Information on Oil Rig Welding

By Coolio427 Date 10-22-2004 03:29

I don't really know where to post this so ill do it here. Iam a senior in high school and I'am planning on furthering my education/skill in welding. Well me and a buddy of mine were looking into differant welding jobs that are out there and one that stuck with me is Off-Shore Oil Rig welding. I thought about this for awile and its something i want to look into. What i was wondering is if there is anyone out there who has worked on one or knows alot about working on one so i can get some more info on it. Somethings i want to know is how long are the shifts(ive heard 3m on a 3w off and ive also heard 14d on and 21d off), also what are the main kind of work you have to do on it(mostly fab, or rebuild) and lastly what main process would you use i would guess sheilded arc welding..? Ive tried searching the internet for info and nothing. So any information would help me out greatly.
Thanks
Eric K. hyden2002@msn.com
Indiana

By nspc6f

Date 10-28-2004 16:22

Eric
I am happy that you have a goal in mind. I have been welding for three years. I have several freinds that have worked on oil rigs (intersted also). I will tell as much as I remember. Working on oil rigs is very hard work. Most of the shifts are between 10-16 hours min. The hours depend on what you do. If you can get in, everything is payed for (depends on the company). most of the companies are 3 months out and then 3 months in. There are also 6 months out and 6 months in. The company many times will call you at strange hours to send you out to a rig. Many times you will have no idea where you will be sent and they probably will never tell you (safety). The work can be very rewarding (tax exemped because out of states),meet strange people and also very stressfull (long hours, water as fare as the eye can see). the best place to find out about oil rigs and some some of the jobs are at your local tech. school or ask welders.
They do lots of different types of work on an oil platform. It is a small city. They do fabrication and repair. they mainly use SMAW but I think that MIG/flux are becoming popular. Ohio State has a Welding Engineering degree and several of the teachers there have experince in oil rigs. Drop them an e-mail, they could help you out better then I could. I hope this has sparked an interst, look at other welding alternetives also.

Nathan

By BIG E

Date 10-30-2004 17:03

Well Working in the oil patch I have worked there for over ten years its not 3 months on three months off it is normanly seven days on seven days off, or 14 days on 14 days off or if you work over sea's like did for four years it is 28 on 28 off.. Towers is 12 hours long oh thats shift to you who don't know what that ment. I have never seen mig or tig out there its stick welding pre fab and repair. most of the welders out there have been doing it for 15 to 20 years, and anything that is done on pipe has to pass x-ray. alot of 6G over head work.

By nspc6f

Date 10-31-2004 17:58

That you Big E
This person I was talking about was an underwater welder. Would you know if the hours are differnt and how hard the work is. My friend sayed that he was 6 months out at a time seems kind of a long time for me (I think that he drank too much sea water). What type to electrodes do they use? Is it hard to get in with an outfit that works on platforms? more information please.

open ears,
nathan

By BIG E

Date 10-31-2004 20:00

under water welding thats my dads area of experties. I have no clue other than you need to be hard hat diver cert and go from there. rig welding most companys that I know of are Irwin out of California, Omaga Out of Morgan City, LA. Global marine out of Houstion TX Global is a pipe line laying company so you would be doing alot of pipe welding.
Best of luck to you.