Alberta Oil Careers

Category: Job Profiles

  • Job Profile: Oil Rig Welder

    Job Profile: Oil Rig Welder

    While there are some oil rig jobs in less demand, qualified and skilled people to work oil rig welding jobs are always needed. Some regions of the country are not pumping out great volumes of oil while others are. For instance, the oil industry in the state of North Dakota is not only booming but exploding. Because this state has so much open land to drill and with a new horizontal drilling technology being used, oil coming from the Bakken formation has reached beyond four billion barrels.

    The key in securing any of the oil rig welding jobs available is by having appropriate qualifications, which comes from education and training. One of the most common mistakes that people make specific to this type of job is the belief that training would be provided after being hired. In truth, oil rig companies are only interested in hiring people who already have all the required skills for the job. Even though some welding jobs are entry level, someone interested in oil rig welding jobs should complete necessary education and training prior to trying to secure a job.

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  • Job Profile: Drilling Rig Leasehand

    In this Job Profile we look at job of a drilling rig leasehand, what their job entails, a leasehand’s salary expectations, and everything you may want to know about being a leasehand on a drilling rig.

    Salary: $45,000 – $65,000
    Education: High School plus basic oilfield safety courses
    Progression:In this guide we meet Shawn, a roughneck on a service rig operated by Great Plains Well Servicing in Brooks Alberta and learn first hand about what a roughneck’s life and job are like. Floorhand, Motorhand, Derrickhand, Driller, Rig Manager, Consultant
    These are typical for leasehand but will vary from company to company.

    A drilling crew typically has 1 or 2 leasehands on each crew and they are responsible for all of the general labor and maintenance on the rig site. A leasehand is an entry level position designed to teach inexperienced persons how a drilling rig works and to get them comfortable with a drilling rig environment.

    Being a leasehand on a drilling rig is a great way to start your career in the oil patch. A leasehand that works hard and learns fast can be promoted to floorhand fairly quickly and after that there are several other promotions you can earn within a drilling rig crew.

    If you are not used to hard work being a leasehand will be tough. Leasehands are responsible for most of the general labor on site, everything from unloading trucks to digging ditches to scrubbing equipment. Being the low man on the totem pole you will also be responsible for the entire on site housekeeping such as cleaning waste baskets, making coffee, and general upkeep.

    A leasehand’s job can be very demanding at times, all of the hard labor, being away from home for long periods, and working in extreme weather conditions, but you are rewarded with an above average salary and plenty of room for career advancement.

    Drilling rig leasehands typically earn anywhere’s between $45,000 to $65,000 a year depending on which company you work for, how much work your rig gets, and how hard you are willing to work. This entry level position is a great way to get your career in Alberta’s oil field started.

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  • Job Profile: Service Rig Roughneck

    In this guide we meet Shawn, a roughneck on a service rig operated by Great Plains Well Servicing in Brooks Alberta and learn first hand about what a roughneck’s life and job are like.

    Salary: $45,000 – $85,000
    Education: High School plus basic oilfield safety courses
    Progression: Derrickhand, Driller, Rig Manager, Consultant
    These are typical for a roughneck but will vary from company to company.

    Hi, my name is Shawn and I’m a roughneck on one of Great Plains Well Servicing service rigs in Brooks Alberta. I work with a crew of four other guys, the rig manager (tool push), the rig operator (driller), a derrickman (derrickhand), and another roughneck.

    Unlike a drilling rig a service rig is a small mobile operation that gets wells ready for production and services wells that have stopped flowing. We also work with other crews such as a frac crew, or a perforating unit, to enhance well production.

    I just started working in the oil patch a few months ago and this has been my only job so far. So far I enjoy my job, I am making a lot of money, I have fun with my coworkers, I get to travel a lot, and there is plenty of room for advancement. Once I get a few more months experience I can become a derrickhand, and from there a driller, a tool push, and then a consultant.

    My work day typically starts at around 7:00 am and lasts until around 7:00 pm. When we get to our job location (lease) we rig up our equipment and if we are already on location then I start the rigs light plant and head to the doghouse (the crew quarters). When I get inside the first thing I do is turn the heat on and make coffee. Once the coffee is brewing I get changed into my work gear.

    Once the entire crew has their work gear on we hold a general safety meeting. We go over basic things to remind everyone to do their jobs safely. Once the safety meeting is over I make sure I am the first person out of the doghouse and ready to work. I start preparing all of the tools we are going to need for the day and if the derrickhand needs help getting his pump lines ready I give him a hand.

    Once the rig is ready and all of our tools are prepared we hold another meeting. At this meeting we discuss what we will be doing to the well that day and talk to any other crews that will be on location performing a service.

    Depending on what the oil company wants us to do to the well determines what I will be doing for the day. Sometimes I get to help run tubing in and out of the well with a large hydraulic wrench we call “tongs” and sometimes I spend entire days cleaning and repairing tools and parts.

    It is very important to always be doing something, if I don’t have anything to do I talk to my driller and ask him if there is anything he wants me to do, if not I ask my derrickhand. Sometimes I spend all day scrubbing tools and the trucks.

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  • Job Profile: Well Tester

    In this guide we look at the job of a well tester, what well testers do, their salary, and what you need in order to become a well tester.

    Salary: $40,000 – $60,000
    Education: High School plus basic oilfield safety courses
    Progression:In this guide we look at the job of a well tester, what well testers do, their salary, and what you need in order to become a well tester. Assistant Operator, Operator, Crew Supervisor
    These are typical wages for a well tester but will vary from company to company.

    Well testers or flow testers as they are sometimes called are usually one of the last crews that work on a well before it begins sending oil or gas to the refinery. Well testers do various tests on the wells to get information such as a well’s flow rate, pressure, salinity levels, or anything the oil company wants to know about the well.

    A well tester travels from well to well conducting various tests on each well and they usually travel in a crew of 2 or 3 people, a supervisor, an operator, and an assistant operator.

    A well testers job can be vary strenuous at times, they are away from home for long periods of time, they work in extreme weather conditions, do a lot of heavy lifting, and there is an element of danger involved with their job.

    Well testing is a great entry level job in Alberta’s oil field. Well testers typically earn between $40,000 and $60,000 a year depending on how much work a crew does in a year and what position you hold in the crew and there is plenty of room for advancement into other fields of work.

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