Post: #1

The Alberta tar sands has it's own (epic) RVF thread but we need one for the guys in the USA, for whom travel to Canada for work may not be an option. Plus, if this winter taught us anything, long cold winters suck. Any guys here working in that industry in that area? I'm talking not so much about refining but more about this (drilling):

Quote:South Texas is in the midst of a massive oil boom. In just a few years, it has totally transformed once-sleepy communities along a crescent swoosh known as the Eagle Ford Shale formation and has brought unexpected prosperity — along with a host of new concerns.

Among the towns drastically changed by the drilling is Cotulla, southwest of San Antonio, about 70 miles up from the border with Mexico. The area is called brush country — flat, dry ranch land, scrubby with mesquite and parched by drought.

Before the boom, jobs were few and poverty was high. Then, in 2008, oil company Petrohawk drilled the first discovery well, 2 miles deep into shale. It was successful and led to a drilling frenzy.

Now after just six years, more than 8,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled, with permits granted for 5,000 more. They're pumping more than 1 million barrels of oil a day, making it the No. 2 oil-producing region in the U.S.

NPR: Texas Drilling Frenzy

Post: #2

I'm really interested in hearing more about this. I read most of the Canadian thread, but would love some U.S.-specific info.

Post: #3

I'm wondering where is the best place to try and make contacts with companies...San Antonio, Midland?

http://eaglefordshale.com/job-fairs/

Nothing listed from May-Sept though...obviously incomplete...

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/07/05/eagle...ir-july-9/

Post: #4

Live footage of Ali in Texas.

Post: #5

(04-29-2014 11:21 AM)RexImperator Wrote:  I'm wondering where is the best place to try and make contacts with companies...San Antonio, Midland?

http://eaglefordshale.com/job-fairs/

Nothing listed from May-Sept though...obviously incomplete...

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/07/05/eagle...ir-july-9/

Checkout Magna Resources. They are always leasing new land and drilling down near Houston and San Antonio.

Post: #6

@RexImperator - the answer is Houston. Pretty much all of the decisions for anything important in the energy industry will come out of Houston. This is no different that if you were looking at tech, the center of gravity is the SF bay area. Now, there may be a big data center in Idaho that has your attention, but the decision makers behind the data center reside in SF. The center of gravity for energy is Houston, and this applies pretty much globally. The one exception is Singapore, but even then, deals out of Singapore often have a Houston counterpart to the trade (even if the trade has nothing to do with Houston or the USA).

Post: #7

I'm planning on going down there this summer with Ali.

But he says I gotta get my driver's license first.

I can't wait.

Post: #8

Ali got arrested this weekend for old warrants and being drunked up. I got his truck out and am cruising it around.

I'm working on bailing him out, but they don't like out of staters out here and are giving me a hard time.

Other than that, you can make money here. I don't think pussies can make it out here though if you're used to sitting in an office all day.

Post: #9

Nobody cares. Burn the tires off his truck

Post: #10

Houston sent me this today..

[attachment=18531]

Who is this?

Post: #11

That's Reno, he wore the that shirt when we went to the bar district

Post: #12

(05-06-2014 01:15 PM)Monty Brown Wrote:  That's Reno, he wore the that shirt when we went to the bar district

You should go see them all

Post: #13

I would, but I moved to Ohio.

Post: #14

(05-06-2014 02:40 PM)Monty Brown Wrote:  I would, but I moved to Ohio.

Really? What part and why?

Post: #15

I googled "texas oil boom jobs":

http://jobs.eaglefordshale.com/

P.S. Austin has seemed to have a rocking economy. I lived there a year and will probably go back to Austin and work as a real estate agent again.

Post: #16

Ali is out now. Now he has a rap sheet and can only do Roustabout work on the rigs with ex felons. Got hired on the spot but says the environment makes him uncomfortable. He's been getting in fights after work at the bars and crashing in his truck at the Wal Mart parking lot. Were trying to have a member meet up this weekend and might invite him to see how crazy he acts lolz.

Post: #17

(05-09-2014 09:47 AM)Screwston Wrote:  Ali is out now. Now he has a rap sheet and can only do Roustabout work on the rigs with ex felons. Got hired on the spot but says the environment makes him uncomfortable. He's been getting in fights after work at the bars and crashing in his truck at the Wal Mart parking lot. Were trying to have a member meet up this weekend and might invite him to see how crazy he acts lolz.

Are you saying it's time for an ......

INTERVENTION???

Post: #18

I'm sorry to hear Ali is going through that, if that's true.

Screwston, how is the situation for jobs for us less "roughneck" type guys? I'm thinking of the MWD/LWD jobs discussed in Atlantic's thread, i.e. positions for guys with technical college degrees.

Personally I'm more interested in the technical side of things than manual labor.

Post: #19

You gotta have experience or know someone for those jobs Rex. You gotta be in the trenches networking because HR has so many resumes. Not every oil job is manual labor. The one I got doesn't require me to lift anything and hires females. Ali's is pretty much bottom of the barrel though lol.

Post: #20

(05-10-2014 01:20 PM)Screwston Wrote:  You gotta have experience or know someone for those jobs Rex. You gotta be in the trenches networking because HR has so many resumes. Not every oil job is manual labor. The one I got doesn't require me to lift anything and hires females. Ali's is pretty much bottom of the barrel though lol.

Has he asked you to go shoot some cans with him yet? I know his warning level here is 99.9% so he wont post for a while.

Post: #21

What are some of the pay rates for jobs in the area?

16-18/hr sounds good, except until you calculate the inflated cost of living in the area.

Post: #22

(05-10-2014 01:20 PM)Screwston Wrote:  You gotta have experience or know someone for those jobs Rex. You gotta be in the trenches networking because HR has so many resumes.

Well I was thinking of taking a trip out there to hit up some job fairs. Sounds like it may still be a challenge to be in the right place at the right time, though.

Post: #23

I'm not holding yalls hands. I already said you can make decent money for having no degree if you work hard. I drove out here with a little more than a G in the bank. Don't come expecting some cushy, inside, job unless you got the experience or degree related to oil.

Post: #24

Just like I thought, only one person is coming out here to join the money syndicate. We got Americans in threads asking about going to Canada to work lolz. Free housing, per diem, paying you to drive to rigs, at least a week off at a time. Have fun dealing with HR!

Post: #25

Right now your best bet is in the Northeast - Ohio, Pennsylvania and W. Virginia. All the drilling work is being done on Marcellus shale with new work to come in the Utica shale. So, we are talking about moving from NW Ohio to NE Ohio and Eastern Pennsylvania. I know that there are lot of new projects coming up not only in drilling but also in support infrastructure - gas processing, pipelines etc.. Pay rates are comparable if not higher than the Gulf Coast. Given the low cost of living (e.g. Youngstown), you can easily save quite a bit while getting paid well.

Check out projects from Kinder Morgan, Markwest, Dominion etc.. These guys are looking for people but they are routing them through local headhunters.

As I mentioned in the USA oil boom thread, Texas is going to blow up in 1-2 years. New drilling projects are coming up in East Texas with support infrastructure in Texas and Louisiana (around Port Arthur and Lake Charles areas). I know that they are locking down welders, electricians etc... on long-term deals with higher rates than currently paid in anticipation of these new projects from the big companies.

Check out Houston where engineering companies are looking to hire for these projects. There are only 5-6 of these engineering companies and they will look for sub-contractors, who will be hiring in droves.