Dirk's Work Thread.

[dirk diggler]

Some pics I found online:




Looks like it has finally made it to Angola.

The bigger picture:

[dirk diggler]

The winter is coming in fast now though and it's bloody bitter out there!

Not looking forward to that, I'm due back early January..

Nasty. I've been told it will drop as low as -15.

I'll be back in january too, 16th.

[FailSafe]

Your work environment is so different from mine that it's like we live on separate planets- excellent pics.

[Headworx]

Great thread and top pics Dirk, thanks!. If ever you get the permanent shits with FIFO and Korea and wanted to do the same sort of work out of Pattaya as a resident, there's always Cuel and they're always looking for the right people. But you'd most likely know this already. Anyways, good luck with your job and stay safe.

[dirk diggler]

If ever you get the permanent shits with FIFO and Korea and wanted to do the same sort of work out of Pattaya as a resident, there's always Cuel and they're always looking for the right people.

What, you mean like, work full time? Ridiculous! Haha.

To be honest I had never heard of Cuel but it was interesting so thanks.

I like Korea, it's a pretty cool place and I'd say the standard of living is fairly high.

The standard of health and safety is just right too. Enough to be comfortable but not so much that I need a permit to fart and can go about my duties quite freely.

We also get $75 per day to eat. That's about how much I spend a week at the supermarket so it's a nice little earner. I'm eating pretty good too but some guys are living on instant noodles and banking all the rest. I don't skimp when it comes to food.

[dirk diggler]

Tonight's schedule was to re-test 2 systems that previously failed.

Test got cancelled because carbon steel cannot be tested below 7.2 degC and it was 4.5 degC.

It's not gonna get any warmer either so they'll have to dig out all their heat tracer equipment and start warming up the pipes during the day. That will be pretty taxing on their man power.

[baldrick]

work out of Pattaya as a resident, there's always Cuel and they're always looking for the right people.

CUEL are probably the pre-emminent head hunter for the Laem Chebang / layong area and especially if you are in injuneer with oil/gas experience they are a good way to get a position.

with so many gas projects in the pipeline for Aust , most of the shipyards ( sing / malay / thai /vietnam ) should be booked out for a few years to come and there is probably work if you have good qualifications and experience.

but it is the "purple circle" , so it helps to find / know people already in the game

rick's son if he has some exp in oil/gas design should probably pop them a cv

[dirk diggler]

With over 2,000 employees it shouldn't be too hard to infiltrate them in the local bars.

Personally I don't have any desire to work in Thailand again.

[Headworx]

^Correct Dirk, there's a lot of Pattaya based Cuel guys and they're not hard to find on the weekends.

That's great that you're happy with your job. Earning good money is never a bad thing (obviously ) but to be happy while you're doing it makes getting on a plane to go to work that much easier.

[dirk diggler]

For sure, but I'm not worth talking to by the time I reach the 5th Airport 20-odd hours later. Not until I check my air miles anyway.

[rickschoppers]

Dirk, good thread. It is nice to see someone enjoying their job and it helps when you are making decent pay.

I can not say the same about my career. Being in the health field can be depressing sometimes when all you see are sick and dying people. You do get to see some that recover when you didn't think they would. Puts things into perspective.

I wonder how many members actually had jobs they enjoyed like you do and how many did what they did just to put food on the table. Unfortunately, I fell into the latter group.

[Dillinger]

This is an air driven flange facing machine tool

I have one of those, Am holding it the noo

nice thread Dirk

[Headworx]

For sure, but I'm not worth talking to by the time I reach the 5th Airport 20-odd hours later. Not until I check my air miles anyway.

That'd be the makings of a thread all on its own called something like "tell us about your flights from hell" and I understand exactly how you feel mate. Once did a Bangkok-Sydney-LA-Miami-Rio-Fortaleza flight, watched the sun come up thru a plane window 3 days running. Got to the site where their was major problems. After a 14hr shift sleep came easy. I'm sure you can relate to this and get the feeling many others here can as well!.

[dirk diggler]

This is an air driven flange facing machine tool

I have one of those, Am holding it the noo

nice thread Dirk

Really?

Where did you steal that?

[beerlaodrinker]

We also get $75 per day to eat.

thats a nice little per diem dirk, interesting thread this, never been an oily myself but worked land siesmic in a couple of deserts when i was a lad,good experience for a young bloke and the pay was great. got a mate in udon thani that has been working offshore from songkhla for about 6 months with haliburton but now he is being sent to bangladesh, quite pissed of about that he is, but hey, thats the nature of the business right, go where the money is

[dirk diggler]

It's not so much go where the money is but go where the work is.

I meet quite a lot of Halli guys coming through Songkhla. In the bar, obviously.

Although the per diem is nice. I believe I would get over $200 if they sent me to Norway. But then there's Norwegian tax.

However, I have a clause in my contract that says I will never pay more than 12% and the company must stump up the rest.

I'm paying hypotax right now and I'm waiting for a reply explaining this to me. I'm not required to pay tax in UK or Thailand so I guess it must be Korea that's taking it. Although it's hypothetical tax so maybe it's just building up somewhere just in case? Hopefully I can claim it back at the end of the tax year. Nice wee bonus.

Baldrick, aren't you an accountant/lawyer or the likes?

[beerlaodrinker]

I have a clause in my contract that says I will never pay more than 12%

Nice, im currently paying 10% to the Lao government and happy to do so, never had it so good, i was taxed up the ying yang in australia for years occasionaly getting a couple of bucks back in rebate but it was a lot of work to do so, fuk me, the accountant doing the tax return made more of me than i got back usually

[dirk diggler]

That's strange. I just popped into a Tax Return Accountant each time across from the Moon n Sixpence in Perth, paid $100 and got 6.5k back one time and almost 8k the next.

[baldrick]

Baldrick, aren't you an accountant/lawyer or the likes?

wash your mouth out

- I've been involved in the construction and commissioning of semi-subs , production platforms , FPSO's , mining process plants , and power plants in indo , sing , malaysia , laos , china , zambia and now madagascar

I am a tradesman

[dirk diggler]

Oops.

Am I thinking of Bobcock?

Forgive me, apologies.

[hillbilly]

These pics and comments is what TD was based on. Excellent job and I can not wait for the next chapter!

[beerlaodrinker]

i found accountants such as H&R block who would do a tax return for as little as $80 but i also noticed that they wouldnt go in to bat for you, you need to spend a bit more and get someone more thorough, Tax is a fact of life but if your working remotely and using no infrastructure, sacrificing your social/ family life to earn a quid then they should
give us a break i reckon, last time i done a tax return (also in perth) i finished up owing the bastards money, that sucks

[dirk diggler]

These pics and comments is what TD was based on. Excellent job and I can not wait for the next chapter!

Oh go on then.

I was up top one of the modules tonight so sneaked a few more pics in.











There are loads of people buzzing around but they're just too small to see in the pics.

And apologies for poor quality.

Pretty short shift tonight as we are out of there as soon as radiographic testing (x-ray) starts. Some of us still plan on having kids.

[CNF55]

Thanks, Dirk, really impressive project.

Would have liked to supply just 10 % of the PFV requirement....

[dirk diggler]

Check out this bad boy currently being built in the yard:



This giant platform currently under construction in South Korea could be ready to pump the first Barents Sea oil already next fall.

The round shaped platform is especially designed for drilling operations under challenging harsh climate conditions in the Arctic. It is built to withstand icing and to ensure that rain and snow drain naturally from the walls and roofs. Inside, the so-called Sevan 1000 platform has an oil storage capacity of one million barrels (159,000 m3).

The discovery well at Goliat field was drilled in 2000 and production was first planned for this year after the Norwegian Parliament approved the development proposal in 2009.

Read the full article here - Eni dismisses further delay in Goliat oil | Barentsobserver

Norwegian weekly Teknisk Ukeblad also claims in an article that they have information indicating "soon-to-be-announced" new delays and increased costs.

Yep, just a bit. They have used the wrong spec of material for all the pipework and it's all goonna need to be ripped out and replacement fabricated. That is a monumental fuck up and I'm sure there are a few twitchy sphincters as a result of this.

We had one of our managers over trying to secure the contract for this project but we never got it. Personally I'm glad, how the hell do you get your bearings on a circular platform?

Interesting things though and I would have liked to get on for a nosey.

Some other pics ripped from the web: