How do I start work offshore on oil rigs?

Question

Any suggestions that you may have as far as what companies to look at would be helpful. I have been trying for a while now and not sure how to get into the industry.

Answer 1

Look in the Houston yellow pages under Drilling Contractors. They all have listings there.

Answer 2

Assuming you live in the US and are a US citizen:

There are many drilling contractors working out of the Gulf of Mexico area.  Most have headquarter offices in Houston, TX, but rig crew rarely needs to go to the HQ offices.  Rig personnel must provide their own transportation to and from the heliport or boat dock that the rig is "catching out of."  

If you have no marine or offshore experience you'll be looking for work as a roustabout (or "deckhand").  This kind of work doesn't require many skills - a strong back and you've got to be 18 years old.  To get promoted you'll have to work well with others, be able to follow directions and show that you have a bit of initiative.  

Right now many companies are sending more rigs overseas - which means they have extra roustabouts in the GoM (usually international contracts require that local people be hired to fill entry level rig jobs.)  This doesn't mean that you can't or won't be hired with a drilling contractor, it just means that you might have a little more trouble than you would have a year ago.

You can check rigzone.com to see what kind of postings there are on that site.  You may also want to check with the personnel departments at the large drilling companies.  Have a resume ready to send, and realize that you may be asked to go to Houston for a physical -which will likely include a CAT scan of your spine (bad backs & offshore work don't mix) and will definitely include a drug test.

Some of the bigger drilling contractors are:

TransOcean

Diamond Offshore

Noble Drilling

Hercules Offshore

Nabors

Atwood

Ensco

Pride