What to Expect When You Get Offshore

February 9, 2024

What to Expect When You Get Offshore

The offshore industry is unique in that you will spend weeks away from home on an oil rig.

At Global Resources Network, we support clients with oil rig recruitment for drill crew. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in the offshore oil and gas industry, it is important that you know a bit more about what day-to-day life on the job is like. Offshore work is not for everybody, but if you don’t mind hard work and spending time away from home, the rewards to the job can be completely worth it! Here is what to expect when you get offshore.

Arriving on an Offshore Drilling Rig

Offshore drilling rigs are miles from shore and generally require a helicopter to transport you on site. And once you arrive, you’ll be joining a crew of up to 100 people! If you are recruited through us at Global Resources Network, you will be part of a drill crew.

Your experience of arriving offshore will vary depending on the company and oil rig, but you will be allocated a cabin for living in. Cabins usually sleep one to four people and have shared bathrooms between rooms. This can take some getting used to when you first arrive offshore, however most people quickly adapt! There are some nice benefits though - living conditions offshore usually meet a high standard, laundry and cleaning is done for you, and all meals are provided!

And one of the most frequently asked questions about life offshore… Is there wifi? The answer is yes, most oil rigs operating offshore will have internet access! However access may be limited.

Working Hours and Shift Patterns on an Oil Rig

When you’re working offshore, you will not follow a typical 9-5 working day pattern. Once you secure your offshore job in the oil and gas industry, you will be given more information on how your shift pattern will look during the oil rig recruitment process! But usually, the working shift while on the rig is 12 hours ‘on’ and 12 hours ‘off’. Because the rig is in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, patterns will often include both day shifts and night shifts. This is the case for drill crew and other offshore oil and gas jobs.

While you are working offshore, you work without a day off. Although this means hard work and long shifts, most jobs offshore operate on a rotation basis. Therefore, you generally work full time for a specified number of weeks and then you have the same number of weeks off. Across rigs in the North Sea, the rotations are usually 2 or 3 weeks offshore then 2 or 3 weeks onshore where you are completely off work.

Because you are away from home and working in specialised and technical environment, the pay is almost always higher than comparable jobs onshore! This is one of the greatest benefits to taking an offshore job in the oil and gas industry.

We hope this gives you some insight into what to expect when you get offshore! At Global Resources Network, we are specialists in recruiting for the offshore drilling industry. The support for our candidates is unparalleled across offshore recruitment agencies. We are currently looking for personnel to fill a number of drill crew jobs. Please contact us if you are interested in working in the offshore drilling industry and would like to know more about how we can help you!

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