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Entry level offshore jobs in the Gulf of Mexico

Entry level oil rig jobs and positions in the oil production industry and training programs allowing to qualify for one in the Gulf of Mexico.

The lack of specialized training or hands on experience on oil rigs isn't something that might prevent an aspiring rig vacancy seeker from getting job as an unskilled entry level oil rig worker in the Gulf of Mexico. Inexperienced entry level jobs on land based oil rigs and offshore platforms are Roustabout or Roughneck, sometimes also referred to as Leasehand, Floorhand, Floorman, Driller Helper, Deckhand or whatever - Roustabout and Roughneck are generic name for those unskilled oil rig positions that will remain forever the most popular from all. There may be slight difference between the duties and the responsibilities, anyway, to put it roughly these are unskilled laborers that perform the dirtiest hard manual work on the oil drilling facility no one else wants to do. They do that for good salary, and without them no offshore platform could ever operate. Different sort of kitchen helpers, dish washers and janitors comprise the other group of the unskilled workers employed in oil production industry, but these are being hired to work predominantly on the offshore platforms, where they get exceptionally high salaries and share many of the benefits enjoyed by the personnel involved directly in oil drilling process.

The other entry level jobs available from the contractors that drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico or from the companies they outsource services from include jobs requiring either previous experience or workplace training: Painters, Electricians, Motormen, Mechanics, Welders, Scuba Divers, Assistant or Apprentice Crane Operators, Bakers, Cooks, Assistant Cooks, Radio operators, Storepersons, Scaffolders, Rope access. The list can go on and on. All these entry level jobs are available from the oil companies that operate in the Gulf of Mexico and are for the taking too. That's kind of paradox, with so many vacancies available all your attempts to get on offshore platform fail, eh? Our advice is simple: be persistent and keep trying, send out your resumé to as many employers or recruiters that you know as only possible. The companies that drill for oil, including those operating in the Gulf of Mexico never stop hiring because the rate of workforce turnaround is exceptionally high - after all, it's hard work that can at times be dangerous, if you remember that BP operated Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, which claimed 11 lives. Yet there's no signs of the number of the aspiring entry level job contesters falling down.

Deepwater rig operators in the Gulf of Mexico

Deepwater drilling for crude oil in the US sector of the Gulf of Mexico keeps recovering. The total of 37 oil exploration/production facilities that include deepwater drillships and semisubmersibles are under contract currently in the Gulf of Mexico. The deepwater oil drilling contractors in the area are:

  1. Shell - operates 7 deepwater rigs
  2. BP PLC - has 6 deepwater rigs under contract
  3. Chevron - 5 deepwater rig under contract
  4. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation - 4 deepwater rigs under contract
  5. Petrobras (Petroleo Brasiliero S.A.), Eni S.p.A., BHP Billiton Plc, LLOG Exploration and Hess., each operates 2 contracted deepwater rigs in the Gulf of Mexico
  6. Walter Oil & Gas, ExxonMobil, Noble Energy, Corporation, Apache Corporation and Cobalt International Energy, each has 1 deepwater oil drilling facility under contract

From among the major international integrated petroleum companies it's only Total S.A. who so far doesn't have any deepwater oil production contracts in the Gulf of Mexico. From the regional companies of caliber of Anadarko, it's Valero who at thr time of writing this review wasn't awarded any of the projects. Though, with Total job placement opportunities do exist because the company is engaged in other areas of oil exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico. For example, Total holds a 17% interest in the Tahiti deepwater field, one of the largest oilfields in the Gulf of Mexico, operated by Chevron since 2009. Total also made alliance with Cobalt International to explore together 214 deep offshore blocks in the Gulf of Mexico.

Anyway, it seems the current Gulf of Mexico deepwater drilling market has been bought out for the moment by 13 world's major oil and natural gas producers. By the end of the year 2014 the region is estimated to be having 54 active deepwater oil drilling units, while the oil companies like Plains Exploration & Production Company, Statoil ASA, and Murphy Oil Corporation will join the mighty 13 in the region and the number of the contracts awarded will increase.

New vacancies on the Gulf of Mexico offshore rigs are waiting for the candidates to apply, including entry level!

Anyway, if we have a closer look at the valid opportunities for getting hired on the drilling rigs offshore Gulf of Mexico, then it becomes clear that experience or training can be huge advantage in the terms of getting preference before the rest of candidates - even if your training is minimal.

Training programs for candidates without experience

There are several programs available to help people with no experience in gaining good understanding of the basics of working on oil rigs. Surely attending one of such training programs can help candidate get a job placement. The following are some of the best programs.

Canadian Maritime Drilling Schools normally offer 3 week Floorman courses. Training on such courses comprises drilling theory, practical drilling training and industry specific safety courses. Certificates issued upon the graduation from such courses would be recognized anywhere in the world outside Canada allowing you to get down to work on oil rigs immediately. Maritime drilling schools also offer advanced training that allow the graduate trainees to get advanced to the position of Assistant Driller with the authority to perform some drilling operations without supervision.

Training at Enform

Enform is another known Petroleum Industry safety association that offers safety training and helps their graduates find jobs. Their one week Floorhand / Roughneck training program is designed to prepare individuals with little or no experience to work safely on oil or gas drilling units.

PetroSkills

PetroSkills is more oriented to the engineering side of things, and is considered the industry standard for technical training in the oil industry.

Many greenhands set their foot in the door of the offshore oil industry by taking courses of the kind that ultimately played crucial role in their landing the very first entry level job of theirs on the offshore platforms - that investment in knowledge for some of them turned out really an investment for lifetime that in addition paid off immediately in the form of higher wages and a much greater understanding of the workplace safety.

Vacancies in PEMEX, what about them?

While motivation for getting a job in oilfields is very high among young Mexicans at this time, they turn their eyes to the government owned Mexican Petroleum, better known as PeMex. What happens to the main vacancies within the national oil company of Mexico? Where are they? Where to Apply?

The questions of the kind are very common, but unfortunately there are very few answers from the company. The things seem even worse, when you come to know know for sure that there are the regulations for not making public vacancies available at all the branches making up PEMEX: Pemex Exploration and Production, Pemex Gas and Basic Petrochemicals, Pemex Corporate, Pemex Petrochemicals, and Pemex Refining. What should we do to make PEMEX publish their vacancies and recruit the candidates, especially entry level, in open and transparent manner. Pemex is the world's second largest non publicly listed company by its worth. The company is also one of the nation's biggest job creator. Considering offshore jobs and positions high demand among job seekers and the government's ownership over the corporation, the issue of the jobs accessibility based on the equal opportunities approach needs attention from behalf of the general public in Mexico.

Category: Entry level offshore jobs in the Gulf of Mexico

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