From Solar Navigator |
After 7 weeks in Malabo, I finally got the chance to go
off-shore. As an International Mobile
(IM), most of my career will be spent working off-shore. Going to a rig is a highly recommended part
of SLB’s pre-training, since most of a MLWD field career is spent working split
shifts on a rig site.
Due to the location, logistical, and expense issues in EQG,
it is hard to get trainee’s off-shore.
This was one of the main reasons that I hadn’t had a chance to go
off-shore before now. The other was that
about three weeks after I arrived in EQG, the rigs had finished drilling their
current wells and went into completions mode (preparing the well to start
producing oil).
So last Saturday morning, I walked into work and stopped to
say good morning to one of the project managers. He asks me what my plans are for Monday. My response is my usual working on reading
the training material and working in the shop.
He says wrong, I’m getting on a helicopter. This is the conversation I
have spent the last two months waiting for. He tells me that after a long
negotiation with the company man by one of our Directional Drillers (DD) that
he said I could go. I was to bring with
me as part of my 60 lbs of luggage 30 lbs of shrimp, and I would be rooming the
female DD.
I spent the next day packing up my hotel room and moving
everything that I wasn’t bringing to the rig to the office. I was unlucky and had a 7:00 am flight so I
was unable to bring the shrimp with me but they would be coming later in the
day.
I had to check in to my flight an hour early, which meant I
had to leave the hotel at 5:45 am. Once
at the heliport, I got checked in and we had a safety briefing on the
helicopter and escape methods. Due to
some lighting we were delayed an hour but it was finally time to get on the
helicopter and take the 20 min flight out to the Jade Platform. It was exciting but scary. I couldn’t wait to see the Jade for the first
time. The helicopter landed at the Jade,
and disembarking with the rotor blades still spinning was an experience. Once below the helideck, I took a moment to
admire the view and the Jade.
The first thing that stands out is the 100 ft flare off the
side. It’s an impressive site. After a
couple mins, I headed down to the arrivals lounge to get our room assignments
and to await my rig safety induction. I
am in a double room with a shared bathroom (one of the perks of being female in
the oil industry) on the 5th floor of the accommodations. After the induction, I meet up with the day
shift DD and my MWD mentor for a quick tour of the rig, some introductions, and
our unit, and then it’s off to bed. I am
going to work night shift with the other female MWD field engineer. This means that I have a room to myself since
my roommate the female DD works days.
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