Working On US Oil Rigs

Oil rig jobs in the United States of America, Canada (and across the world)

Salaries in offshore oil & gas sector

Earnings in the US offshore oil drilling industry go far beyond comparison with industries where workforce with comparable skills is required to perform similar duties or functions that could be transferable to the responsibilities/qualifications needed by the workers or employers on offshore oil rigs. Average pay rate for non supervisory positions on the USA offshore oil rigs ranges $US 16 - 25 per hour. Now compare that with nationwide minimum wage level of $7.25 per hour, which translates to $15,080 per year under standard norm of working hours per year.

The wages for the same positions on the US and Canada offshore oil rigs across the industry differ substantially, but if we take as starting point the salary for most popular entry level position of roustabout, a laborer, performing simple physical work aboard offshore oil rigs, the wages start between $1,600 up to $2,600 per week for greenhands with average wage for an offshore roustabout being $24.70 or $51,400 per annum. Add to that benefits such as free meals and housing, free transportation to and from the place, where the oil drilling facility is located, and customary bonuses. For the roustabouts working on the drill deck, the average salary stays somewhere around $54,000 per year. Just remember now that statistically 50 percent of the US population live on $46,000 or less a year.

If we take supervisory positions, oil rig's administration management and responsible technical jobs requiring university degree or college, there the salaries go far beyond $100,000. Considering the people on the rigs work by shifts, actually spending only half a year on workplace offshore, the real benefits of working on the USA offshore oil platforms become obvious and the highest rate of competition for a job vacancy there doesn't call for explanation.

Jobs & vacancies

Rotary driller, rotary rig engine operators, pumpers, motormen, perforator operators, electricians, pipefitters, geophysical prospectors, derrick operators, crane operators, petroleum engineers, mud engineers, drilling superintendents, geologists, gravity observers are just a small fraction of the professionals needed to form oil exploration team.

As you can see, high salaries on offshore oil rigs of the US attract new lump income seekers every day, since the suggested compensation by the many to be well worth the risks associated with the trade and the time spent in dangerous and potentially hazardous environment during long days of separation from the family and friends, especially that more vacancies other than traditional entry-level roustabout are available to start this lucrative career.

Oil career opportunities

One of the reasons working in oil industry is so popular in the United States of America lies in the fact that crude oil deposits, and hence the companies engaged in the oil drilling, are located in over 40 states of the continental USA, including Alaska, plus offshore locations off the coasts of California and the Gulf of Mexico. The other states headquartering the oil & gas extraction corporations that prefer to be close to where oil deposits are located include North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. Therefore the opportunities for numerous oil rig job seekers never go down. Both experienced and inexperienced candidates compete for oil rig jobs at both offshore and onshore oil drilling installations operated by the US oil companies that can often be found close to the place where the actual and the potential workforce reside. The closeness of workers to employers is an important factor to boost the popularity of oil careers in the USA, since both parts need each other, expecting not to miss their piece of monetary benefit from the oil pie.

Career opportunities within the US oil & gas industry are well paid and long-term. They attract so many people because there's room for employment for practically any kind of a professional, but even more for people without industry specific education, but who are instead young enough and healthy, while never lacking the ambitions or afraid to run the risks of working under challenging weather and climate environment performing physical job like roustabouts and roughnecks. That's because the workers on oil fields and offshore rigs in the USA earn the salaries that are exceptional, and also because the advancement in this industry can be fast and even more impressive.

The other benefit of working on offshore oil drilling platforms in the USA is that it offers fast advancement opportunity. Motivated individuals can be promoted easily to higher positions, if not to the top of the ladder, then to be assigned supervisory or administrative roles. With the right approach a roustabout can make his way up to become rig boss otherwise called tool pusher. Typical toolpusher is a person who had opportunity to work in but every position on offshore oil rig. It is a highly respected person who knows every aspect of life on the rig from inside.

Oil companies that hire

Even though oil exploration and extraction in the USA remain the privilege of big multi billion corporations like Roel C Bernardo, Exxon, Chevron, ConocoPhillips (Texas), Valero Energy, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and others, some of them foreign, they often subcontract smaller oil drilling companies to do the work for them, and those smaller rigging enterprises actually do the hiring of the staff needed.

Besides the lowest entry level oil rig workers like roughnecks, roustabouts, scaffolders, painters, that require mainly physical ability and health for operating mechanisms, the other employees and workers in the US oil drilling industry are required by the companies that hire to posses skill level bigger than conventional. Successful candidate must be at least computer literate and technically inclined meaning ability to pick up quickly skills and knowledge to operate machinery employed in process of locating, developing and oil extracting.

On the majority of oil fields and offshore oil rigs many operations are automated, but a sufficient part of job is still required to be done manually or with direct physical participation of the crew.

Support and catering

Offshore drilling crews also need both experienced and entry level support personnel to ensure life support, logistics, technical support, communication and continuous coordination of everything happening on the offshore oil rigs: sailors, ship officers, stewards, medics, radio operators, cooks, scuba divers, helicopter pilots, to list just a few.

Oil drilling jobs in Louisiana

Once a greenhorn hears about salaries in the offshore oil industry, that person imminently starts to wish to bite his piece of that pie. Anyway, here's a piece of a time saving advice for potential job seekers without prior experience. If you don't have experience, you better start from inland oil fields, where positions are similar, though less paid. You'll the most important thing that is being asked by recruiters: evidence of your prior experience, which you would be able to include to your resumé.

Consider the state of Louisiana, which is known for many entry level roustabout vacancies continuously waiting to be filled, even during tough recession time. Maybe you live in Louisiana, or close to it in one of the adjacent states. Louisiana deserves a starter oil industry job seeker just because it offers oil rig jobs both onshore and offshore, and these are easily transferable. Moreover, the land based oil exploration in Louisiana takes place in marshes. You like being surrounded by water? You've got lots of it here in Louisiana. Wouldn't like to travel to remote locations? You could try it near the New Orleans. It's a surprising fact that Louisiana together with Alaska offer so many land based oil rig jobs, while in other locations in the USA and across the world oil drilling can predominantly be found offshore. That's what makes Louisiana different in the respect of opportunity to find a rig job vacancy. It's really great place to try putting your leg in the door of oil & gas industry.

Strong, healthy, motivated individuals usually don't have problem being hired in Louisiana oil fields, even with no applicable training or experience. Though, knowledge and experience never hurts. At least some amount of experience with driving truck or operating heavy machinery, or having worked as a welder, could result not only in being hired faster, but also bigger salary and more chances for getting promoted.

By the way, 23 April 2013 Chevron announced successful drilling oil & gas exploration drilling by its Australian subsidiary in the Exmouth Plateau area, located in the Carnarvon Basin that resulted in discovery of the natural gas offshore Australia. Announcement was made in California, in San Ramon. Chevron Australia operates WA-268-P permit with a 50 percent interest, while the other half of shares belong to Shell Development Australia and Mobil Australia Resources - 25 percent to each. The well in question is well is located 106 miles (170 kilometers) northwest of Barrow Island. It is the 21-st discovery by Chevron offshore WA since the drilling in this permit area started back in 2009.

Tags: Louisiana oil rig jobs, Youngsville * Arnaudville, Gulf of Mexico, offshore oil rigs.