Roughneck Opportunities in Qatar

No offshore experience doesn't mean no job for grenhand candidate on offshore oil rigs in Qatar.

In the low end segment of vacancies in Qatar Oil & Gas upstream sector, including oil rigs, operated by foreign and domestic companies both offshore and onshore, besides the Roughneck positions at the time of publication of the independent review, there were about 108 other job openings, including the following vacancies, some of which are entry-level positions, requiring no previous on-the-job experience:

• Subsea Engineer (1),
• Medic (2),
• Floor man (9),
• Derrickman (5),
• Radio Operator (14),
• Assistant Driller (9),
• Driller (8),
• Roustabout (7),
• Welder (2),
• Materials Coordinator (4),
• Mechanic (4),
• Electrician (8),
• Crane Operator (8),
• Pipefitter (7),
• Pumpman (2),
• Instrument Technician (1),
• ROV Technician (1),
• Diver Welder (1),
• Rigger (1),
• Scaffolder (3),
• Hydraulic Technician (1),
• Other Vacancies (11).

Roughneck / Rigger Jobs

Gulf Drilling International Ltd. is an onshore and offshore oil drilling company, incorporated in Qatar and providing jobs for local residents and foreigners since 2004. The company location: Al Dana, Doha, Qatar. Employment within GDI might assume working at different places, run by this oil drilling contractor: 5 offshore jack-up rigs, 1 accommodation rig and 4 land based oil rigs in the oilfields of Qatar. At different times the number of the employed personnel constituted from 100 to 830 employees.

Maersk Oil Qatar AS, a joint stock venture with office in Doha, Qatar (address: Al Jazi Tower 950 Asia Street West Bay Area 22050 Qatar), operates the Al Shaheen Oil Field in the Persian Gulf, situated approximately 50 miles away from Doha. The other countries besides Qatar, where the Danish company Maersk Oil performs onshore and offshore drilling for oil and provides jobs for local and foreign workers, span from Norway through Greenland, Angola, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Norway, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom, Qatar, Algeria, United States, Brazil and Ethiopia to Kenya.

No offshore experience is required to be considered for entry level roustabout positions; however, previous experience in heavy labor positions will provide very serious advantage over those applicants who apply fresh from the High School bench. If applicant is lucky to have gotten some offshore experience, such experience will definitely facilitate his way towards getting a job, regardless of the offshore position a candidate actually applies for. For some positions you just can't be hired, unless you have offshore experience regardless of the education and your exclusive specialist skills - if this is the case, this pre-requisite should appear at the company issued job description for that specific offshore position. There is also a universal age requirement to be at least 18 years of age to work in any position offshore.

Looking for a job in oil & gas industry in Qatar
Job Inquiries:

Candidate 13057: Journeyman Electrician, Indian citizen, number of years of offshore experience working on oil production and oil exploration rigs - six, excellent knowledge of English language. Seeking: a temporary or permanent job on oil rigs in Qatar. Certifications: IRATA Level 1, Ropes Access Technician. Salary expectation: over $US 60,000, ready to start working immediately, traveling is not an issue, have a valid passport with visa.

Candidate 13076: Looking for a Roustabout/Floorhand position on offshore platform in Qatar. My recent experience of working in offshore sector is 6 months, 3 rotational periods in the capacity of Galleyhand, and then Maintenance Roustabout/Motorman. Have OPITO approved BOSIET and HUET certificate, Valid Medical, my other skills and qualifications include MIST, MIG Welding Basic Training, some skills as Plumber, am CSCS Card holder.

Candidate 13710: Looking for a position on offshore oil rigs in Persian Gulf. My previous experience include working as offshore crane operator offshore Aberdeen in the UK sector of the North Sea and on oilfields of Libya for major Oil & Gas companies in the North Sea and in International Waters including but not limited to Brazil.

Candidate 13079: Reservoir Engineer with an MSc in E&P is looking for a relevant position, can be available within 1-2 months. Salary expectation: reasonable for a specialist engineer with 17 years offshore experience, who started once as Roustabout, Roughneck, Driller, Toolpusher and made his way and 10 years of experience in a position of Reservoir Engineer. Preferred country for work: Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia or any other Middle East country.

Other companies that might be offering entry level oil rig jobs

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc., global oil & gas contract drilling provider

Though Diamond Drilling can be categorized as global provider of oil rig jobs, quite surprisingly at the time of this publication we found no signs of its presence or participation in any of the oil field development projects in Qatar, or even in the Middle East region. Meanwhile, interesting opportunities with Diamond Drilling do exist for candidates that are not afraid of traveling overseas and are ready to consider working on offshore oil rigs not only in the USA, but in other regions of the world as well, for example in Brazil, Australia, UK and some other countries.

Diamond Offshore Drilling company is incorporated in Houston, Texas, USA

DOD offshore fleet is comprised of: 23 semisubmersible oil drilling platforms, 6 jack up shallow water drilling platforms, 4 DP drillships at the time of this publication, which makes the total of 33 offshore oil rigs, and all of them, including the facilities, engaged in the domestic drilling (mostly in Houston area) and the offshore rigs, working on projects, stationed in the international or foreign waters, require Roughnecks, Roughnecks, Galleyhands, Maintenance Roustabouts, Scaffolders, Painters, Radio Operators, Offshore Crane Operators, Mechanics, ROV Pilots and ROV Technicians, Stewards, Cooks, Chefs, Camp Bosses, and the whole range of entry-level offshore positions, many of which require no experience for getting hired for the first time.

As for the working conditions that the Diamond Drilling advertises, with them all semi-skilled personnel like Roughnecks, Roustabouts, Derrickman, Driller etc work on rotational 21/21 schedule, meaning 3 weeks in the field alternating with 3 weeks off the duty period - this is how you are expected to work in the place of job is the US Gulf of Mexico in the majority of the offshore positions; nevertheless, if in the same Gulf of Mexico your job is in the foreign waters, for them the rotational schedule has been set as 28 days on / 28 days off scheme. No day offs offshore in time of holidays or vacation days.

These are just 2 oil drilling companies in Qatar that could be regarded as companies to look employment as Roughneck or Roustabout with. Below go some other companies and projects to review:

• SPIR Oil & Gas Services SAS Middle East - Qatar LLC, Doha, Qatar
• Shlumberger Oilfield Services Doha, Qatar, 974-483-6282
• Almansoori Specialized Engineering - Key Energy Services LLC Qatar Office in Doha, 974-467-2666; Offices in: Kuwait Office, Fahaheel, Kuwait; Dubai branch office in Dubai, UAE & Abu Dhabi office, UAE; Cairo, Egypt; Damascus, Syria; Almansoori Specialized Engineering - Key Energy Services LLC India Mumbai, India, phone number: 91-22-2769-0897; Special Oilfield Services Co LLC in Muscat, Oman.
• Noble International Ltd., drilling contractor, Doha office tel. number: 974-435-2004
• Qatar Operating Company Ltd. - Qatargas, engaged in upstream operations, North Field Offshore Production
• Qatar Operating Company Ltd. - Qatargas, WH4, WH9 Persian Gulf
• Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd. (OPQL), the second largest
  offshore oil producer in Qatar, operating ISSD,
  ISND and Al Rayyan oilfields
• Tidewater Marine, Ongc Videsh LLC, Exxon Mobil Qatar Inc., Al Dolaimi, Talisman Energy Inc., Dolphin Energy, Total Qatar Oil & Gas, Arco Qatar Inc., Gulf Drilling & Petroleum Services to list just a few.

What is the typical working day for Roughnecks and Roustabouts on offshore rigs of Diamond Drilling?

Roughneck or not, every position on offshore oil rig is required to work by shifts, the duration of the shift been 12 hours, which makes not less than 84 hours per week, but often the operations require working overtime with just short breaks for having a snack, during the breaks the Roughnecks are being substituted by one of the Roustabouts, specially trained and instructed how to perform Roughneck's functions, though such substitutions are allowed only in less responsible moments of drilling. It is not infrequent that the drilling crew or some of its members is required to travel to another location. If traveling is not directly between 2 offshore platforms by helicopter, the employee will have to buy an air ticket for a plane (refundable by the company) and travel on his own to the nearest heliport or port, from where there are flights by the employer to deliver staff to the oil rig where they are to work at. Next time your destination might turn out Qatar's capital Doha, who knows? Diamond Drilling keeps expanding its operations to more international locations.