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Kristin Øye Gjerde, Norwegian Petroleum Museum
It is said that oil and the wealth it creates affect peoples’ expectations, political institutions and processes, and the division of power in society independent of actual decisions taken by political authorities. The oil worker, being a central element of the industry, is also affected by the hunt for black gold. The oil industry is inherently international, and many oil workers are in fact oil nomads, following their companies’ projects around the world.
— Drilling started at Statfjord A. Personnel from Loffland Bros. in action. Photo: Odd Noreger/Norwegian Petroleum Museum
The modern history of petroleum began in the United States in the 1850s, but it was not until the twentieth century that the world was completely transformed by oil. This highly usable energy source provided heat and power and revolutionized the transport of goods and people. Increasing demand turned the search for and production of oil into a global industry. However, although exploration and production were started onshore, it was soon found that oil and gas fields stretched out into the sea. The extension into the offshore fields introduced a new range of technological challenges. It also gave the life of the oil worker a new dimension. Oil exploration and production offshore started in the Gulf of Mexico after World War II. Later, the offshore industry also developed off the coasts of Africa, South America, Alaska, China, and Australia, and in the North Sea. This article on social history in the offshore industry draws mainly from experiences from the North Sea.
Oil workers offshore have a unique working environment. They spend twenty-four hours a day at their place of work when out on the rigs. Their surroundings are a steel or concrete construction—a factory—isolated far out in the ocean. Their working hours are often twelve hours on and twelve hours off. After about fourteen days offshore, the oil worker returns to land by helicopter for a rest period. Because of the distance involved and the shift nature of the work, the periods offshore and the periods back on land are two distinct worlds, both physically and mentally.
The working environment offshore consists of several working cultures, depending on the tasks to be carried out and the personnel involved. There are dividing lines in culture between drilling and production—between migrant and stationary work.
In order to find oil, exploratory drillings must be carried out. These are made from movable rigs at places where the company with the concession has permission to search. The drilling crew can be compared to construction workers who follow work from site to site. Those leading the drilling stage are usually experts employed by the operating company. When oil exploration began in the North Sea in the middle of the 1960s, this exploratory drilling was led by American drilling experts. Europeans were initially employed only as assisting personnel. The requisite qualifications were youth, health, a basic grasp of English, and a can-do attitude. Formal qualifications were not necessary. The work processes were taught through on-the-job training so that the rhythm of the work could be felt first-hand. Social interaction in this environment was direct and the vocabulary was rough. A worker could rise in the ranks from roustabout to roughneck, tool pusher, derrick man, crane driver, and finally driller. Over time, Europeans developed the necessary technical and theoretical competence to take over managerial roles. Educational institutions were eventually able to offer necessary petroleum-related theoretical education. Engineers and other highly educated people qualified into managerial roles, and in the 1980s the nationalization process in European countries was nearing completion.
Drillers are still needed when oil has been found and a field starts production. They drill production wells, and in some cases they drill water- or gas-injection wells. However, the central players in this new phase are those dealing with production. Their task is to ensure that oil and gas flow as steadily as possible from the wells, and they use parameters such as pressure and temperature to control the output. Crude oil is separated so that oil and gas are extracted separately and water is removed. A certain theoretical background is necessary to carry out these processes, as are skills of precision and attentiveness. The work is comparable to that of work at an onshore refinery. When the fields in the North Sea sector started production, many refinery employees from the United States were brought in to lead the work. Jobs in production are stable and secure in that each field generally has continuous production over several years. Social interaction in this part of the process is more civilized than it is at the drilling stage. Production staff is employed by the operating company, while assisting staff is employed by contracting companies.
The most important support functions on a production platform are well maintenance and other maintenance, catering, cleaning, and health. In addition to this, supply services bring goods by boat and bring personnel by helicopter. Underwater operations are necessary to monitor and maintain underwater installations and pipelines. Because of factors such as helicopter transport and the need for accommodation and food to be provided, the cost of an individual worker offshore is seven to ten times that of a worker onshore. Computer technology and remote control are key concepts for bringing these costs down in the future, because computer technology enables more operations to be controlled from land. Newer fields employ pure underwater solutions in which all processes are controlled from land. Moving more functions to land also reduces risks: a production platform is like a huge gas stove, and an accident can have fatal consequences. Of course a great deal of effort is made to prevent accidents.
All oil companies have had to take tough measures when oil prices have been low, including cutting staff to save costs. Trade unions have had a role to play here. Traditionally trade unions were concerned with securing the rights of oil workers as regards pay, employment conditions, and so on. The unions were also forerunners in ensuring safety at work. Increasingly, as the oil industry has matured and the average age of oil workers has risen, welfare issues including issues of health have come into focus.
Women were completely absent from offshore oil installations for a long time. In most Asian countries, women are still prohibited from even visiting oil installations. But since the end of the 1970s, emphasis has been placed on enabling women to work offshore, at least in the United States and Norway. The first women involved in offshore work were often employed in catering or as nurses, but female engineers were also employed. Now most gender boundaries have been broken down, and women can also be found in traditionally male jobs—as drill-floor workers, for instance. Physically demanding work has largely been taken over by machinery. Still, only about 10 percent of the workers in the Norwegian sector are women, and this percentage is still significantly greater than that in, for instance, the British sector, where only 1 percent of the workers are women.
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By Harald Tønnesen and Finn Harald Sandberg, Norwegian Petroleum Museum
The Statfjord A platform stands in 145.3 metres of water in the centre of the field. It ranks as the fourth Condeep to be built. This installation comprises a concrete gravity base structure (GBS) supporting a steel topside . The topside was fabricated by Aker Stord in western Norway and was mated with the GBS in the adjacent Digernessund sound before tow-out to the field.
— Statfjord A platform with the two flotels Nortrym and Polymarines. Photo: Statoil on behalf of the Statfjord Group.
Built by Norwegian Contractors at Hinnavågen in Stavanger, the GBS comprises 19 cells arranged in a concentric formation. Most of these are used for oil storage. Three have been extended upwards as shafts to carry the topside. The platform, which measures 254 metres in height from the seabed to the top of the drilling derrick, was towed to the field in 1977 and came on stream in November 1979.
Oil was exported via a loading buoy located a few hundred metres away. The original articulated loading platform (ALP) was later replaced by a specially developed Ugland-Kongsberg offshore loading system (Ukols).
Drilling rig
The rig comprises a derrick, modules for such functions as mud mixing, and pipe storage. Wells are drilled through two of the concrete shafts supporting the topside. A total of 42 slots are provided. Both production and gas/water injection wells have been drilled, with an average depth of 2 500-2 800 metres. The derrick stands on skids which allow it to be positioned over the various wells with the aid of hydraulic jacks.
Oppkobling og ferdigstilling,
Statfjord A,
Statfjord A,
Topside
The topside measures 86.2 metres long by 83.6 wide, providing a surface area of 5 000 square metres and total deck space of 21 000 square metres. Total height to the helideck is 43.2 metres, while the base is 28 metres above the sea at its lowest point.
Cellar deck
The lowest of the steel decks, the cellar deck is built into the module support frame (MSF) which carries the rest of the superstructure. Divided into individual sections with double bulkheads, it forms an integrated steel structure. The flare boom extends for 116 metres at an angle of 45 degrees from its eastern end to burn off all associated gas for brief periods.
Module deck
Located above the cellar deck, this has acquired its name because it is partly composed of prefabricated modules. The south-western corner, with the M11, M12, M14,M15, M17 and M18 units, forms part of the cellar deck’s integrated steel structure.
Upper module deck
With the exception of UM7, this deck is built up entirely of modules and lies immediately above the module deck. UM7, which is part of the drilling module, has been constructed as an integrated steel structure together with the cellar deck and the south-western part of the module deck.
Living quarters
The living quarters provide 100 cabins. These were originally two-berth but converted for single occupancy in 2000-2003. The six-storey structure comprises three modules. A partial seventh floor is provided by the helideck, radio shack and helicopter fuel tanks. The marine control centre was positioned there in the early years, but later moved to Bergen. In addition to the cabins come a canteen and recreation rooms. A lift and internal staircase connect the floors, while external staircases serve as emergency exits. The illustration shows the layout of a typical cabin in the living quarters.
Weather deck
The tops of the uppermost modules form the weather deck. This area is used for storage and for loading/discharging cargo by the large platform cranes.
Concrete GBS
The lower section of the GBS comprises 19 concrete cells. Sixteen of these are used for storage, while three extend upwards to form the shafts supporting the topside.
Storage cells
With an internal diameter of 19 metres and a height of 67 metres, the storage cells are individual concrete cylinders which each have a capacity of 80 000 barrels.
Fifteen of the cells are used to store crude oil, and can collectively hold about 1.2 million barrels. Cell 6 is equipped with an internal cylindrical tank to store up to 21 750 barrels of diesel oil. The annulus between the internal cylinder and the cell wall provides 63 500 barrels of storage space for the oil-water emulsion (sludge) which forms during platform operation. All 16 of the cells are partly filled with sand ballast covered by a concrete lid. They are kept filled with liquid at all times. When oil is exported, the cells take in water to maintain their liquid content.
Utility shaft
One of the three shafts supporting the topside, this contains a series of decks carrying pumps for fire, ballast and sea water, ballast water tanks and pumps for crude oil loading.
Drilling shafts
These are completely filled with conductor tubing for a total of 16 wells in each shaft. The illustration shows the distribution between production and water/gas injection wells.