Estevan 鈥� Sun Country Well Servicing workers were busy in the shop getting another rig ready to go out into the field. But like pretty much every other service rig company Pipeline News has spoken to recently, the company could use a few more hands.
It鈥檚 a sign things are picking up a bit, as that had been parked for quite a while.
Phil Amosah is area manager at Sun Country Well Servicing in Estevan. On Oct. 24 he noted, 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing well. As a company, we鈥檝e been pretty fortunate over the past year. We鈥檝e been doing okay. But as for finding good, quality people, yeah, it鈥檚 limited. People are kind of afraid to get back in the oil and gas industry.
The Estevan-based company has 11 service rigs. They should have ten operational, he said, but they have enough staff for eight. 鈥淲e had a few pieces of equipment sitting around we couldn鈥檛 crew up,鈥� he explained.
They鈥檝e been advertising via different channels, including letting people know they are hiring during Estevan Bruins game intermissions. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our ad. It鈥檚 all about hiring.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 still the entry-level people that we need, it鈥檚 the derrickhands and floorhands. And even some of the more experience people have turned. Maybe they鈥檙e going trucking, or something they can consistently count on, so they鈥檙e not coming back. They鈥檙e not coming back to service rigs, in general.鈥�
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had the opportunity to have as much equipment moving as we鈥檝e had this past year. This past year, we鈥檝e had the most strenuous portion because the opportunities are rising which oil companies who are settling in, knowing what they鈥檙e doing with oil prices. They know their lifting costs. So now they鈥檙e going to get into the portion where we鈥檙e going to do this amount of work.鈥�
Their fleet is spread out between five different companies. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I think we鈥檝e been a little more successful than some of the other guys who put all their eggs in one basket,鈥� he said. If one company shuts down for a while, there can be opportunities with the other clients, as an example.
Drilling has been sporadic with the weather this past year, but they have been doing completions. As for workovers, he said, 鈥淚f it makes sense, economically. I think the procurement groups are pretty good at figuring that out.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping it freezes, and it freezes hard. We can鈥檛 get on half of these locations, still.鈥�
Some areas had eight inches of rain. 鈥淚t鈥檚 out of commission. You can鈥檛 get there. One of our major customers has a huge, huge amount of locations under water. You can鈥檛 get on there with a one-ton truck and a four-wheel drive. You can鈥檛 expect a service rig or a tank truck to get on there. They were shutting wells in, not 小蓝视频 able to haul fluid.
鈥淚n November, we鈥檒l have freeze-up, sooner or later.鈥�
鈥淚 think a lot of our customers have a lot of wells they couldn鈥檛 get to. That鈥檚 going to cause a lot of urgency to get these wells online,鈥� he said.
The downturn hit most oilfield service companies hard, with a substantial hit on the rates the charge the oil companies. Amosah said their vendor rates are coming back, a bit at a time, but they鈥檙e still down quite a bit. What gains they do get, they pass on to the workers鈥� salaries as they can.
You can still make a decent living on a service rig. 鈥淎bsolutely. If you get on a rig that鈥檚 consistent, it鈥檚 still a good career. It鈥檚 a good profession.鈥�
Typical hours
鈥淪ince the downturn, the oil companies are very accommodating,鈥� he said. When oil was US$120 per barrel, there was a large push from the oil companies for long days. But now, he said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot more family friendly 鈥� 10 hours a day, five days a week, in some cases. Some of our oil companies had a 10 and 4 schedule for the entire summer. They organized that themselves. We got an email saying this rig will be down for this four day period, and they consistently got the other 10 days to go to work. It made it nice for the guys to enjoy their summer, and go on holidays.
鈥淢aybe they鈥檙e not going to Hawaii, but they鈥檙e tenting with their families.鈥�
Young men with good salaries often have eyes for big trucks and fast toys. But Amosah warns them, 鈥淩oad bans are slow. Please don鈥檛 go buy anything fancy. Don鈥檛 buy a toy.鈥�
It may not be a doctor鈥檚 salary, but you can make a nice living, and provide for your family and have a nice house. It might not be a $100,000 truck but you can have a nice vehicle in the driveway, he said.
Regarding additional hands, he said, 鈥淲e probably need another half-dozen. We鈥檙e still trying to accommodate guys with the time off. Due to the standard of living people have been accustomed to, with scheduled time off, they want time off. They want time with their families. So we do try to accommodate that as much as possible. We try to have a sixth hand for every other rig. For us, that鈥檚 four extra guys to rotate through, from experienced guys to relief.
鈥淵eah, if we had half a dozen, we鈥檇 be in great shape.鈥�
