Rookie Driver takes to the Oilfield Hauling Fuel!!

Hello people.

I started a CDL class last January 7th 2011 which ran 4wks. This was my absolute first experience ever with a diesel of any size....outside of a 10-15 ride along with my sister's ex-husband in his Peter Built. That's it. Up until my CDL class I drove half ton trucks for misc jobs like cleaning swimming pools etc. During my second or third week my town experienced a severe cold spell and my instructors benched the class...basically sitting around watching trucking videos and filing out job applications. That is when I first ran across The Trucker Report forum doing a search on trucker jobs. So I joined up and started reading threads like most rookie drivers I guess.

Now my over all goal wasn't to drive semi tractors, nope. I wanted to do oilfield Hotshot driving. This involves a 1T truck and a 30-40' gooseneck trailer. Well the third week of CDL Class had us out on what they called the shifter course, an area of untraveled hwy basically. The more I got to playing with the gears and driving the school's Freightliner, the more I liked it. When the open hwy driving came around in week four, I was hooked. It was like I had been doing this for years. I got my CDL license Feb 4th which was on a Friday. The following Monday I sat out looking for jobs. I stopped by 3 places and picked up applications, Water hauler, Crude, and Crude. I turned these in the following day and picked up a couple more, water and Diesel. Wednesday I returned both remaining applications and when I got to the Diesel business, they sat up an appointment right then and there to talk with the boss man the following Monday. When Monday came around, I sat down with the boss man and he explained explained everything and offered me a job. I said great and his secretary sat me up for a drug test and Physical. It took me a good week to get the testing down and the results back.

First day at work, this was some where around February 15-18? Now I did not have my Hazmat letter of approval yet, my tiger printing was set up for Feb 13...the first available date after walking out of the DPS office with my CDL in hand. So I couldn't legally drive as of this moment. So my first day was spent on yard duty which meant sweeping out the shop and washing trucks....including acid washing the tanks. Day two came and a few hours into it, they stuck me on a truck headed to a Frac site North of Big Springs Texas. I was excited but yet nervous, up until this point the most fuel I've road around in was about 20-30 gallons lol So this was it, the moment I would learn if I could handle being around this stuff or not. We got started rolling down the road and everything was fine. Then we pulled over at a store to pick up supplies before hitting the road. The guy told me to buy a lot just in case we have to work late. Well we loaded up and was ready to hit the open road. I was cursing along doing great until my trainer decided to whip out his smokes!! I was like you have to be joking right? Hell no, the guy kites one up and starts smoking! The only thing I could think of is this huge sign behind our heads saying No Smoking and the 4,000 gallons of diesel behind that lol

I'm going to take a quick break and add some more later.

 

37 year in West Texas and never once did I see my self working in the Oilfield. I never thought I would be hauling fuel either lol

Anyhow, here is some work pictures.

My home away from home. (hopefully this works)

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a...ew&current=fc79ebbb-1.png&mediafilter=noflash

There isn't a whole lot of room in a day cab for two guys...especially when you have spend the night at a site. So I strap my lazy chair to the side of the tanker for long trips.

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a...view&current=ab44c2f9.png&mediafilter=noflash

 

Yes sir, I spend 4wks with that guy waiting on my Hazmat letter. So I had plenty of time to get used to it Lol

Anyhow, this was my first experience in the oilfield. Although I knew a few things from friends and family members, it was all brand new to me. My job was basically refueling Frac Pump engines. I'll try to get my pictures working and post some up later. Frac pumps basically are huge V12 turbo diesel engines, either Detriot Diesel, Cat, or Cummins and designed to pump water and sand into an oil or gas well in order to stimulate flow. I've seen on average 5-14 pumps on one site. You also have misc support trucks like a blender and hydration unit etc which also use diesel. Our tankers are equipped with two hoses, one for the front row and pumps and one for the rear section. Now Fracing is set up in Stages, generally for me there are 3-15 stages and each one lasting 2-3 hrs...but Frac pumps only pump about 45-70 minutes a Stage. Once they stop pumping, I start refueling which takes me 30-45 minutes. The Frac pumps depending on Barrel Rates ( how many barrels of water/mixture pumped a minute) and run times will determin the amount of diesel used per stage. Example, a low barrel rate would be something like 40-60 and lw run time around 45 minutes. This will generally take 5-7 pumps with maybe an extra one for back up and use roughly 300-600 gallons of diesel. FYI: these pumps for the most part run on dyed or red diesel. A high barrel rate of say 80-90 will use bout 9-12 pumps and last 45-70 minutes and use 800-1500 gallons of fuel. These high barrel rates play hell on diesel...I generally run out and have to be reloaded my self using another tanker or break and reload and come right back.

FYI: when it comes to Fracing and the oilfield...something almost always breaks! It's the nature of the beast! Now keep in mind, most of these guys including the diesel guys like me are paid hourly. So there is a perk. My longest time on a single job from clocking in to clocking out was exactly 43 hrs! I was on a 3 stage job that was plagued with issues. They finally called it quits around 12 Midnight and told jato be back at 7am. The problem was it was at least 6 hrs round trip from home. So we had to spend the night on site...at least we get paid by the hour lol

I'll post some more later.

 

Back to the Hazmat letter, (sorry about this being fragmented)

I spent the first four weeks training...you only need a few days really but the job wanted drivers bad. So they hired me anyhow and waited along with me on my letter. Well exactly 4 wks I got a letter approving me for Hazmat. That day before I had a chance, the boss man had me in his personal truck headed South of Odessa to go relieve a mechanic who he put on a Frac. Since they was short on drivers, they would have a driver drop off a tanker on location and have one of the mechanics do the job. Then later they would come drop off a driver to drive the tanker back to the yard. Well it seems they needed this mechanic and wanted me to run the tanker which at this time I had down to a science...almost, every truck was set up slightly different. Just before we got to the site I showed my boss my letter saying I was officially Hazmat legal. So he told me just to pack up the truck when the jobs done and drive it back to the yard.

Finally, my first time behind the heel of a tanker! When the job was done I loaded up the hoses and got ready to roll. I was so excited it was UN freaken real!! I check all my gauges and started rolling. I was a good mile off the main road and took my time due to the bumpy lease road. I probably never got out of 5th gear.

Then everything took a turn for worse! I hit the main road and everything was fine up to 5 th gear but finding 6th was a mother! It was a basic 10 speed, you just flip the button and stick it over to 6th ( I was double clutching at this point as well still being very new and out of school). The truck started making all kinds of noises, no the sound grinding gears either while I was hunting 6th gear. So I pulled over ( small hardly traveled area) and tried it again. Still, everything was fine up to 5th gear and then I could't find 6th just like before and it started making noises on top of it. Well third time is lucky right? This time instead of messing with 6th, I rev the motor a little extra and put her in 7th! She was a hair sluggish as though I missed a gear but it wasn't long till she was up to speed and I finally caught 10th cursing down the hwy!

I had been riding shotgun in a Tanker for four weeks and had felt the fuel slushing around. It was something I understood, or I thought I did! This tanker was half empty and due to my questionable double clutching skills, was sloshing around pretty good! It's really hard to explain a Tanker without actually driving or riding in one. It fills like you're on a boat out to sea sometimes lol It can rock back and forth or side to side. You think you're going side ways sometimes or you're not going to be able to stop etc. It takes some getting used to for sure!

As I pulled into the yard from my first time behind the wheel of a tanker I ton of emotions shot through me. First, I was relived that I made it!! Lol

 

I went out on a couple more runs with my trainer after finally driving a Tanker solo but this time the trainer made me drive. Then the day finally came, I got my own truck! My boss texted me saying my job was on the board which meant the location of my first solo job and what was needed. I got the instructions which also included meeting another guy. I was to drive the tanker and the other guy take his personal truck. His job was to evaluate my driving as well as locating the site...locating a site is half the challeng in,y field if you can believe that lol you get directions like take this road 10 miles and make a right at the cactus...well almost lol The next thing is how accurate are this instructions? I'm glad I had that guy in a chase truck because my first solo directions was off by 2/10ths of a mile! We both sailed right by the lease road. So I parked at a near by tank battery while my partner located our lease road.

Now Fracing generally involves two cranes, the Fracing crew as what they call a Line truck which is a crane used for setting up the high pressure piping at the well head. Once everything is set up, they park the line truck out of the way. The second Crane is used by the well logger or wireline crew. This Crane is always up ( unless it's too windy) and at an 80-85 degree angle and generally visible for miles. That is the number one thing we look for once we're in the area...but don't let it fool you, oilfields are a maze! So still use the directions!

Anyways, I was unable to view the above mentioned site/crane due to rolling hills and brush. Anything reason for using the directions right up to the well is every once and a while you can find two different Fracing crews within a mile of each other or sometimes closer! Our job orders always come with the lease and well name. If the existing well being serviced has a pump jack, there should be a sign stating the well info. So it's best to double check your paper work first before setting up. If there is no information posted my best advice is asking the wireline crew! I have had Frac crews issue the wrong work order and showed up on sites with no one around for miles lol I have also showed up on a site hours before a Frac crew...always park off site while a Frac crew is setting up to avoid being in the way.

 

Lol...that's probably the funniest auto correct error to date lol

Anyways,

I would like to talk about housing real quick.

I'm a native Midlander, so housing wasn't an issue for me. But due to the oil boom, housing is some what challenging! I'm talking a 50 mile radius and anything from houses to motel rooms. Now some companies will set guys up in hotels or supply trailers etc. So for those you looking to move in from out of town, I would look in to a place to stay as quickly as possible. Check with your company and see what they have to offer. Right now I know their building a new apartment complex but not sure when it's set to open. But it want take long to fill up so I would get my name on the list once they start taking names.