# Ask the guy who works on an oil rig **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865 "2003-03-20T18:44:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/1 "2003-03-20T18:44:29Z")
Well, this is by request. So … ask away. ---
**Author:** ![radar\_ralf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@radar\_ralf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/radar_ralf)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/2 "2003-03-20T19:00:09Z")
over where? ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/3 "2003-03-20T19:02:26Z")
How long do you stay on the oil rig at a time? What do you actually do? Is it a normal 8 hour day? What do you do in your off time? How do you get to the oil rig? What is it like on an oil rig during a storm? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/4 "2003-03-20T19:43:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Boscibo \* > \*\*How long do you stay on the oil rig at a time? > > What do you actually do? Is it a normal 8 hour day? > > What do you do in your off time? > > How do you get to the oil rig? > > What is it like on an oil rig during a storm? \*\* Normally I work for 14 days than I’m on leave for 14 days. This varies a lot, my record was 47 days on a rig. I wasn’t very happy. I’m a data engineer (officially). I’m the in charge of the rocks that we drill through and all the surface instumentation that we use to measure them. We work 12 hours a day (normally works out around 14 in reality), 7 days a week. Time off? Of the 10 hours a day left, after eating, sleeping and showering, there isn’t that much time. I like reading, but there’s normally TV, movies and working out in the gym for those that want to. We normally fly out here by helicopter. If the weather is bad, then there’s always a boat. Never a good option. During a storm, we hardly feel a thing. The rig I’m on is very stable. If a hurricane is forecast, we have to evacuate and ride it out in New Orleans. ---
**Author:** ![radar\_ralf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@radar\_ralf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/radar_ralf)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/5 "2003-03-20T20:13:46Z")
Aha, in the gulf, eh? Do you use Martin-Decker drill floor equipment? I put in some time working on the instrumentation. I have worked on rigs all over Alaska and in the Cook Inlet. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/6 "2003-03-20T20:15:55Z")
How many people are there on the rig at once? If you’re the only one there I imagine things get pretty lonely. If you’re stuck there with someone you don’t like this must not be any fun, either. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/7 "2003-03-20T20:24:53Z")
How big is the rig, and how much personal space do you get? How hazardous is working there? What’s the male/female ratio, and how common are flings between people working together for such long shifts? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/8 "2003-03-20T20:32:45Z")
Ever had your crotch Wooley Boogered? Roughnecked FWA rigs throughout East Texas working lead tongs and derricks, drilled a few in South Texas and was onsite geologist for ARCO Alaska rigs on the Kenai Peninsula and the North Slope. Nice to meet you **Tapioca Dextrin** and **radar ralf**. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/9 "2003-03-20T20:41:35Z")
What I’ve wondered before about an oil rig: how do you access the Internet? Do you have a cable, or is there some kind of radio connection? Phoning in must be rather expensive. ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/10 "2003-03-20T20:45:47Z")
Is Liv Tyler _really_ that hot? Speaking of masturbation, where and when? I’m assuming lubricant is plentiful… ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/11 "2003-03-20T21:11:53Z")
What is the scariest thing you have seen and/or incident that you have personally been involved in while working on the rig? I have a cousin who is a welder for the rigs off the coast in Texas. When I think about what he does I usually freak out. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/12 "2003-03-20T21:38:06Z")
So, you’re like the Head Mud Logger? Seriously, though, my Geology students frequently ask about the job market, but how the hell would I know? I’m in academia, for chrissakes! I tell 'em, “When you finish your B.S., you could always mud log–except that you probably don’t want to.” So’s that I could share a little more with These Fine Students, how much does a mud logger get paid on a rig? Is it an easy enough job to get? Are they treated like shit? And the bottom line: What’s a rig-based mud logger get paid these days? ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/13 "2003-03-20T21:40:09Z")
I work on the consulting side of the industry, making maps. New Orleans is the last place I’d want to be in a storm, but it seems like the best place for a hurricane party… I’m always dealing with depth figures, but I never really get to see the machinery. How _wide_ are these holes in seafloor, anyhow? Noone ever seems to discuss that measurement… ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/14 "2003-03-20T21:41:41Z")
Uh, without getting too personal, does rig-work pay really well? How high above the water surface is the rig - can you fish off of it? Any generalities as to whether rigworkers are married or not? ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/15 "2003-03-20T21:46:10Z")
I realize it’s a pretty different operation than oil rigs work under, but what’s your stance on the proposed drilling in the Alaska wildlife refuge? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/16 "2003-03-20T21:58:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by radar ralf \* > \*\*Aha, in the gulf, eh? Do you use Martin-Decker drill floor equipment? I put in some time working on the instrumentation. I have worked on rigs all over Alaska and in the Cook Inlet. \*\* I only use one M-D piece of equipment - a pressure trasnsducer. But there are dozens of other bits of M-D equipment on the rig floor ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/17 "2003-03-20T22:00:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dwc1970 \* > **How many people are there on the rig at once? If you’re the only one there I imagine things get pretty lonely.** There’s about 90 of us out here. Roughly 89 from Mississippi and/or Louisiana, and me (from the UK). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/18 "2003-03-20T22:17:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by peepthis \* > \*\*How big is the rig, and how much personal space do you get? > > How hazardous is working there? > > What’s the male/female ratio, and how common are flings between people working together for such long shifts? \*\* We’re pretty cramped here, but nowhere as bad as some places. I share a 4 man room, and that room shares a bathrrom with another room. Normally, there are two people sleeping in each room at any one time, so not much in the way of privacy. There are a total of 88 guys to 2 gals right now. This is one of the most liberated rigs in the Gulf! If there is any hanky panky, I’m never invited ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/19 "2003-03-20T22:21:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > **Ever had your crotch Wooley Boogered?** :eek: I refuse to answer that in a family forum :o ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865/20 "2003-03-20T22:22:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TTT \* > \*\*What I’ve wondered before about an oil rig: how do you access the Internet? \*\* We’ve got a satellite for that kinda stuff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-works-on-an-oil-rig/162865.md?page=2)