Depending on the work location and the company, roughnecks can make anywhere from $15 to $20 an hour. Of course, the higher up on the rig ladder one is can bring that person more money than the bottom level floorhands. Oil rigs usually operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There is always a crew for the morning hitch and a different crew for the night hitch.
Operation of a Drilling Rig
The actual rig is owned by a contractor who goes out and wins bids from companies. An oil rig staff consists of the toolpusher, driller, derrickhand, motorhand, and the floorhand. Each position on an oil rig is in charge of different job duties.
- Starting at the bottom of the totem pole are the floorhands. They are usually in charge of the overall maintenance of the rig itself. This is the entry level position on any drilling rig.
- The primary job of a motorhand, or motorman, is to keep all the equipment and engines on a drilling rig from running and operating slow. The motorhand is most commonly known for fixing equipment on the rig and keeping it up to acceptable speed.
- The derrickhand is the man that is attached to the derrick on the rig during the hours the crew trips pipe. Tripping pipe is simply pulling all of the pipe out of the hole, or inserting it into the ground, with the help of machinery.
- The driller is self explanatory because this is the man that is the team leader. He is in charge of running the rig and keeping his crew busy. Drillers watch for situations such as the gas levels that can come out of the holes and how much mud is going in. When the crew is tripping pipe, the driller runs the floor.
- A toolpusher is considered the rig manager who reports to the company man and makes sure the rig has all necessary supplies, tools and equipment.
Again, working as a roughneck is a very dangerous job. The men that make up the crew attend safety meetings on a daily basis during their hitch so they can be updated on any and every safety precaution.
Drilling Rig Terminology
There are so many slangs and terms that roughnecks use while out on the floor. Anything and everything to do with a drilling rig has a well known name. A few of the most common terms that one might hear from a roughneck are:
- Blowout: This can be a very common problem on any rig. Blowouts are uncontrollable and occur when there is an enormous amount of pressure from underground. A lot of rigs today have BOPs, or blowout preventions.
- Doghouse: This is where the crew can get out of the way of bad weather on the floor.
- Hand: Any rig worker on the floor
- Trip: Pulling the pipe out of the hole or running the pipe into the hole. Drilling bits and other equipment are also changed during this process.
- Worm: These are the workers that are the least experienced. This is the position of a crew member before they become a floorhand.
Schedules on drilling rigs depend on the company, but most roughnecks work one week on and one week off. Within the week that the crew works, the men rack up more than eighty hours. The majority of roughnecks are so proud to be involved in the oil field!!
Amber Stover - I am twenty eight years old and currently employed full time as a billing and insurance specialist at a doctor's office. I discovered my ...
Join the Conversation