The offshore oil and gas industry.

[j.sabourn]

On the probable assumption that a lot on this site will only know about such as what he manages to see in newspapers. There basically are various vessel types engaged in this industry and the following is a basic rundown for those who may not understand the subject too well
1. Most countries dedicate their sea areas like a housing estate and call them blocks.
2. An oil company comes along and decides he will pay the going rate for a block and pays his money.
3 . The agreement for example he takes on the lease say for 10 years, if however he does nothing in that 10 years , he walks away minus his outlay.
4. The first ship in is the seismic vessel to see the probabilities of heir being a recoverable amount , to be worthwhile.
4. If shows promise the next vessel in is a drill ship or a rig, to drill and take samples.
5 . If shows good result the well is capped and left until such time it is feasible to lay a production platform.
All these positions are in confidence and from the initial reports of the seismic vessel are worth a lot of money.

The oil rigs themselves are the discovers of oil , they are of two main types the semi submersible and the jack up which as its name suggests is for shallower water as stands on the sea bed. There are also drill ships utilised in this ever going search.
The ships are the supply vessels , which as their name the uhey supply food materials chemicals
And all that is needed.
2. The anchor handling tug supply vessel , which has 3 purposes supply , towing, and laying of the rigs usual at least 8 , 20 ton anchors , these are laid in positions required by the rig, small drill ships usually lay their own and just have 4
Then there is the standby safety vessel required by law. Usually scoffed at as not required on passage.
This is or was the normal basic shipping for the quest for oil. Today there is a lot more specialised shipping for wind farms etc. ships for digging trenches on the seabed for pipelines etc.
Today anyone fortuanate enough to go to sea will probably find himself being caterogzed ito one of these groups of shipping , and will probably be there for ever and a day.
When discussing shipping by those in that trade it will be hard not to go off theme , as experiences in such will depend on what type of work one is engaged in. It is not black and white. Life at sea never was and today is no different. If you don’t discuss a job no one is any the wiser. Maybe that is why as in an earlier post of years ago so many were unaware of why they emptied the forecastle head whilst doing a Suez Canal transit. Cheers JWS

[Rodney Mills]

Unless you have been up close to an off-shore rig it's hard to imagine the sheer size of them. The first time I visited one was when the company I worked for in the Hotel division, offered me a position to start-up a remote site catering company in Iran, dealing mostly with the on-shore-off-shore oil industry.

I was sent to the Gulf of Mexico to visit rigs to get an idea what goes on.

I traveled out to an off-shore rig out of New Orleans in a tender-boat bringing supplies.

As we drew nearer, my heart gave a lurch, the thing towered hundreds of feet out of the water. How do you get on the damn thing I remember thinking, the thought of climbing up a ladder made my you-know-what pucker.

We came along side the legs and way above us a crane moved an arm out over the sea and big round, what looked like a huge tire dropped like a stone just above the deck of the tender. One second the "doughnut" was two feet off the tossing tenders deck and the next five to six feet in the air and back down again from the wave action tossing the tender about.

"Step on it and hang-on" the pilot yelled. Sucking it in, I did and hung on for dear life. Next thing I knew I was being lowed on the deck of the rig.

Going back down after the visit was double scary, The pilot yelled "Now!" I stepped off as the tender was moving down and fell on my ass.

The kitchen, dining room and the accommodations were first class, there was a recreation room, movies twice a week, really nice. There was a choice of three entrees (steak twice a week, steak and lobster every other week, heaps of desserts and different breads. Full breakfast choice of fruit, juice, pastries, eggs, meats, pancakes, etc.. and a fully cooked lunch with all the trimmings. beds made, toilets and companionways cleaned and a laundry service. A mini first class hotel and service.

Cheers, Rodney

[happy daze john in oz]

Saw some going up the sea to Norway.
Large number and the size is hard to comprehend until you get close to one.

[j.sabourn]

#2. Rodney your big round tyre is what is called a basket. Basket transfers go on all the time. The netting you clung on to , you had to be on the outside for safety reasons as if the crane or any of its components failed and you finished up in the sea you would have more chances of survival , inside the netting went your luggage if you had any. The basket used to pick up about 8 men at a time , standing upright on the edge and clinging to the scramble type of netting. Cheers JS

[j.sabourn]

#3. If it was rigs you saw John in the way of semi submersibles it was the drill tower that makes them look big. That drill tower is the heart and soul of a rig , and the last thing the company wants is any stoppages in drilling , on a 100,000 pounds a day in my time , any stoppages made longer time on charter and big bucks for the owner of the rig itself , but less for those seeking oil or gas. If you wanted to see big structures you should see some of the platforms . JS.

[j.sabourn]

In addition to the shipping already mentioned there was also the DSV , these were mainly for deep water diving. Although I spent 4 years on such it was never to an oil company’s rquirements. I worked for the MOD via a shipping company who chartered the ship out to same. As I worked mainly with salvage divers and special forces from various NATO countries it was always to naval requirements. The ship I was on had the capabilities of putting divers down to a maximum depth of 300 metres about 1000 feet , but as far as I know never had the need to go to that depth . In the. Oil industry most under water work in deep water is now done with unmanned underwater vssels. Saturation diving the principle is that the divers are put down to the depth that is required beforehand by various means. But means his oxygen content is controlled by additive such as helium and other gasses., he lives in an airtight chamber usually holding 4 divers. They could be there for a number of days or even weeks if necessary. Before a dive they are transferred to a diving bell also air tight and lowered through a moonpool to the sea bed where the bell sits on a clump weight which gives them clearance to get out the bell through the bottom of the bell. The civilian saturation divers working in the North Sea were paid by the minute the time they were in the saturation state , and were the highest paid workers around. I would imagine that the results of saturation and the aftermath are still a subject being discussed in medical debates. J S.

[Keith at Tregenna]

I wondered first visit to Stravanger, as a kid
was always told the only people that wore
denim and rolled there own tabs were sailors,
other workers and prisoners.

Years ago here women were not allowed to
frequent bars solo.

Stavanger, I met so many really attractive
young ladies most in jeans, rolling there
own ciggies.

I did wonder though my Norwegian host
told me they were mainly oil rig workers.

Different dress code in places like Bergen.

K.

.

[j.sabourn]

Keith the Americans whom originally the main workers in the North Sea thenormal dress code was chequered shirt , denim jeans baseball cap, and red wing boots a must. Their English and Scottish counterparts carried on with this, even in a lot of cases with the American accent. JS

[Rodney Mills]

John.

Puts a new spin on the old "Cunard yanks". One trip to New York short dash ashore to purchase flashy shirts etc.. Back to Jolly and in the pub with a "Yankee" accent.

I've lived for 65 years in the states,, less my time in Oz. and 3.5 years in Canada, and still have traces of Pom and I'm often mistaken for an Ozzie. But never a Yank, or a Reb as I live in the South

Cheers, Rodney

[Bill Morrison]

I have a few photos of production rigs and semi-submersibles. Will try this one I think it was the Montrose Field?