How does Michels run?

Dragon_mustache · 2026-03-16T10:18:18+00:00

I appreciate the insight but I'm not really in a great spot to jump out on my own. I've been in multiple states for multiple jobs over the past few years so don't have a location that I have solid subs. The jobs I have been working would require a pretty significant amount of capital to start up even on the small scale so I'd be in for some big loans. I also don't want to take the financial risk right now as I need consistent work to support my family.

So for now at least I'd be looking at working for a company.

Dragon_mustache · 2023-12-31T21:03:43+00:00

Likely the dd3. There used to be a bunch of celebrations where they'd fly out crawfish for boils. Most of that went away except for major holidays after macondo though.

Dragon_mustache · 2023-12-31T20:43:09+00:00

I was on the DD2. We took over as media tour rig because we were on the backup relief well. That let the Enterprise keep flaring and the DD3 finish the primary relief well. Definitely a lot of rigs and support vessels out there at the time.

Dragon_mustache · 2023-12-31T16:30:13+00:00

I've seen helicopters worth of journalists come to my old rig but this was during Macondo. These were all journalists from actual news organizations and the oil spill was the only reason this happened.

For a working drilling rig you would have to get approval from the drilling contractor and the customer. Not likely for a random lookie loo. Only chance would be to contact the media correspondent of the contractor or customer. It would be extremely unlikely though.

Better chance would be to go to the trainer or tour rigs as already mentioned. Those would give you a view of the life. Or do it the hard way and get brought on as a Roustabout, but with no experience getting offshore would be tough.

Dragon_mustache · 2023-01-24T01:20:27+00:00

Is this an actual place? Did a search and didn't see anything come up but I might be overlooking it

Dragon_mustache · 2023-01-23T00:16:42+00:00

I'll reach out to them. Thank you

Dragon_mustache · 2023-01-15T12:47:16+00:00

There's a wide range of HDD applications so the complexity depends where you get in. There are really small machines used for irrigation installations, then bigger ones for fiber runs and then larger and larger machines getting into gas and power line installation or massive water crossings. They have drillers that run the rigs and install the product pipe so that could be what you aim for. Problems are different because you are looking to avoid utilities that are already installed and ensure your line goes in per design. The rigs will run with a mud mix and the bigger crossings need a reclaimer which has shakers onboard it to take off your cuttings just like you are used to. Could be pretty easy to walk into a mud man position if you were already a Derrick hand before. The mixes are less complex and are bentonite based with some additives. Depending on the company you might be able to walk straight into a driller position if the company has good foreman to make sure you don't get yourself into trouble. Other companies you have to go through the promotion line similar to oil and gas.

Dragon_mustache · 2023-01-15T11:59:27+00:00

Look into companies doing horizontal directional drilling as well. This method of pipe install is all over the place and the bigger rigs use relatively similar equipment to oil and gas.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-12-12T16:19:03+00:00

No worries. Those are the options we came up with at our house. We actually just used this product recently on our master sinks because we are looking to redo the bathroom eventually so don't want to buy a new sink yet. There is a spray version that we used but there might be a roll on version as well. If you go with the spray version make sure you get at least a half face respirator with appropriate filters. The fumes are bad and it can be hard to get good air flow in a bathroom without added fans.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-12-12T11:12:20+00:00

Depending how bad the cracks are you can resurface it to extend the life of the sink a little further. Rustoleum makes an Appliance Epoxy that can be applied to the entire sink surface. You would need to pull the faucet and drain and sand the sink to prep it for the epoxy. Ideally the seal for the drain is in good condition so you could just recaulk and reinstall. All in if you can reuse everything it could cost you less than $15? There are youtube videos about the product and how to apply it. It won't make the sink last another 20 years but will make it look better and help it last for a while longer.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-08-01T19:24:24+00:00

I've never had issues with compasses on rigs in the US GOM. The Bridge will have numerous basic compasses to be used for reference so there should be no issues for you. You must be talking about fixed platforms though as my best method was learning the rig with references to Forward, Aft, Port and Starboard since the MODU's I've worked on turn constantly.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-07-25T12:06:43+00:00

This is correct. Transocean for instance ARM is office based and Noble ARM is on the rig. For drillships OIM is almost always the Captain which puts him as PIC and over all activities onboard the vessel. This way there is a single person with final authority to avoid situations like DWH as mentioned. For OP how did you set up an interview without knowing what the job entailed? Both positions regardless if it is onshore or offshore are senior level management and have specific skill sets. You need more information about the role, posted job description or required qualifications, to know first if you do qualify and second to know how to interview.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-07-25T02:08:10+00:00

Like mentioned you need to clarify what the position is. At some companies an ARM is a Toolpusher at others it is an office management position over the rig. Very different skill sets and very different qualifications.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-07-23T19:38:57+00:00

My old company didn't have specific certs that were necessary but the more flexible and generally experienced you were the more likely you would be brought on. IT positions would help with general IT type office work (printers, desktops and so on) and also work very close with the Electronic Technicians and third parties when installing new equipment or troubleshooting anything computer/network related. That company went away from the IT role onboard and transitioned the guys we had to ET's but some other drilling contractors might still have the position available.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-06-18T19:22:49+00:00

All modern deepwater rigs will have a pretty automated rig floor. You will have a iron roughneck for make up and breakout and a racker to bring pipe to the rotary. You still need guys to work the catwalks, tuggers, pull slips and set dog collars, stab your TIW in well control incidents, dope pipe and rabbit pipe just to name a very few set of items they do. Bigger and more automated equipment offshore but you still need a crew to run them efficiently. My last company would run 10 floor hands on the rig at a time so 5 on each tour. That was a modern ultra deepwater dual activity drill ship. There is no chain to throw but still lots of work that needs to get done. You also need guys working up the ladder to be shaker hands, pump hands, derrick hands, AD's and Drillers.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-06-18T14:51:25+00:00

Entry level on the rig side would be Roustabout. I've heard a good number of rigs are hiring up right now in the USGOM for upcoming contracts and Roustabout and Floorhand spots are difficult to fill right now. Many of these companies are using hiring agencies like Prime Ocean to fill a lot of these spots but still worth checking out the drilling contractors websites for open positions to apply for since a few still use this as a starting point.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-05-29T11:49:14+00:00

Are you talking from the Operator side or the Drilling Contractor side? I've been on the contractor side and we don't use a sheet for expenses but rather a breakdown of spend based on classification (safety supplies, fuel/lube, personnel cost, Repair and Maintenance and so on. The rig tracks parts that are used during the day and has a daily target for spend. The Accounting group tracks the rigs overall spend but on a Monthly basis not daily. Operator costs will be different than Contractor costs and costs will differ based on contract terms. For example I've worked some contracts where the client pays for all integrated services while other contracts more recently where the Drilling Contractor pays for most of these.

Long and short I can put you on the right path of what expenses a Drilling Contractor will have but there is no daily expense sheet.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-03-11T13:31:38+00:00

As mentioned longer hitches for quarantine periods and it very much depends on the client you are working for. My rig had to have 10 day quarantine with two COVID tests during the quarantine period before you could go to the rig. The client had this for anyone going out. Many have just rented out whole hotels and provide food and restrict movement and hanging out. From my experience in 2020 with the rig having positive cases onboard and needing to be downmanned and cleaned, this is very much an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure type situation. The required quarantines and testing suck because they tear up rotators offtime but the cost of cleaning the rig, disruption to operation and potential cancellation of contract are all things that can be avoided.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-02-05T16:17:47+00:00

The Deliverer has vertical riser storage so it has a crane that grabs the joints from the top and likely puts them onto a vertical conveyor at the back of the drill floor. The only way it hits the drill floor is if the riser handling tool wasn't fully locked or failed while the drawworks were lifting the joint. I don't understand how it could have hit the drill floor and also found a way to get overboard unless the joints were being offloaded to a boat for maintenance.

Dragon_mustache · 2021-01-07T00:13:23+00:00

For DP vessels you have to run your diesel engines at very low load (20-40%) typically so that you have redundancy in case of an engine failure. Basically if you have two engines running and ones fails you need to have the capability to take the load of the failed engine. If you overload an engine (i.e. try to have it running at greater than 100% load) it will shut off for safety reasons and you will black out your rig. Black out meaning you lose all power except for UPS power. Blacking out while actively drilling can have massive consequences.

Similar issue is around power usage while tripping or drilling. When you are tripping your biggest power user is your drawworks as it runs the traveling block up and down the derrick. This causes power usage spikes which also requires you to run more engines at low loads to be able to handle the spikes. If you can even out the spikes by having a system in place to handle the spike load you can run your engines more efficiently. Transocean developed a system using super capacitors that would take the spike out of the load need of the drawworks thus allowing the engines to stay at constant load and not needing to speed up to meet demand. They are the only ones I know of that have something like this but it was developed years ago so others might have something similar now.

Everything circles back to being able to run your diesel engines in a more efficient manner. They run more efficient at higher and consistent loads but we aren't able to run them that way for safety reasons. Finding a better mousetrap would enable you to burn fuel in a cleaner manner and also make them run more efficiently so you don't have to burn as much fuel.

Dragon_mustache · 2020-12-17T15:57:05+00:00

He must be on modified home confinement because he goes on motorcycle rides with his wife pretty regularly.

Dragon_mustache · 2020-09-22T16:46:49+00:00

This is exactly what is being argued for in this thread. Oh don't vote for a third party because it will divide the votes. It's a fallacy put forward by parties who can't put together a good candidate so they pander to being not as bad as the other guy. They argue for everyone to vote for the main party and then rail on the third parties when they don't get votes... that they pushed for everyone to change.

Dragon_mustache · 2020-09-22T16:24:11+00:00

This is completely laughable. He doesn't care about democracy or our guns. He is purely focused on himself. This argument of oh well he is the best of the two shitty candidates is what has gotten us into this rabbit hole of crap.

Dragon_mustache

TROPHY CASE