Drillers operate the machines called derricks that drill for pockets of
underground oil. They operate the draw-works, rotary table, pumps and drill
pipe; monitor the progress of drilling; determine when to change drill bits
and keep progress reports of the drilling.
Drillers work closely with geologists, who find the drilling locations.
As they're drilling into formations (material in the ground), drillers collect
core samples for geologists. It takes about a month to drill a well, then
people in petroleum production man the derrick.
Often, new wells are drilled within hundreds of feet of each other. This
is done to optimize the extraction of oil from its pocket or reservoir.
According to Joey Roth, a senior drilling foreman, it's a job for those
who love challenges and changes.
"The thing that's neat about my job is change," she says. "No two wells
are alike, so you've got to love change.
"You've got to be pretty organized to do this job," she adds. "You're always
in one crisis or another."
Roth has been in the drilling industry for over 20 years. She worked behind
a desk for six years, but always longed to get back to the derricks.
Jimmy Bell of Texas agrees that drilling becomes an obsession. "When you
get used to working seven days a week [for] 12 hours a day, drilling becomes
a life of its own," he says.
Bell, now an oil business consultant, has been in the oil drilling business
for decades. He says oil drilling is hard, dangerous, stressful and satisfying.
That is, if you can find work.
Drillers typically work 12-hour days for seven days, followed by seven
days off, according to Bell. He says a driller needs to be strong to work
heavy equipment and needs to be patient to stand for long periods watching
computerized monitors.
Bell says that drillers work split shifts in all weather conditions. He
explains that drillers often have to climb the derricks, which can be 200
feet tall, so drilling isn't for anyone with a fear of heights.
Additionally, drillers work with some dangerous chemicals, such as caustic
soda, and potentially lethal machinery. Bell says caution and mechanical aptitude
are requirements for drillers.
"I've seen a lot of people lose fingers, legs and their lives," says Bell.
Doug Gibson, the pre-employment training coordinator of the Petroleum Industry
Training Center, adds that many oil drill operators don't intend to make it
a lifelong occupation. "A lot of young guys come to it to make a quick buck
and then go to university."
According to Bell, there is typically a five-person crew working each shift
on an oil derrick. However, that number will steadily be reduced, according
to Gibson.
"Technology has definitely made major advances in the last 10 years," says
Gibson. "There are rigs out there that only need one to two people to run
them. There's problems with them, but it's only a matter of time [before they're
operating smoothly]."
Gibson says one of the benefits and drawbacks of oil drilling is traveling.
"You always have to travel," says Bell. "[There is] no home life."
Bell has worked for about 30 companies. Gibson estimates he has worked
for 10. "A lot of little companies drill and then go broke," says Bell. Gibson
says this is changing, because larger oil companies are aggressively buying
smaller ones.
"There's definitely room for advancing," says Gibson. "It's a global thing."
Gibson says that in his years as an instructor, he has trained only three
women in drilling. He adds that they worked in other segments of the oil business.
Bell agrees that few women enter the occupation. "Not very many women [work
on oil derricks]," he says. "Five percent [of the workers are women], maybe."