Schlumberger...Good Company To Work For? (home, movies, inspection)

[bamba_boy]

Heck, that's nothing. I wasn't on the rig but at home when this sandstorm blew over Kuwait. I'm thankful to God I wasn't the guy in the field that took this picture but my apartment's bathroom still got coated with 3 inches of sand from a vent window being open.

[SVTRay]

Ya, them Middle East sand storms can be real nasty! At least here in the States you have some vegetation keeping the sand down. You still see storms like that but it's rare. The last one covered Phoenix AZ just a few weeks ago. The heat is even worse compared to the States. It gets up to around 100-114 here in West Texas while parts of the Middle East can reach a high of 130!

Anyhow, here is a picture of a Frac set up from Superior Well Service's site for those people who has never seen one.




Here is my set up:



Day cabs get a little tight after 10-15hrs. So I like to stretch my legs and peck on my IPad in my lazy chair. I don't know if Frac companies allow it but I take an iPad and portable DVD player with me every job.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by SVTRay

Ya, them Middle East sand storms can be real nasty! At least here in the States you have some vegetation keeping the sand down. You still see storms like that but it's rare. The last one covered Phoenix AZ just a few weeks ago. The heat is even worse compared to the States. It gets up to around 100-114 here in West Texas while parts of the Middle East can reach a high of 130!

Anyhow, here is a picture of a Frac set up from Superior Well Service's site for those people who has never seen one.




Here is my set up:



Day cabs get a little tight after 10-15hrs. So I like to stretch my legs and peck on my IPad in my lazy chair. I don't know if Frac companies allow it but I take an iPad and portable DVD player with me every job.

A crusty treater is gonna sling your ass if you go all iPad on a job. No problem for the fuelman, but a frac hand... that's a different story.

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

A crusty treater is gonna sling your ass if you go all iPad on a job. No problem for the fuelman, but a frac hand... that's a different story.

Ya, fuel drivers end up with a lot of free time in between pumping and a lot of Frac companies prefer us to spend it in our trucks.. Anyhow, I see a lot of guys with iPhones but wasn't sure about iPads.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by SVTRay

Ya, fuel drivers end up with a lot of free time in between pumping and a lot of Frac companies prefer us to spend it in our trucks.. Anyhow, I see a lot of guys with iPhones but wasn't sure about iPads.

I'm just kidding. In the old days when the treater stood on the manifold and the pumps were shifted manually by each equipment operator none of that stuff would fly. They would run you off in a heartbeat for falling asleep for a second.

It's different now, the guys mostly sit in the truck during looooong shale fracs, check the fuel/fluid levels, listen to the valves and make sure nothing is overheating every so often. The guy on the sand king (or sand storm or whatever Halliburton and Schlumberger call 'em) are always asleep. Different world.

I actually miss that life a little bit. Everything was pretty simple and we laughed everyday. Once you get behind a desk it isn't so funny anymore.

[PanTerra]

Originally Posted by bamba_boy

Heck, that's nothing. I wasn't on the rig but at home when this sandstorm blew over Kuwait. I'm thankful to God I wasn't the guy in the field that took this picture but my apartment's bathroom still got coated with 3 inches of sand from a vent window being open.

Holy cow, I've drilled in South and West Texas and a little in Southern LA - Jennings area - never seen anything like that. That's incredible. of course we had a blow-out that was spraying mud like that everywhere.

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

I'm just kidding. In the old days when the treater stood on the manifold and the pumps were shifted manually by each equipment operator none of that stuff would fly. They would run you off in a heartbeat for falling asleep for a second.

It's different now, the guys mostly sit in the truck during looooong shale fracs, check the fuel/fluid levels, listen to the valves and make sure nothing is overheating every so often. The guy on the sand king (or sand storm or whatever Halliburton and Schlumberger call 'em) are always asleep. Different world.

I actually miss that life a little bit. Everything was pretty simple and we laughed everyday. Once you get behind a desk it isn't so funny anymore.

Oic, lol

Ya, I've heard about those days and you're right about now days, most people sit around monitoring pressures and pecking on iPhones. Anyways, I understand how you feel oddly enough I enjoy my work. But it looks like I may have to change jobs. We're thinking about moving to Dallas and going back and forth to West Texas is out of the question.

[bamba_boy]

Originally Posted by PanTerra

Holy cow, I've drilled in South and West Texas and a little in Southern LA - Jennings area - never seen anything like that. That's incredible. of course we had a blow-out that was spraying mud like that everywhere.

As long as the mud isn't saturated with methane! Mama, help me!

The other thing that was amazing (but terrifying) with that Kuwait/Saudi/Iraqi sandstorm was that it was set up by 50-60 miles/hr winds blowing down from Iraq - almost a veritable Sand Hurricane. The winds were so strong that even rooms with the windows and doors shut tight got sand into the house and dust floating around in the air of the rooms like a dirty fog. People caught outside in their cars were terrified ... nobody could drive and the road system just shut down in gridlock, not that they COULDN'T move but that they were AFRAID to move. People with old cars with cheap repaint jobs lost their finish from the sandblasting effect.

The funniest story I heard that day was a guy I know in Kuwait City who told me that he looked north and saw "mushroom clouds" and was afraid that Iraq or Iran were raining down nuclear weapons on us, thinking the end is near.

[Kkbbjj]

Boyfriend got called back for north dakota for frac. Has to do physicals etc before training in rock springs, what kind tests etc can he expect, he is worried about cdl training once on because he is not totally but little color blind, will he be dismissed? Any answers would be great! Thanks

[kingdomcome1]

Originally Posted by Kkbbjj

Boyfriend got called back for north dakota for frac. Has to do physicals etc before training in rock springs, what kind tests etc can he expect, he is worried about cdl training once on because he is not totally but little color blind, will he be dismissed? Any answers would be great! Thanks

Who does he work for? Some companies are not as stringent as others. I'm assuming he is doing a DOT physical?