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Working in the Canadian oil sands: 6 figures in 6 months!
09-21-2016, 03:08 AM
14 days working nights on an oil rig, done tomorrow.
Think i would gone mental working 28 days on nights.
Anyone got some good tips working night shifts for a while without becoming a zombie?
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Working in the Canadian oil sands: 6 figures in 6 months!
09-21-2016, 12:33 PM
Quote: (09-21-2016 03:08 AM)pants Wrote:
14 days working nights on an oil rig, done tomorrow.
Think i would gone mental working 28 days on nights.
Anyone got some good tips working night shifts for a while without becoming a zombie?
I wouldn't work on the rigs. I'm a first year in one of the metal trades.
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09-30-2016, 11:33 AM
Just a heads up, anyone flying with the major oil companies in Canada, they are going as far as checking pill containers for mismatched drugs, oral steroids etc. For the first time ever I was patted down, and they used a wand metal detector to scan my body as well as making me pull up each pant leg to see if I was hiding things in my socks
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10-18-2016, 10:55 AM
Hello Guys,
Is anyone seeing any movement on the job front in the USA/Canada? are things looking up yet??
Over here in the UK it's drier than a Nuns Chuff in the upstream world.
Although there are companies advertising SOME positions for downstream work like Concepts or upcoming FEED projects.
Jon
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11-30-2016, 08:05 AM
^Fuck ya! The more bitumen they extract and upgrade in Alberta, the more work for us maintenance workers. Also, Castro's bastard son just announced the approval of some pipelines to BC, things are looking good fellas.
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12-13-2016, 12:30 PM
What's up guys? It's been pretty quiet on here lately, I guess most of the guys fucked off from Alberta like I did haha. I just finished a three week hitch on an offshore rig on the east coast of Canada, overall it was decent but its really not my thing, I prefer working in Alberta for several reasons and am currently considering going back there in the spring. Here's a few observations about working offshore:
-Bunk mates: Everyone sleeps with a bunk mate and on this rig it was bunk beds, I had guys who snored pretty loud so I had to sleep with ear plugs.
-Food: It was pretty good on this rig, compared to the Alberta camps, I'd say it was about average.
-Internet: Sucked pretty bad and was only available in the lounge, even there you couldn't stream videos.
-Safety: It seems safer offshore than in the oil sands, there's only a limited amount of POB (People On Board), as opposed to an oil sands site with 2000+. Also, things move very slow offshore so there isn't a "get er done" attitude offshore, its slow and more meticulous. That being said, you're expected to do more offshore due to the limited POB, so I was doing work that in Alberta would ahve been done by a labourer or first year welder, which kind of sucked.
-Vibe: Its way more European offshore, there were several Brits (mostly Scots) on the rig, a couple continental Euro weenies and only a couple of Asians (non-TWF). Most of the rig was East Coasters though and the majority are older, like 50+, its not like out west where the average age is quite young. Also, they use a lot of Euro building codes unlike in Alberta where its all American (ASME), I even got chewed out for using imperial instead of metric haha.
Gym: There was an ok gym, nothing too fancy but it had everything I needed (squat rack, free weights, etc). It is quite small though, so I went at 5:30am and it was usually empty. Also, you can bring supplements to the rig and eat as much as you want, three times a day.
Money: Its pretty good, a bit less than what I made in Alberta but still pretty good especially factoring in the cheaper cost of living on the east coast.
Lifestyle: It could be good if you get on a 3/3 rotation, which I wasn't (one of the reasons I"m thinking of leaving) and you don't mind living on the east coast, I didn't have flights offered elsewhere but if I stuck around I could probably negotiate flights to Montreal.
So overall it was a decent experience and I would do it again however I do prefer working in Alberta in a refinery than an offshore rig. Being on the ocean was cool for about two days but then the feeling of isolation sets in, you can't just go for a walk for example, unless going up and down a few flights of stairs can be considered a walk haha. Also, there's absolutely no booze or drugs on the rig whatsoever, you're nightly entertainment will be watching TV in the lounge or your room or going on the slow internet.
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12-13-2016, 01:06 PM
^^Good update!
Family and friends are all high tailing it to Fort Nelson at the moment, sounds like things are busy there. Hopefully the rigs start moving now and stay busy right through to spring.
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01-18-2017, 06:39 PM
Whats everyone up to? Havent been any jobs from my ironworking union. Hopefully shit picks up soon.
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01-18-2017, 06:55 PM
With Trump in office, hopefully we'll see more U.S. based production pick up. I'm sure he'll try to fast track any EPA hurdles that prevent further exploration. If he can get projects greenlighted, the energy sector is bound to heat up. That's especially true if he brings back enough jobs to the economy that people can spend more money on consumer goods and travel more frequently, thus increasing our energy consumption. Consumption has been low for a long time because cars are getting more efficient and the average joe hasn't had enough money to travel. He's barely scraping by in the Obama years. Only time will tell.
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01-18-2017, 07:06 PM
Opening up US regulation will lower breakeven price/barrel *slightly* but will not overcome the worldwide over-supply and strong competition from the middle east. WTI won't break $70 until there is catastrophe in OPEC nations.
Edit: Obama wasn't terrible for drilling. Yes he could have been nicer on GOM after our incidents but he enjoyed the growth West Texas was bringing in.
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01-18-2017, 07:10 PM
Depends if Trump takes a hardline with the Saudis or not for supporting terrorism. If he really pushes the issue, they could cut exports to us, which would make state-side drilling more economically feasible. We don't know yet just how aggressive Trump will be on foreign policy, but given how the many actually seems to enjoy a good fight, it wouldn't surprise me if he took on OPEC.
John Michael Kane's Datasheets: Master The Credit Game: Save & Make Money By Being Credit Savvy
Boycott these companies that hate men: King's Wiki Boycott List
Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value. -Albert Einstein
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01-18-2017, 08:40 PM
I can't wait until Trump approves the Keystone pipeline, hopefully it will convince the Canadian government to get some pipelines to tide waters built.
I'm not overly familiar with the CETA EU/Canada trade pact but I do remember some Euro-weenie politicians bitching about how dirty Canada's oil is, does anyone know if the pact contains anything in it about our oil?