Do you wonder where we get oil supplies of daily fuel and car gas? Our oil riggers made it possible for us. It is one tough job that we may have to thank them in way after we learn their nature of work.
What is an Oil Rigger?
Oil Rigs (also called Oil Platform) are structures used to drill wells out and extract and process natural gas and oil and export products offshore. People who worked on oil rigs are called Oil Riggers. The word “ oil rig” means an equipment to drill including the platform the supports the drilling equipment. You cannot find them in a dictionary as “oil rigger” alone because they work as a team to complete the entire process. Everyone involve is an oil rigger and called as“ Crew”.
Duties of an Oil Rigger
Normally, Oil Rigs have minimal crew on the platform itself. One worker can handle multiple tasks. More crew members are working remotely in a control room. They have 2 types of crew: Essential Personnel and Incidental personnel. But generally, all crew members work according their post. Each play a vital role to finish the entire cycle or the Oil rig operation.
Essential personnel are those who ran outside the Oil Rigs platform.
- Offshore Installation manager (OIM) – ultimate authority of the shift and decides for the entire operation of the platform.
- Operations Team Leader: (OTL)- manages one team
- offshore operations engineer (OOE) – Senior Technical Decision maker
- PSTL or operations coordinator for managing crew changes
- Dynamic positioning operator, navigation, ship or vessel maneuvering (MODU), station keeping, fire and gas systems operations in the event of incident.
- Crane operators, scaffolders, coxswains , helicopter pilots, ballast control operators
- Production technicians to run the plant
- Maintenance technicians and catering crew.
Incidental personnel will be on board for the drilling operations. They consist of drillers, toolpushers, roughnecks, roustabouts, geologist, company man, mud engineer, and derrickhand.
During well work, Well services supervisor, pump operator, coiled tubing operators or wireline are present on the platform.
Work Condition of an Oil Rigger
The whole Oil Rig operation is risky itself. Drilling takes a lot of technical skills to withstand each of the work assignment mentioned above. Each member is prone to accident and even tragedies which is already common scenario for them. Those who work on the platform itself experience not only the operational hazards but also the natural calamity like storms (for those assigned in the sea semi –submersible oil rigs.
Educational Requirements of an Oil Rigger
Intensive technical and mechanical degrees and equivalent studies are most essential to the management. Computer studies for data on extraction is a must for those out of the platform workers .But there are vocational courses or short term courses in mechanics, machine operators and other equipment trainings are substantial as well. Like what each of the tasks above require the necessary skill to run equipment. Degree sciences, ecology, geology and environmental studies are also needed.
Occupation and Progress of an Oil Rigger
This is an amazing career to those with high scholastic background in mechanics and engineering. Other posts with manual work rarely get to higher or different post because of educational requirements or skill set.
JSA (J. Sagar Affiliate)