Helpful Suggestions for those Looking for Oil Rig Jobs

With the many benefits that those working on oil rigs get such as great time off and excellent salaries, it is no wonder that so many people these days are looking for oil rig jobs. There are so many candidates applying for the various oil rig jobs that are advertised that it is so important that you stand out. You need to make sure that it is you the employer wants to hire. The following are a few ways that you can ensure you stand out from the crowd when applying for oil rig jobs.

• Try to search for oil rig jobs where others are not. It would be all too easy to find the website of a major oil company or just look through the job websites online but this is what everyone does and it makes it harder for you to break through. What you should be doing, is searching online by using the major search engines. If you search for terms like ‘oil rig jobs’ or oil company vacancies, you may come across job openings that have not really been advertised to the public yet. It could be the case that there are some jobs which have not made it to the public job boards yet and these are the ones you are looking for. You could also have a look at the companies listed on the stock market because you will definitely find some oil companies on here that may not be as well known as others.

• Research the company that you want to work for. It is not enough to just send an application form to the HR department. You need to find out all about the company and try to get in with people who work there. This is a great way to get a recommendation when it comes to oil rigs. Some companies give employees bonuses if they can find new employees so if you can get in with the people who work in the company then you could be on to a good thing.

• Because oil rigs are governed by maritime law, you should try to find out how this could affect you before you apply. You will need to make sure that you have all of your paperwork ready. Find out what courses you will need to take before you could work on an oil rig. It may be the case that you will have to take a first aid course as well as safety courses. If you could have all of this done before you even apply for a job, then you would have an advantage over other candidates.

What is Involved in Decommissioning Services?

Decommissioning services are those services involved in dismantling and removing oil and gas rigs, both onshore and offshore. When a field has run dry and there is no more oil or gas to be had then the rig has to be decommissioned or removed. Decommissioning contractors are also employed to remove a rig that is no longer functioning as it should, usually because it is an old rig and its base is becoming eroded.

Decommissioning services are carried out by several teams of people, usually under the direction of a contractor. Taking down and removing a rig, particularly one that is offshore, is a long and arduous business. A contractor needs to be able to orchestrate all the specialist teams that are needed to remove a rig and to do it in a manner that is in accordance with strict health and safety regulations. The removal of an offshore rig is a long job that can take up to a couple of years to complete. Most older rigs are rooted in the seabed and this means that they have to be cut up and taken down where they are and the pieces then removed to a safe facility on the mainland.

In the UK decommissioning services are usually require to dismantle and remove rigs from the North Sea. Working in such an environment is a trial in itself due to the harsh weather conditions that occur in that area. Work is made even more difficult by the fact that both oil and gas are highly volatile substances and anything associated with them needs very careful handling if accidents are to be avoided. These risks mean that the cutting of the parts of the rig needs to be done in such a way as to eliminate the chance that any stray sparks could ignite the substances. Special types of cutting tools are needed for decommissioning as anything else would be likely to breach health and safety regulations.

High pressure cutting tools are required for decommissioning and sometimes ultra pressure water jets that contain an abrasive with sharp edges are used. When the materials are fed through a nozzle at extremely high pressure, it produces a much faster cutting implement, suitable for use on offshore rigs. Little, if any heat is generated with this cutting method, which means that the danger of sparking is avoided and the material being cut is not distorted as it would be by heat. This method is known as cold cutting and it is used for decommissioning because it is as effective at cutting through the concrete on a rig as well as the steel. Once the cutting is complete then the various pieces can be removed to the mainland.

The Wheels Keep Turning

There are many opportunities for those people who are interested in engineering. University courses are always popular, and in fact most courses are over-subscribed. With a degree there are a large group of companies who specifically look to employ graduates and there are normally careers available in the military, energy industry as well as electronics organisations. Claxton Engineering is a company within this genre, providing drilling equipment and services within the oil field industry which is a huge sector of the market.

Based in the south of England this company has experience gained over twenty five years both in the UK and also in the Middle East where of course, oil is a particularly important commodity. The interesting point, though, is that although Claxton Engineering is and does exactly what is expected from a company with “engineering” as part of its name, there are probably as many people working for and with them who aren’t engineers, and won’t have had anything to do with this type of business before becoming involved with the company.

There are of course, the qualified engineers who are involved with highly technical specifications and understand all the terminology. They are able to interact at the most senior level with other similar professionals. At the other end of the scale, and although not important from a technical standpoint, are the ancillary staff. Without them the organisation isn’t able to function satisfactorily.

There will be many staff members who work equally as diligently, in their own field, providing reports, booking flights and hotels, arranging for plant to be on site and hundreds of other items which all contribute towards the success, or otherwise of a company. This is exactly as it should be – although there will certainly be extremely well qualified leaders or supervisors within a team – it is a team nevertheless and the contribution made by every person within the team is important.

It may be considerably more difficult to replace a senior member of staff than a typist or receptionist, but without the support of the administration staff the engineers certainly wouldn’t be able to operate as efficiently. Engineers are the world’s worst people for completing paperwork, they are untidy and in many cases their writing is illegible. They are brilliant within their own area of expertise and good at thinking outside of the box. They are logical thinkers and will tinker around with something to make it one hundred per cent perfect.

A company like Claxton Engineering provides essential services. Remember though that any company owes a large part of its success to the cogs in the background ensuring that the whole wheels turn completely.

Subsea Engineering and the Process of Implementing a Design

Subsea engineering usually begins with an idea. When a company is contacted to complete a specific task, the company will usually turn to its engineers to begin working on the project and it is usually up to the engineers and the project managers to decide on the best way to complete the project. Although this industry is can be very technical, it is also one of the more creative industries since it is constantly being improved with innovative designs and technologies.

When a subsea engineering company is contacted to complete a project, it is important for the company to determine the feasibility of the project itself. The simplest way to explain this process is with the question: can this be done? In order to answer this question, engineers will have to find ways to implement the project and this might entail a lot of creativity on their part. If the project is not feasible then it might be abandoned.

Designing the System

If the engineers decide to go ahead with the project then it must first be designed. This is possibly the most complex task associated with subsea engineering since it entails many hours of research, drawings and other tests. Engineers are not only required to construct the overall design of the system that is going to be put in place but they have to ensure that they have designed it down to the very last detail.

Once a system has been designed it is up to the subsea engineering company to begin procuring all of the components for the project. Since many of these projects take place out at sea, this can be a very difficult task. In order to get everything that they need to complete the project, companies will often outsource some of their materials from sister companies or other engineering firms. Only once all of the components have been gathered can the company begin working on the project.

Installing the System

The installation of the system is where all of the physical work comes in. In order to ensure the safety of the engineers and manual workers that are carrying out the job, companies must ensure that safety precautions are set in place and adhered to at all times. Conditions in the field that become harsh and this is something that needs to be taken into consideration.

Maintaining the System

The installation of the system is not where the job ends for many engineering companies. Maintaining the system is very important to ensure that it continues to work safely and effectively. The harsh conditions that the system will be exposed to, will have to be taken into account and regular maintenance might be very important to ensure that it continues to function optimally.

Acteon Synergistic With 17 Companies

The formulation of Acteon has combined 17 companies from all over the world who can complement one another thereby creating a team of companies that become synergistic within the field of offshore gas and oil drilling. They have sought after people with certain skill sets in technology and engineering who are collectively committed to changing the world.

2H Offshore - with expertise in engineering design, integrity and monitoring management of offshore rises and conductors this company’s job is to work in deep and shallow water applications
Aquatic - a company known for its ability for laying and retrieving semi-rigid and flexible products on the bed of the sea. It operates at capacity in both shallow and deep water and has a wide level of experience in offshore installations, Trans spooling, recovery and rig decommissioning.
CAPE - Responsible for inspections, repair and maintenance of pipelines
CIS - Installs conductors and well foundations and continues to work toward reducing costs with more efficient processes and technology
Claxton - provide Acteon with engineering services for all their well systems, pipelines and structures
Fluke - Brazil based company who provides mooring services and products such as anchors, testing and inspecting services
InterAct - provides a range of engineering and project managing services from abandonment of subsea wells to installation of such and they work diligently on environmental studies
InterMoor - supplies technology for mooring and rig moves worldwide which includes engineering and design along with fabrication, installation, surveying and positioning of subsea rigging
LDD - Drilling specialist for large diameter piling, tubular installations in rock or soil
MENCK - With more than 40 years of experience, MENCH provides for offshore oil and gas drilling, wind farms, or harbour/bridge industries, specialised hydraulic pile driving solutions. They bring to the board customer training and consultancy along with myriad levels of engineering and the ultimate in pile driving expertise
Mirage - known for their designs of portable on site machine tools for services in cold cutting, drilling, flange facing and hot tapping.
NCS Survey - The leader in high precision rig positioning and construction. Utilizing a lightweight autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) survey, NCS is renown internationally for structure installation and positioning
OIS - An offshore drilling service with abilities of light construction, installation, maintenance and decommissioning of projects
P:ulse Structural Monitoring - leads the way in helping operators, contractors, and other end users to be aware of and improve operations
Seatronics - a specialist in marine electronic equipment rental
SRP - responsible for the design and manufacturing specialized hardware for offshore applications
Team - an energy resource company providing the highest trained personnel for the oil and gas industries