Offshore drilling worker Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Offshore drilling worker

Hours

Variable
Starting salary

£12,000 + per year

Drillers, assistant drillers and derrickmen are part of the team that works on offshore facilities such as oil or gas rigs or drilling platforms. If you want a practical job working in a team, this could be for you.

In this job you would need to be willing to live away from home. You would need to be physically fit and have a good head for heights. You would also need to be able to follow and give out instructions.

You don't need any specific qualifications to get into this job. However, many offshore workers enter through an Apprenticeship scheme. To get onto one of these, employers typically ask for four GCSEs (A-C) including English, maths and another relevant subject such as science or design and technology. You will need to be aged 18 or over for most offshore jobs and you must be at least 1.63m (5ft 5ins) tall.

The work

As a derrickman, you would work 20-25 metres above the rig floor on a platform attached to the derrick (the mast that supports the drilling equipment). You would work under the supervision of the driller and assistant driller, and your duties would include:

handling and stacking sections of the drill pipe
maintaining the derrick
operating the lifting and hoisting machinery to position the drill
controlling and maintaining mud pumps, and supervising mud pump operators.

As a driller, you would supervise the drilling team and control the rate of drilling. Your work in this highly skilled role would include:

controlling operations on the drill floor
overseeing assembly of the drilling tools, and connecting sections of the drill pipe
operating and controlling the machinery that raises and lowers the drill
keeping records of the drilling process
making sure that the whole team follows health and safety rules.

As an assistant driller it would be your job to coordinate the activities on the drill floor, for example by passing on instructions and information from the driller to the rest of the drilling team.

Hours

You would typically live and work on a rig or platform for two or three weeks, followed by two or three weeks’ rest period on shore. You would work up to 12 hours a day on a 24-hour shift rota.

You could work on a fixed production platform with up to 100 workers, or on a smaller mobile rig in a team of around 20 people. Facilities can include living accommodation, canteens and recreation areas. Alcohol and smoking are banned.

The job can be physically demanding, working in all types of weather conditions and at heights. You would need to wear protective clothing, including a harness, ear defenders and thermal boiler suit.

Income

Apprentices can earn between £12,000 and £20,000 a year. Derrickmen can earn between £25,000 and £30,000, depending on experience. Drillers and assistant drillers can earn £30,000 to £50,000 a year.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

You will need to be aged 18 or over for most offshore jobs. You must be at least 1.63m (5ft 5ins) tall, and you may have to pass a medical as part of the recruitment process.

You may not need qualifications to work offshore. However, it is common to join this industry through an Apprenticeship scheme, and employers usually prefer Apprentices to have four GCSEs (A-C) including English, maths and another relevant subject such as science or design and technology.

To find out more about Apprenticeships in the offshore oil and gas industry, visit the Apprenticeships, Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and Upstream Oil and Gas Technician Training websites.

If you are not joining the industry through an Apprenticeship, you will find it useful to have previous work experience in shipbuilding, construction or engineering. A forklift truck licence could also be helpful.

Before becoming a derrickman, you would usually have around two years' experience in the industry as a roustabout and roughneck (see the offshore roustabout profile for details).

offshore roustabout

Training and development

To work offshore, you must pass an offshore survival and fire-fighting course, also known as emergency response training, or basic offshore induction and emergency training (BOSIET). This may be part of an Apprenticeship, or it can be done separately as a short course. Some employers may provide BOSIET training, but it is also common for you to fund it yourself before you can find work offshore.

Follow the link below for more information about safety training and where to find courses.

OPITO – The Oil and Gas Academy: Network of Approved Training Providers

When you start a job you will usually have some initial training onshore (often known as 'greenhand' training), which can include:

working safely
manual handling
working with hazardous substances
working at heights
helicopter and helideck safety
banksman slinging (using hoisting equipment).

You will take further short courses relevant to your particular job as your experience grows, such as working with cranes and rigging. You could also gain the following work-based qualifications:

SVQ Offshore Drilling Operations Level 1, and Offshore Deck Operations Level 2 (for roustabouts and roughnecks)
SVQ Offshore Drilling Operations Level 2, for derrickmen
SVQ Offshore Drilling Operations Level 3, for drillers and assistant drillers.

Contact Cogent for more information on offshore qualifications.

Promotion from derrickman to assistant driller and then driller may take around three to four years.

Skills and knowledge

To be an offshore drilling worker you should have:

good practical skills
the ability to live and work as a member of a team
willingness to live and work away from home
good leadership skills
the ability to follow and give instructions
awareness of health and safety
physical fitness
a good head for heights.

More information

Cogent (Opens new window)
Unit 5, Mandarin Court
Centre Park
Warrington
Cheshire
WA1 1GG
Tel: 01925 515200
www.cogent-ssc.com

Oil & Gas UK (Opens new window)
www.oilandgasuk.org.uk

Oilcareers (Opens new window)
www.oilcareers.com

Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) (Opens new window)
Blue Court
Church Lane
Kings Langley
Hertfordshire
WD4 8JP
Tel: 01923 260000
www.ecitb.org.uk

Opportunities

Most of the UK offshore oil and gas industry is located off the east coast of Scotland and England, with other fields in the Irish Sea and west of the Shetland Islands.

Follow the link below for a map of the main locations of various parts of the energy industry in the UK (courtesy of Cogent).

Cogent – UK Footprint

You could work for operating companies with their own exploration and production licences, or for drilling and maintenance contracting companies.

With experience, you could be promoted from driller to toolpusher or rig manager. Many employers operate throughout the world, so you could also work overseas.

You may find the following useful for job vacancies and general reading (links open in new window):

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The oil and gas industry is part of the broader science‐based sector represented by Cogent Sector Skills Council, which also includes chemicals, polymers, nuclear, petroleum and pharmaceuticals industries. Most goods used by people in their homes, at work and in their everyday activities are products derived from the chemical, nuclear, oil and gas, petroleum and polymer industries. The combined industries represent nearly half a million people in the UK and are of huge economic and strategic importance to the UK.

The UK oil and gas industry operates as one part of a global business and its product is traded internationally.

There has been a decline in UK oil and gas output since 2000 and this is not forecast to change significantly to 2017. Industry needs are determined by high energy prices, the volatility of the oil price, the uncertainty over reserves and poor reservoir performance. These all undermine investment in discovery and extraction. The UK offshore industry will continue to make a contribution to the UK’s energy supply for many years to come. Over the longer term, oil and gas production in the North Sea will fall as reserves become depleted and it becomes increasingly difficult to find new wells.

New discoveries, on-going operations, planned lifetime extensions for existing operations, decommissioning activities and retirement of the incumbent workforce, are all factors that mean the industry has a sustained recruitment demand with a requirement for skills training and up‐skilling of the incumbent workforce.

Keeping the UK Continental Shelf competitive will require exploration and production activities to be carried out, requiring a diversity of people from geoscientist to engineers and from environmental scientists to electricians.

Key facts:

The skills developed in the UK workforce are in demand globally.
In 2007/08, there were 40 new fields on‐stream in the UK Continental Shelf.
The industry is highly capital intensive with capital expenditure of £5.6 billion.
It is one of the UK’s strongest industry investors in research and development.
Sustainability of the UK Continental Shelf is highly dependent upon the development and realisation of new technologies.
Oil and gas together met 75% of UK primary energy demand in 2005.

Jobs in the oil and gas industry are divided into:

Discipline engineers – graduate engineer, engineer, senior/lead engineer, specialist/principal engineer, engineering/operations management
Offshore technicians – maintenance technician, production technician, senior/lead production technician, shift supervisor, operations management

National and regional data

Across Great Britain, there are an estimated 28,000 people working in the oil and gas industry. The largest number of employees is located in:

Scotland
East of England
North West

73% of the oil and gas industry workforce are employed in Scotland; 38% are in Aberdeen. There are also clusters of activity in Orkney, Shetland and Cromarty. In the East of England, 21,000 people are directly employed in the industry and a further 10,000 are indirectly working in the industry. The region is a significant centre for the industry focused on Norfolk, with offshore support in Lowestoft and Norfolk.