Drilling advances

	Vol. 227 No. 10
LES SKINNER, PE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

The few, the proud, the drillers. In the past, leadership came from a group of individuals that proved their character though trials that would shame most of us today. We are simply not up to their standards. They were tough; really, really tough.

Drillers in our day personify the attributes of this group better than most. They stand silently on the rig floor in the rain, sleet, snow, mud, dirt and grease, exposed to objects falling from the derrick and abuse from self-centered bosses. They persist in all types of circumstances without argument or complaint. Their bodies and their character are staunch. They are truly tough; really, really tough.

So, what motivates us in the drilling industry? Is it the money? Hardly. We could probably make as much working for a chain store or changing oil.

It’s got to be the challenge! Where else can one work over a slick, muddy, rocking drill floor with a hole in the middle? Is it the allure of going to far-away lands, experiencing new and different cultures and getting all kinds of diseases, including malaria, dysentery, dengue fever, tetanus and other ailments (all common to southern Louisiana, by the way)?

I contend that it is our nature as stand-alone, independent people – hard workers all – not concerned with our personal comforts, but dedicated to doing a job that nobody else would consider due to the challenges. So, what truly motivates us? Clearly, drilling ain’t for the faint of heart. We are, by nature, tough; really, really tough.

We know that character provides the impetus for what we do. We bring to the job training, experience, skills, knowledge, intelligence and personality. All these things are important. How about physical conditioning, family influences, culture, our preferences and prejudices?

What stresses us? Health issues, gender, risk, conflict, fatigue, sensory deprivation, distractions and lack of recognition. What, then, reinforces our character? A sense of self-worth, positive reinforcement by coworkers, team spirit, the challenge of the job, spiritualism, faith and family are possibilities. What is it that makes us tough; really, really tough?

I submit that it is, quite simply, the very nature of the drilling profession. There’s the word we’ve been searching for: profession. Most people think of drilling as a job. It’s not. It’s a profession, and those that work in it are truly professionals. We live our lives in the pursuit of making hole, not of throwing pipe, not of circulating mud, not of controlling the well, not of tripping pipe, handling tools, or keeping the rig mechanically viable. Our profession involves something that few people can do – making hole – and we do it well because we are tough; really, really tough.

Task criticality involves a simple function. We can’t truly feel we are successful unless we are making hole. It’s strange for a group of men and women to feel so burdened and preoccupied with a task that expends mind and body to put a hole into the earth.

Most of us recognize the importance of the task. We are proving or developing a natural resource. We are doing something that few folks on the planet, relatively speaking, can do. We drill holes of various diameters, using widely different methods, going to depths considered by our industry forefathers to be unreachable, all in search of the elusive black gold upon which our world depends. All this, and we do it in conditions that are uncomfortable, at best, and outright dangerous, at worst. We truly are tough; really, really tough.

It must be something inside us that causes us to chase the derrick around the oilfield and cling so tightly to the profession. It must have something to do with individualism and being up to the challenge. Think about it. What other industry allows its participants to engage in work that requires abilities, personality and precepts long abandoned by society? What group depends on hard work, individualism, personality, risk management and character more than drillers?

The only ones I can think of are the military, police and firefighters. When my son was young he wanted to be a soldier, then a fireman. Then, he wanted to be a policeman (so does my grandson, incidentally). I can’t help but encourage the lad. But, how many of us encourage our sons and daughters to follow in our footsteps to be drillers? Is there something that causes us to be ashamed of the profession that has fed our families?

I believe that the media has unfairly condemned us for many years for spoiling the earth, the air and all things pure and decent. They portray us as villains, destroyers and the new berserkers. They say that we stand in the way of those who want to control all human activities on the face of the earth. Frankly, we are too independent for them, and that baffles the media. They don’t know what to think of us.

We in the oil industry, and in the drilling segment, in particular, represent those in society that work hard, don’t complain and steadfastly resist control by anyone, especially the media. You see, we are tough; really, really tough.

Maybe we need to stop apologizing. We in the drilling industry have spent so many years with our chins down, eyes averted, mule-lipped, and terrified of confronting our distracters that we are actually beginning to believe the trash they produce. We are not ruining the earth; we are not despoiling the planet. We are providing a valuable service to society that nobody else can do, drilling holes where “no man has gone before.”

We should not be defensive about our profession – get some media type on the floor and let ‘em try to trip a string of 6-5/8-in. drill pipe. We’ll see how much control they can muster against a good crew of roughnecks. You see, we’re tough; really, really tough.

I’d like to see a whole generation of young folks joining the ranks of the few, the proud, the drillers. Where else can they get the background they need to survive in a world full of gang members with their pants perpetually at half-mast. I’ll bet they would learn to pull their drawers up, if they worked on a rig floor for a short period of time! Drugs? No way. Crack? Not on my rig!

Let’s recognize drilling for what it truly is: a profession. The men and women that make it great do so from their character, not just from their performance, although that is phenomenal. Their contributions to the overall good of mankind are astounding. As individuals and as a group, they are tough; really, really tough.