the heli deck and saying " I Quit".
 
#12 ·
lol, that amount of times that was said to me way back when, the amount of times I have said that to newb's in the last 30 years. Started saying after 5 years as I knew by then I have found what I wanted to do.
 
#9 ·
You lot can have your 8 week plus rosters! Too much for me let alone being stuck in the middle of the ocean with nowhere to go, could do the overseas bit just not like you guys, hats off to ya.
But like most of us that are still that little bit saine it's all about the days off not so much the days on, we all love it otherwise we wouldn't be there.
I'll stick to my 8/6, yep that's days, and yeah I know it's ladies hours keep getting told that by the wife.
 
#10 ·
I'm in oil & gas also but like Madkiwi I'm happy to do my bit on dry land. I have a decent roster 4 days on 4 days off working days only no night shift every 8th swing we have 12 days off paid also 7 weeks holidays a year so only working just over 3 months of the year and the moneys not to bad to boot.
 
#15 ·
I'm on an 8/6 7/7 at the moment, one swing of days then another of nights, great roster, 8 days is enough for me :) good roster for a young bloke I think, did 4/3 for a little while, absolutely sucked, having every single weekend off was good but your always coming and going, never get much chance to get stuck into things.
 
#16 ·
Thats the problem with oil and gas pipeline construction, could be on upto 4 different projects in a year with different rosters.
Aus landlines 28/9 days
Aus offshore Victoria 2/2 weeks
Aus offshore WA 3/3 weeks
Offshore out of Aus 6/3 weeks.
3/3 is my favourite, but this 28/9 is a good earner, 36hr pay on your week off too.

This is my last swing anyway, taking 3 months of in May to do Cape York trip!!
 
#19 ·
DB were Weatherford. He could go from POG via dubai but our main base is South Africa. SA to Perth is 10 hours. Same for me Africa general to Ethiopia via Thailand and then Philippines. Problem is i like doing a bit 4wd parts shopping in South Africa. How cheap the parts and they pay you back your tax on leaving the airport.

When are they going to devalue the African french Frank so things can be more in line with the euro. POG is very expensive these days.
 
#23 ·
DB were Weatherford. He could go from POG via dubai but our main base is South Africa. SA to Perth is 10 hours. Same for me Africa general to Ethiopia via Thailand and then Philippines. Problem is i like doing a bit 4wd parts shopping in South Africa. How cheap the parts and they pay you back your tax on leaving the airport.

When are they going to devalue the African french Frank so things can be more in line with the euro. POG is very expensive these days.
Weatherford, Halib, SLB, Baker, all the same, bloody service companies, NPT kings (especially SLB) and banes of my life.:headwall::headwall::headwall:

Mind you, WF are far better than SLB (lying thieving buggers) so you guys are not sooo bad.

I was service once, Co Man for integrated solutions for Baker Hughes :(

Right royal cluster ferk, drilling supt and above had never been in drilling (as in on the brake), all ex MWD or loggers, came close to snotting the head boy.:doh:
 
#20 · (Edited)
Reading the days that you landlubbers (imao) work, I am glad to be working 5 and 5 (that's weeks by the way too). By the time week 4 at home comes round, I am screaming to get back to sea. Think I should have stayed single, ha ha.
 
#22 ·
my misses always used to say "go on off you go to work for a break, leave me here with the kids". i am like "but i am going to work" then i realised i was happy to be going. never thought that would of happened when i was younger thinking of work as a rest .
 
#21 ·
I do an even time roster, 5 on 5 off (shifts), down side is i have to do night shift, but i see it as taking the good with the bad, to be honest i wouldnt want to do any longer, buy my last shift ive had a gut full.

The roster works well, particularly if you have young kids, plenty of time off with them and the wife, also plenty of opportunities to go away camping, 4wd etc, at no charge to the annual leave. :D:D
 
#26 ·
Slumberger aka scumbags I never met such a bunch of brain washed people who love blue coveralls and tend to go on the fact they are above all the rest of 3rd party service mobs. What makes me smile is people leave SLB and moan about how they hated the system only to try and create the same system they hated on the new company they work for.

I was single when I was drafted in on promise of doing a few years. The plan was to save some cash and drive around the world in my Y61. 15 years later I'm still planning it, still dreaming it but now with a wife and two children. I could retire at 40 but I know I be still plodding along at 65 years of age. I've also accepted the fact that I not make it past superintendent so I just button up hatches and live in this comfort zone.

I should of gone well services but I decided not to channel my interests in that direction.
 
#100 ·
I HATE slumberger! absolute bane of my exsistance! worst cementers ive every seen, had halliburton for 5 years and thought they where bad, i was wrong. Wise move not going work over bud, there's no glory in completion! I must say these new generation cyber rigs are pretty comfy, do miss my old kelly triple, can get boring. Not a bad office in the winter months tho

Transport Sky Mode of transport Glass Architecture
 
#27 ·
I have to deal with Schlumberger every now and then and yes your right they are a bit of an odd bunch to deal with. We have a few of there ex employees working with us and they don't have to many good things to say about the company.
 
#28 ·
I had to deal with an ex skumbugs operator at Cameroon the other week. What a useless bastard he was and he had like 30 years exp behind him.
Maybe its cause I can't speak French and he didn't understand I don't know but fark he was useless.

Sent from somewhere where I shouldn't be posting on forums
 
#29 ·
I still work for the smurfs and almost everything you guys say is right . They are an odd bunch ( with one or two exemptions :) ) the worst part is that its only the odd, brain washed or knob head one's that make it up the food chain , then they just hire more of there type . I don't deal with many other services other than what I do . But I'm often ashamed of some of the crap I see them try and pull in our department let alone the others .
And the crap some of the people try to spin and lie about just blows my mind .

Please dont hold it againt me for working for scumbergay .
 
#33 ·
nah , not french , they're the worst . Born and bred Aussy for this little black duck .
I'll go nowhere in this company , apparently My attitude doesn't fit the profile of management material . Apparently Being honest and doing a good job for the client not the company aren't good qualities :doh:
 
#31 ·
I just been reading about a gold mine in philippines and all the oil they have found on northern province. It's continues to say that due to large amount of untapped resources in the country and surrounding coastal waters the philippines will be ranked the 16th richest country in world by 2050.

I have noticed the increase in work in Philippines over the last two years. A friend of mine from UK has a very successful oilfield company based in mainland in South. He has already gone from zero to hero in 5 years.
 
#38 ·
As above its seems true but you do find one or two that can make up the ranks. I know I'm not allowed to go any higher but that's fine with me. I quote been told once that I can have title of superintendent if I just remain at this level and take a pay rise. Just so when I'm old, worn out and ready to be put out to pasture I be able to be a consultant. I don't plan to go any higher I or else I have to live in and take a pay cut with different company. Now if BP came along or Chevron I would have to think it over.


What's the ratio now of support for each person in field. For one person on or offshore they need a support network of about 7 I recall.
 
#39 ·
On route to Rawanda. All the places to go too and I end up flying to country that really does not score high on looking after its own people. You don't need much here just a big knife and bag of money that has more zero's on it then any other bank note in world.
 
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