Canada oilfield employment

Discussion in 'Oilfield Trucking Forum' started by Wayneo, Apr 26, 2013.

  1. Gypsywoman

    Gypsywoman Light Load Member

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    Aug 11, 2013
    Cambridge, Ontario
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    Hi, saw your message, I am also looking for work in the oilfields, in Alberta, or else construction driving rock trucks. I'm out in Ontario, and looking for a change. I don't want to go o/r anymore.
     
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  3. Gypsywoman

    Gypsywoman Light Load Member

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    Aug 11, 2013
    Cambridge, Ontario
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    Hi, what is a frac pump? I am trying to find out as much as possible about different jobs in the ab. oil fields. I've got 4 yrs van experience and 9 yrs tanker, hazmat.
     
  4. cleanwaterguy

    cleanwaterguy Bobtail Member

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    Jul 30, 2013
    Ontario Canada
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    What about newbies? Any chances you can make that starting off with no experience? What direction should I take if I want to at least start looking?
     
  5. TruthaMucka

    TruthaMucka Bobtail Member

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    Aug 15, 2013
    Fort St John, BC Canada
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    Fort St. John is booming right now. Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek are going pretty good now.

    Best driving job in my opinion is hauling gravel and contaminated soil. May be "boring" to some but time and a half after 8 hours and double time after 12 and I am home every night unless camp needed. With the overtime setup it pays better than tanking.
    And virtually no paperwork other than pre and post trip/logbook and the occasional waste manifest. Coveralls are rarely needed. Generally a hi vis vest,hardhat and steel toes. Unless we haul contaminated and on a rig site, shaving isnt even required. I get NASTY looks from vac or tanker drivers sitting on lease sweating their bag off in coveralls. I get outta my truck, unshaved, in jeans and a t-shirt and hi-vis vest.......brush off the reach and hop in and go get another load. I just carry a cordless razor and coveralls with me just in case.

    Had I started gravel hauling when I started driving I would have been a much happier camper for the the first 5 or 6 years.

    Anyways that's just my two cents on it. Good luck.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2013
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  6. TruthaMucka

    TruthaMucka Bobtail Member

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    Aug 15, 2013
    Fort St John, BC Canada
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    A frac pump"er" is basically a giant pump on a trailer with a control console on top that ties in in seris with other pumpers and nitrogen and other trucks, and generates huge pressure to force frac oils,water,sand,gel or a general mix of just nasty stuf down hole. The bigger the frac job the more they bring to tie in. You usually see them in convoys moving down the highway.....pipes and hose rigging hangigng on them.

    CalFrac, BJ, Halliburton, Trican are companies you see hauling them.
     
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  7. Gypsywoman

    Gypsywoman Light Load Member

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    Aug 11, 2013
    Cambridge, Ontario
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    Are the trucks 18speed? What is the norm? I would suppose you would need several kinds of tickets to work the oilfields also. Being home every night would be good, but I've heard that places to stay are really expensive. That's why I thought a camp job would be good as everything is cover. :biggrin_2557:
     
  8. TruthaMucka

    TruthaMucka Bobtail Member

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    Aug 15, 2013
    Fort St John, BC Canada
    0
    Most trucks out in the patch are 18 speed. Sometimes you see a 15 or an odd ball but usually 18.

    As far as tickets. Generally required are:
    -H2S Alive (goes for everyone in the patch)
    -First-Aid level 1 minimum (pretty much everyone in the patch as far as I know)
    -TDG
    -WHMIS

    The last two are generally required to be taken (but are free) everytime you switch companies. The first two are required by everyone.

    Then you get into other required tickets if you specialize in something. For instance, generally all vac truck drivers end up having to get their Confined Space Entry and Rescue ticket. If you work a Hydro-Vac, rather than a straight or combo vac, you may also be required to get your Ground Disturbance ticket.
    And of course, there may be others required, depending on what you do. Perhaps with fraccing companies, you may need other courses under your belt, not too sure about them.
    All that being said, you find the right place, in the right town and you may luck out and have all or some of your tickets paid for. What I see mostly is that companies may pay for your ticket, but require you to sign an agreement that if you quit or leave the company within X amount of months you may be required to pay back the costs of the courses.

    As far as prices, I live in Fort St. John. The prices are not great, but they are not terrible either. My apartment is $850 a month. I can make that in one real good day or a couple, easily. Food and everything is slightly more expensive, but in FSJ, we are isolated and only one main highway route to get here. Something 5$ down south in BC may cost $5.50 or $6.00 up here. But I make $30 and hour, time and a half after 8 hours and double time after 12 hours so a minor increase in general prices is more than covered. Back home, I would be making maybe $18-22 an hour at the right company if lucky.

    Camp jobs are good, but over the last few years, my back has gone from crappy to worse so sleeping in own bed every night for me is a must. I generally can do about a week of camp, then I am itching to go home.
     
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  9. Gypsywoman

    Gypsywoman Light Load Member

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    Aug 11, 2013
    Cambridge, Ontario
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    I have only driven a 10 speed, would they train you to drive 18, or would I have to get the experience from a trucking school?
     
  10. TruthaMucka

    TruthaMucka Bobtail Member

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    Aug 15, 2013
    Fort St John, BC Canada
    0
    Wow, I would have to be trained to drive a 10 speed :biggrin_25524:

    Generally, in the patch, if you can drive you can get a job. Heck, even if you can't drive, you can get a job :biggrin_2559: or so it seems around here.

    Best bet would be if you were to tell them that, they would probably put you in with an experienced operator for a while. You'd still get paid to get trained, nothing out of your pocket.

    The oil patch is in dire need of drivers. One company I was at, I was the senior guy within 4 months. And I have 8 years under my belt. When I was about 2 years in I was training and evaluating new drivers :biggrin_25521:. And not just on their driving. I was training them how to handle oil field fluids safely from valve work to all the way to suiting up in SCBA breathing apparatus and hauling 35% sour liquid. That'll kill you before you know what happened. I don't deal with that crap anymore, and will only ever haul gravel/contaminated from now on.

    I am pretty sure you would have no problems. You have road experience, and you have tanker experience ? You could get a job no problem. And once you do learn to drive an 18 speed you won't want anything else. I got put on a 15 spd once (if I recall correctly), and I wanted out of that truck ASAP. Thats' my opinion though.
     
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  11. Gypsywoman

    Gypsywoman Light Load Member

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    Aug 11, 2013
    Cambridge, Ontario
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    yes, 10 speed, that's all they required for the hazmat tanker I was driving. I hauled oxgen, nitrogen, argon, and co2.:biggrin_255:
     
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