offshore rig working

[jpearson]

im really trying to find engineering work near thailand, this is so i can stay with my girlfriend. im finding it hard to find work in land with my current experience.

im currently working full time as M and E engineer, im fully trained as an electrician, im wondering the best way to get to in to that sort of role can anyone advise? 

[impulse]

The number of offshore expats working Thailand is in a downward spiral with a combination of low oil prices, increasingly strict nationalization requirements and the increasing skill level of locals who work for a fraction of an expat salary.

 

The best bet going forward is to get on with a company doing platform abandonments, as that's going to get big over the next 10 years or so in GOT. 

 

It's not impossible, but it's a lot harder than it was at $100+ oil.  There's still some drilling and operating existing platforms, but the numbers aren't going the right way.  

 

If it were me, I'd hang out at some expat locations in Songkhla or Sattahip or ??? where most offshore oilfield services are based, and talk to the guys you run into in the bars in the evening.  In Songkhla, Buzz Stop is the best place.  I'm not sure about Sattahip or the other places.  Introduce yourself, listen to them and see what they recommend.

 

Good luck, but don't stake your future on your odds.  There's too many good guys with 20+ years of experience living at least part time in Thailand and looking for work.

[Boon Mee]

On 1/4/2017 at 8:13 AM, gummy123 said:

Agree. The number of offshore expats working Thailand is in a downward spiral with a combination of low oil prices 

Plus, it's a 'closed shop' here in the Gulf of Thailand.

You really, really need to know someone in order to get a position on the rigs these days.

[baneko]

It's a very difficult time just now to get into offshore work. If you could find something Fly in Fly out it may be easier. Good Luck!

[badischer Barde]

hmm...

 

I was about to ask something similar... but I guess studying engineering wasn't my best decision ever... More and more people can do that, and work for less and less money. And ever since companies adopted a "good enough" strategy there's really no need to hire a German Diplomingenieur when a Chinese or Thai bachelor can do the job.

 

But thanks for the hint with platform abandonment. Might be interesting, i did some R&D on nuclear powerplant disassembly. So that minus the radiation... sounds like a fun job. Plus I always have been a fan of 12 hour shifts and lots of holidays...

[DDBKK]

Things are slowly picking up in oil internationally. Get experience at home or closer to home. Use the experience to get into a role away from home and from there you might land middle east work in the future on FIFO rotations which is what you should be aiming for imo. 

 

These types of positions aren't just handed out like candy. It takes time, lots of effort, good networking and has some very tough working conditions sometimes. Other times it's great. 

[badischer Barde]

so... like pretty much every decent corporate job nowadays?

And... picking up is not good news on the whole platform abandonment thing now, is it?

[DDBKK]

Did I mention attitude playing a large part?

 

Best of luck with that!

[badischer Barde]

Hahaha, yes, you're most probably right. I mean, for me it's experience rather than attitude, but the results might very well be the same. I never really was good at happyhappy makebelieve. But you know how they say:

 

A pessimist is someone complaining about things today that an optimist will be complaining about tomorrow.

 

 

Anyway... thank you for your input :)

[user4654364]

I read a website called " Offshore Energy Today"

 

It updates daily and there is a lot of info regarding what companies are doing ok and what companies have won contracts.

 

I'm not looking for work as I'm one of the lucky ones to be with the same firm coming up 16 years in November but for anyone who is looking, it's a good place to start.