So how does one leave the oil field?

I see Coastal trucks pulling gas bottles every night EB on 128 heading away from Carslbad toward Jal. They also haul fuel out of somewhere, probably Midland or Lubbock.

Oh, OP, there is good oilfield money in NM.

 

Where are the oilfield jobs in TX?

 

How does one leave the oil field? I loaded up my truck and my dog, waved goodbye with my middle finger and went home. Too much BS at that place, and honestly I didn't take too big of a hit. Between flying home, paying to have two households running, and other expenses I was flat out wasting about $1k every month.

 

Eagle Ford Shale (south and SE of San Antonio), Woodbine (between Bryan and Madisonville), Permian Basin (Midland on down to Pecos). I'm not sure if the Barnett Shale (W of Ft Worth) and the Haynesville Shale (NE corner of the state) are busy or not.

 

The crude company I work for out of midland Texas pay salary and start you at 85,000.00 a year in Texas and 95,000.00 a year in New Mexico. Anything over what salary base pay is, you get a bonus check each month for those loads. If just wanting to get out look at companies like Praxair around your location, that's what I'm keeping my eye on just in case I decide to head back Memphis way. Still money to be made down here in Texas for the time being.

 

The Permian Basin isn't hitting right now. Have you seen Patterson's yard in Odessa lately? I'll give you the Pecos area, but that's only because the oil out there is cheap to drill, and the rates are just about as cheap. The Barnett is dead (Hence that shiny blue Kenworth pulling a reefer in my avatar.) Can't speak of the Haynesville though.

 

I run outta Hobbs, so I don't know about what's going on around Odessa. But we're staying busy over here, and I pass rigs, frac jobs, and pipelines going in the ground every night.

 

How did you survive before going to the oilfields? You make 80k a year, did you upgrade your lifestyle? Getting used to making big bucks then going back to pay thats average around your part of the country is hard to keep up the lifestyle you have now. Just saying.

 

I left the eagle ford in may when the hours dried up. I wasn't the only one. I tried to get local work in San Antonio and it was a crap shoot. I finally relented and took a regional south texas gig home weekends and two nights during the week.

As for the money you either find something else or you just make due with reduced income. In my case I struggled for six months and then found my current opportunity.

It ain't oilfield money, but it's close and it sure as he'll ain't oilfield hours. Everyone is different. What's works for me may not work for you.

unloader

 

The fuel haulers & dry bulk companies weren't hiring?

Glad you found something you like.