Oil Field Companies, who do you reccomend?

[shawnm]

Thinking about heading West for the winter, just like all the other maritimers.

I'm an IT guy with exp in support, developement, and consultation. However I'm also a farm boy and have been operating heavy equip since I was 14yrs old. I.E loaders, fork lifts, boom trucks, dump trucks, etc.

Who would you guys/gals reccomend I contact? There seems to be so many companies in need of help, almost too good to be true. I'd rather not get land out there and end up hooked up with a fly by night gig.

[shawnm]

1st post, figured I had posted here before.. :confused:

[ANGER ranger w\ attitude]

Depends what ya wanna do... work the rigs, build roads, in camp, not in camp? The list goes on... Alta is cryin' for help. There's more iron then hands right now & the big wigs in cow town, seem to think they should just keep buildin' more iron. We need more hands so figure out what ya wanna do & go from there.

If ya wanna go riggin' i could give a few #'s.
I work for Lakota Drilling. WLE on the TSX.
:beer

[brian468]

yeah what do you wanna do, you mention oil then you mention heavy equipment experience, you wanna be a rig pig or do that oil shale ****

[Bushpiggy]

I worked for NOWSCO a few years back.
They were O.K....had decent equiptment and had bases all over Alberta.

My buddy worked for Dowell Slumberger(sp?)
They sent him down south for a few weeks...all expenses paid to work tractor/trailers on a skid pad.
Very good training from what he said.

I was 14 on and 6 off.
It paid well then, and probably better now.

[brian468]

I dont know about up there but down here its hard to find a company that doesn`t pay you well, their all about keeping their employee`s and attracting new ones.

I think bushpiggy meant to say schlumberger, their a good company to work for as well as...


nabors
unit
SST
ensign/caza
grey wolf

I work for grey wolf now and my home time really sucks, but i`m pretty high up the food chain and their paying me very well to stay beyond my hitch.


dont know if cyclone drills up there but if they do I wouldnt work for em unless you knew some buddy and trusted them with your life, their equipment is usually pretty old (read crappy)

[shawnm]

My goal is to live in camp, work my ass off for a few yrs (or maybe more), make some coin and kill off my student loans. I'm not really concerned with what I do although, I'd like to be more of an operator then a grunt.

I've been operating equipment for 14yrs, but I don't have anything to back that up other then saying I can do it. I've had my Class 3A (10 wheeler with Air endorsement) for 10 yrs now and have some real good exp in boom truck operation. I do have references I can give though.

How do the companies weed out the B.S operators? Testing? Or do they expect training certs before even considering the applicant?

I'll be giving the companies mentioned a call.

Lakota Drilling
NOWSCO
Nabors
Unit
SST
Ensign/caza
Grey wolf

[ANGER ranger w\ attitude]

Nowsco, waz bought out by Haliburton many yrs ago, so ya can't call them. As for yer tickets, there not gonna give you a boom truck & say go 4 it. They want tickets. There is training corses you can take that are geared for the patch. H2S Alive, confined spaces, fall arrest etc. I would just google oil feild training, i'm sure you'll find sumthing there.

[Bushpiggy]

Nowsco is no more?
Like I said....it was a few years ago...

I came from BC to Alberta.
I called first and had interviews set up.
Google thier sites and put together a list of contact info.
I was hired by the time I got home on the first day.
Three times over actually.
I had no related experience other than maybe a mechanical apptitude, and experience using SCBA.

I have heard that suncore or syncrude( oil sands) will hire if ya got a heartbeat...for the grunt labour of course...

I'm sure like any other employer they would see experience as an asset.
They still aren't going to give you the keys until you are certified.

The courses mentioned by Anger are a must.
I would add to that a current first aid...they are big on safety in the patch.
If you have a couple courses already it would likely work in your favour.
Most companies...bigger ones anyhow, would put you through these courses before you even see a lease.

Try Haliburton then if Nowsco is no more, and another I remember that was fairly big was Frackmaster.

I worked out of Red Deer south base.
They started me in the yard loading spools( 14-16ft. dia.) with an articulated loader.
Running stuff around the yard...I wasn't exactly moving drilling rigs, but body jobs w/air and the odd tractor/trailer.
Once I had the idea of what tubing was for what, downhole tools, how to spool tubing, etc. then it was out I go.

Before long I was operating on a crew.
They trained me to drive and maint. my truck.
The money was just a bit better.
I was out when my first cheque was deposited.
I thought there had been a mistake when I checked my ballance.

It is cold, dirty, and hard work, but man did it pay well.

Good Luck...I'm sure you will get something pretty quick.

[brian468]

pretty easy to get a job anywhere as long as your not an idiot, if you dont wanna work on a rig halliburton would be good for a fracking job, and you can move up quick, my buddy mike went from a grunt to a fracking crew leader in about a year, as well as tripling his pay.

if your not an idiot you can get a job really quick but I wouldnt expect to be more then a grunt at first, I know PITS does training up there for oil field guys google that and you`ll find it.

[ANGER ranger w\ attitude]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bushpiggy
[B]Nowsco is no more?
Like I said....it was a few years ago...

About 8 yrs, maybe more... if ya want i'll give a # to contact, but were (my rig) is down for a month, for inspection, & there's a hot list 4 guys to go out on outher rigs, but by the time ya get yer tickets, i'm sure were ready to go. Were not the only rig, or company. Do some searching...

[jasonmt]

Originally posted by brian468
pretty easy to get a job anywhere as long as your not an idiot, if you dont wanna work on a rig halliburton would be good for a fracking job, and you can move up quick, my buddy mike went from a grunt to a fracking crew leader in about a year, as well as tripling his pay.

if your not an idiot you can get a job really quick but I wouldnt expect to be more then a grunt at first, I know PITS does training up there for oil field guys google that and you`ll find it.


PITS is no more, called Enform now ( www.enform.ca ), with the cadoc site ( http://www.caodc.ca/ ) having lots of useful information as far as the drilling end of the patch.

Basically as others have said if you have a pulse you can get a job here, but if you have any skills at all that are in demand why not be choosy?

If you want to live in a decent camp and make some decent money you sound like a great candidate for Fort McMurray, I am not a big patch fan as even though the money is good the way/quality of life is not and the safety record is pretty abysmal at best.

For either a construction or patch job CSTS, fall arrest, confined space and H2S training are going to likely be required as well as a pre access drug and alcohol test for the construction side , not sure what the patch guys have to do these days.

I am a consultant for this company: http://www.cnrl.com/horizon/hcml/construct_job.html and the construction camp looks nice and they offer fly in/fly out to locations across Canada making trips home a cheap proposition. Other mines such as Suncor, Syncrude, Albian etc. are also looking for people but do not offer flights and the camps vary in amenities depending which one you are in.

[shawnm]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to start calling companies next week. Earliest I can get out is the first of Nov due to the potato harvest.

Anyone hear of http://www.fsi-international.com/?

Buddy of mine is working with them doing filtration and can hook me up with a job. He's a bit of a story teller so I'll take is words lightly. 3wks on and 1 wk off. I'd rather work 6wks and fly home for 2wks, not possible according to him.

Jason, from what I gathered on your site, I just submit my resume to your DB and all of your sub contractors can access it? Are you guys a head hunter of sort?

[brian468]

3 on 1 off would suck, i`m on like my 9th week straight but i`m higher up then a worm and they throw lots of money at me to keep staying for another hitch, even with the extra cash i`m still on the verge of jumping ship to another company. :confused:

[jasonmt]

Originally posted by shawnm
[
Jason, from what I gathered on your site, I just submit my resume to your DB and all of your sub contractors can access it? Are you guys a head hunter of sort? [/B]

Really not sure on what you mean by "headhunter", personally I work under a PSA contract offering QA services.

The job opportunities site is just a way of attempting to help our contractors recruit people as manpower is the biggest issue we face.

There is no third part involved, no agency fees etc. your name and information is made available to our contractors and they will contact you directly.

[shawnm]

Looks like I'm heading out with the rest of the lemmings. 1st week of Nov I'll be starting with FSI doing filtration. All training and such will be provided by them. Almost sounds to good to be true...

Giving my employer notice today.

Too bad I can't take my Jeep out with me. Lot's of nice wheeling out your way! :beer

[ANGER ranger w\ attitude]

Good for you... make sure you bring yer hat & mits, it can get down to -50 @ times, & it wont go much above -20.

[brian468]

go buy a couple pair of the heaviest carhartts they make if the company doesnt provide any, a jacket and bib doesnt cut it.

[shawnm]

I've been told to bring only one pair of Carharts, work boots and everything else will be covered. I guess due to the nature of the job I will be provided with flame retardant cover alls, gloves, etc.

[brian468]

well one pair or two just bring something, it`d really suck if you had to wait a couple days for your company issued gear ;)


and flame retardant eh, i`m gonna go see if mine are :redneck

[ANGER ranger w\ attitude]

Originally posted by brian468



and flame retardant eh, i`m gonna go see if mine are

Anything that says Keltek, is flame resistant. if a company is giving you gear, i'm sure it will be.

[brian468]

whats the point its all covered in grease and drilling mud and diesel anyway

[Hurley]

Precision drilling ... based in edmonton or red deer i beleive... good company.

My brothers worked for them for about 5 years now, and they've taken good care of him. He's a driller now and makes KILLER money.

I applied last time i was up and the only reason i couldnt take the job was because i didnt have a car up there... and tehy said i would need reliable transportation.

[DBM]

Hi guys,

Just came across this thread. Where can I find more about working in the oil drilling field?

I'm currently working in the water well drilling industry. Pay is okay, shift is great, but looking to move away from the lower mainland and make more money at the same time.

[shawnm]

Been in Calgary for 3 weeks now and still haven't gone north to Fort Mac like I was promised. There are 5 guys ahead of me waiting to go also. Once they go up I'll go up a week later. They told me to come out on the 12th, give me a couple of days for training and be in Mac within 7-10 days.

I'm damn near broke from living in a hotel and have started to look for work with other companies. Downside is I have no wheels with me and have to cab it everywhere.

All part of the gamble coming out I guess.

Can anyone confirm to me that everything is slow to start in Fort Mac this year?? This is what I keep getting told. :wtf:

[jeepinwhores]

Things should be picking up quick. It's been cold as hell for the last 1-2 weeks and the frost is being pushed down pretty quick. Apply with piling companies too, JV Driver is one that comes to mind and they are pretty busy on alot of sites up here. SDS Drilling is starting a winter drill program on my site pretty soon as well. Good luck and stick it out anyway possible if you can. It'll pay for itself soon enough!

[Hayes]

The economy is slowing in the US the biggest user of oil and the economy in Canada is slowing down.

I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for f a job in Fort Mac start finding a job in Edmonton or Calgary.

A friend of mine works up in Ford Mc he is in the union works in the welding trade anyhow he says there is lots of dangerous work. Says there are allot of people seriously injured to dead that is never said much about. Another guy I talked to says he is a paramedic up there in the winter says never get hurt up there because you have a good chance of dying. I talked to a pipe fitter that worked up in Ford Mc made good money but its stressfull but good money. He did say he wouldn't go back. Said you would fly into the work site everyday work 16-18 hours a day and fly back to camp. A helicopter was on the worksite on stand by for medical emergencies to have the chopper sit there was 1000 dollars per hour.

The insane amounts of money being spent in Alberta isn't going to keep going the way it is.

Good Luck

[jeepinwhores]

Have you yourself been up here before? Come have a look before you start trying discourage people from trying to find good work. Everyday I drive to site it's a non stop trail of taillights for 80 km. The amount of work here for skilled labour is rediculous. As for people dying and no one hearing about it, I don't know where that comes from. The outfits that fly into remote areas obviously have a higher risk involved, but they are paid accordingly for it. On site, where the money is sill awesome, safety is paramount and oil companies pride themselves on their safety records. I don't understand why your friend would say to not get hurt up here or you'll die. Again, in remote areas this is more of a possibility but thats not in "Ford Mc" :D. Shawn, if you want to work pipeline or remote drilling I'm sure you're aware of the dangers. But there is no danger of work slowing down for the immediate future. There are hundreds upon hundreds of Km's of pipeline yet to be constructed for the 3 major oil sand projects currently under construction. Keep at it and the checks will start coming in soon.

[jasonmt]

Like jeepinwhores I would not put any faith into Hayes third-hand at best accounts of how things are. The part of the industry I am involved with (mechanical construction) is in a bit of a lull until mid Febuary or so as things are just busy, not crazy busy right now.


Shawn:

It sounds like your friend has told you a story or repeated a story that was told to him.

Approaching Christmas is generally a bad time to be looking for a job in this industry as many of us like to take off 3 weeks at Christmas as time off during the rest of the year is generally hard to come by.

[CoryT]

I've been looknig for work also this winter, and from everything everone I've talked to, it has been a VERY slow start this winter. My friends working the pipeline camps aren't working, and my friend who works for a service rig drilling outfit says ppl are sitting around the office. I have been looking for wuite a while for work also, hanignn out with the parents for now, but I leave tomorrow for a pre-employment physical with ensign drilling, hopefully i can go to work soon afterwords....

ps. pleaes exuse my typing, i've been drinking since 2 tosay :D

[brian468]

dont blame our economy for fort mac slowing down, our fields are still desperate for people.


and hayes knows dick about working in the oil industry, i`d go into more detail and profanity but I just got done with my 12

[jasonmt]

dont blame our economy for fort mac slowing down, our fields are still desperate for people.


and hayes knows dick about working in the oil industry, i`d go into more detail and profanity but I just got done with my 12

Alex, I will take "are words 18, 19 and 20 the most accurate words of Brians post?" for $500 please.:laugh

[muddhunter]

:agree:

[shawnm]

Shawn:

It sounds like your friend has told you a story or repeated a story that was told to him.



That is exactly what is happening and the guy shouldn't have had any of us come out until he knew when work was going to happen.

[brian468]

ensign/caza is real big on doing that to new guys, same with patterson-uti. the worst part is you really dont wanna burn any bridges with either company because if/when you do actually get to work their good places to work for.

[fireball]

this is an intresting conversation givin that i did the same thing.
i came out from vancouver in the spring to get experiance as an oil field firefighter in medicine hat . :badidea:
my pay was half of what they promised , told i would stay in the hat area , reality, home with my wife 4-5 days a month , 20hr days no over time most of the work was above red deer . luck would have it i'm a journeyman carpenter , have been smashing nails since september. moving back to van in a week i can't wait .
thanks for letting me rant on your post.

[CoryT]

Well I just got back from my "physical" which was more like a 6 hour powerpoint presentation/assignment on saftey/orientation (they forgot to mention that part, but it was easy so whatever...) Now I have the personell contacts for the copanies that ensign owns, and after talking to them all...... probably waiting for christmas now... this sucks, I'm a busy body and staying in a small town theres no work to keep me busy. But hopefully it'll all pay off in the end when I get work.

[shawnm]

Just got the call. Heading to Ft.Mac tomorrow morning. Finally!

[Lurker]

I'm in seismic exploration and the last job I was on was dangerous. I was on that project for 85 days in the rockies with no HETS. There were 3 career ending accidents on my 4 man crew during the first six weeks. And in the last part of the job they kept the best crews in the steep **** (up to 70 degrees slope) so that the ****ty crews wouldn't kill themselves or bleed out because there was no way a medic could get them packaged up and out in time to save their lives if they got cut bad. Meanwhile the ****ty crews cashed in on the flats and made more than we did.

That's first hand experience. If I wasn't an OFA 3 one of those guys would have died of a heart attack for sure.

[jason26]

is this work all heavy duty? i have my commercial ticket and work at a western star dealer,they must be in demand up there also?

thinking about it myself.any body know?

[jasonmt]

Just got the call. Heading to Ft.Mac tomorrow morning. Finally!

Once you get there you might not have the same attitude...

[shawnm]

Once you get there you might not have the same attitude...

Can't be any worse then going broke in Calgary. So far it's looking like we'll be here until the middle of April, so they say anyway.

I'm in a nice Drillers Camp just past the Long Lake Project, damn good food here! :D

[EHeye]

Depends what ya wanna do... work the rigs, build roads, in camp, not in camp? The list goes on... Alta is cryin' for help. There's more iron then hands right now & the big wigs in cow town, seem to think they should just keep buildin' more iron. We need more hands so figure out what ya wanna do & go from there.

If ya wanna go riggin' i could give a few #'s.
I work for Lakota Drilling. WLE on the TSX.
:beer


Do you make a topical pain reliever? :finger_1: