rob mcclendon: well, while oklahoma may wellhave diversified its economy in recent years, the rise or fall of the energy industry stillmakes a huge impact on the state. oklahoma's energy giants may make billions, but theyalso spend millions that spreads economic ripples throughout the state. and it all startsin some of the most remote places, with drilling crews that work rain or shine. it's a taxingjob but one that pays very well. we sent our
Offshore Drilling Job Requirements, alisa hines out to spend a day on one of thoserigs, and she joins me now. alisa hines: rob, the old way of drillingwas like this: drill a hole, move the rig, drill another hole, move the rig and so on.nowadays, with horizontal drilling, they can drill a hole in one direction and stay wherethey are, drill another hole in a different
direction and still stay where they are, andcontinue until they're finished drilling multiple wells in all directions. this keeps the drillingcompany's footprint very small by disturbing less land, and it's quite economical, too.we had the opportunity to go out with cactus energy to one such rig and see just what aday in the life of a rig crew is really like. alisa: things are turning at cactus energy.greg simpson: right now the stage of the well that we're in, we are going straight down.alisa: down, down, down straight as she goes, until the horizontal curve. greg simpson isthe tool pusher and says it's an amazing feat. greg simpson: if you don't try to bend itat a 90 degree angle, it will come out still straight. you know, that's the reason whyit takes say like 900 feet or more, for one
reason, to build your curve so you're notbending the pipe. alisa: kind of like throwing a curve balljust further than home plate. directional driller brian loyd.brian loyd: i've drilled a well that was 2 miles, lateral was 2 miles, and we was within2 foot of where we was supposed to be when we finished that well, so you can [laugh]get very accurate, very accurate. alisa: which isn't a quick process.simpson: it normally takes us 11 to 13 days to drill a well at this depth. and the measureddepth is say 10-7 and we usually go through 'em pretty quick.alisa: all done with a small crew. simpson: your driller does just that. he'sthere in the driller's cabin. he's the one
that operates the rig, runs the rig, whetherit's tripping pipe or doing the actual drilling of the well itself. then you have your derrickhand. whenever we're tripping pipe, he works up in the derrick, whether he's loading theelevators to put pipe in the hole or to unlatch the elevators to wrap pipe back in the derrick.then you have your motor man. he does everything. he kinda looks over the mechanical equipmentbut he also works on the floor during tripping activities. and then you have your two roughnecks.and they do everything from tipping pipe to making connections to helping out, whetherit's mixing chemicals for your drilling fluid to cleaning on the rig.alisa: and safety is key. simpson: you've got two things here - safetyand money. safety comes first because if we're
not safe, well, then can't anybody make anymoney. because first of all, you just really don't want to get nobody hurt. i mean, afterall, that's a human being, and you want them to go home the same way that they came.alisa: rigs so technologically advanced, safety is much easier.simpson: this style of rig that is behind me, the only time that we use tongs is tomake the bit up or to break the bit and then we set them back down on the ground. we havean iron roughneck that we call an sd-80. it makes the pipe up, torques the pipe or breaksthe pipe and spins it out. so you're saving a lot of chances there for smashing body parts,being in a pinch point, you know, and so that, that has changed dramatically and made ittremendously safer.
alisa: for long-term driller sam maddox, helikes working on this particular rig. sam maddox: most of them are all break-handlerigs - the older ones. i mean, this, you're on the floor in the weather. this is a cadillacrig - out of the weather, good environment. it's changed a lot.alisa: and after 87 hours on the job -- maddox: i'm going home.alisa: even with the long hours away from home, it's a job that simpson says he enjoys.simpson: it's a good living. it's a hard living physically and mentally at times. but it'sa good living. i've been in it for about 27 years, i mean, this is all i've ever done.alisa: making a good living drilling for what runs the world - one oil well at a time.rob: so alisa, 87 hours in a week sounds like
a heck of a lot of time to be at work.alisa: shifts for drillers like cactus energy are typically 12 hours, then the crew goesoff-site and cleans up at a bunkhouse. the good news is they actually only have to workone week on and then one week off, making it a little easier on the crew -- all exceptthe directional driller, and he has to stay until the drilling is complete.rob: now, i've heard people say that on some of these rigs, they work in just all typesof weather. alisa: yes, they do. whether it be thunderstormsor ice storms, drilling will continue -- with the exception of too much ice that makes ithazardous or lighting that is also hazardous. and when we shot, it was in the heat of summer,and we had to wear the same fire retardant
clothing the crew does. and i can tell you- those aren't comfortable in the heat either. rob: so what about tornados?alisa: well, rob, since many are out on the plains in the open, they do have to contendwith tornados. in fact, cactus energy lost a rig when a tornado picked it up, turnedit around, and sat it back down - only not in the same shape as it found it in.rob: so what did the crew do in that situation? alisa: they actually have one of their buildingsthat is tied down and designed to withstand tornados that they all go and get in to rideout the storm. rob: all right. interesting story, alisa,and certainly an interesting job. thank you so much.alisa: you're welcome, rob.
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