So....how is it in your field?

[Becker]

I am in marine seismic and was laid off 3 months ago. I have applied for a very small number of jobs since then but no luck.

PGS are going to lay off a further 180 people in October. 60 of those are marine seismic crew.

The seismic companies are now charging 2D rates for 3D and are doing the jobs at cost, just to spite the opposition.

Hope you can wait out the next two and a half years..........

I really can't so am looking at going back to any other type of offhore vessels or even back to gas tankers. Won't be many marine seismic companies left in a year's time I guess. Maybe PGS and CGG?

WesternGeco, Dolphin and probably a few others.

Have you tried freelancing through the manning agencies?

Yep, I have sent in my CV to a number of manning agencies. Actually, a couple of hours ago I found an open position on a seismic vessel on Rigzone. It's been a while since one was available and I'm sure there are lots of applicants so I'm not holding mt breath.

[Loptr]

GKP. Kurdistan is notorious for bad cement jobs. This story could be the same from any of the operators there and is not surprising.

Hello STUDMEYER,

Are bad cement jobs because of the drilling crew or because of down hole pressures etc?

What's your thoughts on the cores bleeding oil past the OWC that I mentioned?

Thanks.

You might ask Halliburton, considering they haven't killed anyone for a few years due to a bad cement job...

http://www.businessinsider.com/bp-releases-full-blowout-investigation-blames-bad-cement-job-halliburton-transocean-and-itself-2010-9

I was "packaged out" of RIG last year due to the downturn... I survived 3 previous cuts in 24 months, but got caught up in the 4th round of cuts... I considered pulling the plug myself, but held out because I knew I would get a package to leave... The irony is that 2 weeks after leaving, they called me back to work on-contract because they no longer had the manpower to continue servicing their clients in my area of expertise, which is software development for global deployments, service and support... Having said that, I pulled the plug in Dec '14, moved to Thailand and haven't looked back... In 2008, RIG was trading at $140... Today, well, it's in the shitter at $14 a share... If they scrapped all their rigs, they would get more than the stock price today...

That's how things are in my neck of the woods...

[KarenBravo]

I'm thinking about semi-retirement. My day-rate has already been cut by 16% and the next job I do, it'll probably be cut by around 25%.

If I work three months a year and the Almighty Dollar stays well, nine months off during the year sounds mighty attractive.

[WorriedNoodle]

I'm thinking about semi-retirement. My day-rate has already been cut by 16% and the next job I do, it'll probably be cut by around 25%.

If I work three months a year and the Almighty Dollar stays well, nine months off during the year sounds mighty attractive.

You mean an additional 25% off the 16% cut rate? I've been on land seismic and seen my top rate back in 2012 cut back 30% - but even at those rates there is not enough jobs and I'm considering 50%.

[KarenBravo]

I'm thinking about semi-retirement. My day-rate has already been cut by 16% and the next job I do, it'll probably be cut by around 25%.

If I work three months a year and the Almighty Dollar stays well, nine months off during the year sounds mighty attractive.

You mean an additional 25% off the 16% cut rate? I've been on land seismic and seen my top rate back in 2012 cut back 30% - but even at those rates there is not enough jobs and I'm considering 50%.

No, I mean 25% total from the original day-rate. It may get to 30%. Who knows?

When it comes to work, this is where personal reputation and who you know becomes important.

[DirtyDan]

I think Thailand is in a bit of a bubble compared to the rest of the world. The stories I hear from others is that the cuts have already sliced away all the fat that's grown on since 2009 (you know the cling-ons I'm talking about: safety hands that spend their time watching movies, engineering supervisors with 2 years experience, and underperformers from all areas) and now they're cutting into some meat by letting some of the good hands take a walk. Personally, I've been lucky as my company is not planning on any Thailand cuts until Xmas time, we'll see if I'm still here. Hope I am, I'm getting a little too old to be latching elevators.

Lil' brother works for a major bank and their internal memos stated that when US Congress approves the Iran nuclear deal, thereby allowing an additional 500M Bbls to flood the market, that they are forecasting $25 oil. But who knows what will happen - could get a lot worse. But there's so many political instabilities that could bounce the price back up. Crazy time to be in our industry - work on those tertiary skill sets that'll get you through the low oil price times and save your pennies and shillings just in case.

Edited September 16, 2015 by DirtyDan