No, it is not a “horror article” or and adventure story at all, as somebody would think. However hazards are really present in the oilfield and it is better to know about them in advance.
Vlad Belousov, member of the Union of translators of Russia, author of text-books and training courses for oil and gas translators and interpreters.
When we talk about translator’s work in the oilfield, it is primarily related to the field conditions. In other articles I explained that not all translators working in the oilfield are “field workers”, many of them spend their working time in offices and may experience only such hazard as anger of their boss. Therefore let us leave them beyond the scope of this article and talk about translators working directly in the oilfield, at drilling and workover rigs.
When we are young, we do not notice or do not want to notice hazards. Maybe we do not care because we are full of energy and are ready to rock the world. However today, with the benefit of hindsight, I recall the years spent in the oilfield as the time of rather bonehead actions, which I would not do now. Therefore in this article I would like to warn my young colleagues who are going to work in the oilfield on rotation: look after yourselves and stay safe.
Rather conditionally, I would classify hazards in the oilfield into the following categories.
Weather conditions and natural phenomena. Depending upon the region of work implementation, you may encounter different environmental hazards. For example, in the south, somewhere in the jungle, there are regional specifics – high temperature and humidity, snakes and spiders, and so on. However I worked not there, but in the north, and will tell you about conditions in the tundra.
In winter time it is very cold in the tundra. In my practice the lowest temperature was minus 460С, but my colleagues witnessed even lower temperatures. Actually at such low temperature all operations are stopped, because metal becomes fragile and hazardous. For example, a few blows will be sufficient to break a metallic bar. In such conditions chilblains are not rare. The first sign is skin blanching. Therefore people attentively look after each other not only in operations. And in the town you can hear from a man passing by: “Take care, your nose is white!”
As a rule, an oilfield is located rather far from the town, at the distance of about 150-200 kilometers. Traveling to such distances at low temperatures in a vehicle is normally permitted only within a train of vehicles. Because if the engine dies, the people in the vehicle will freeze in the literal sense.
Interesting environmental phenomena can be encountered in the tundra. For example, polar lights during heavy frosts. It is really nice. However after 10 years of work I saw it only once, and on the very last day, when leaving for good, a kind of “Farewell”. Another interesting phenomenon is abrupt change of weather. Air temperature may change by 20 degrees just in two hours. If it goes down, you need to have warm clothes, and if it goes up, then it may result in a sudden drop of atmospheric pressure and strong hurricane, capable to heave heavy objects into the air. During one of such hurricanes a huge round log hit a wooden building of our camp and pierced it through. Luckily nobody was hurt because all people were at work.
It is difficult to say what season is better in the tundra - summer or winter. Some people may say that in summer time it is always better and warmer. Maybe, if not for insects. Probably the best month is May, when after heavy frosts and snow storms eventually it is not freezing, the sun starts piercing through continuous dark clouds. But the most important – in May there are no mosquitoes, sandflies and horseflies yet.
There are so many blood-sucking insects in the tundra, that all people working there, without exclusions, have to apply special personal protective equipment. Summer oilfield protective suit consists of summer coveralls, rubber high boots with steel toes, gloves, safety glasses, hard net and mosquito net. Parts of the suit fully cover the body and are tucked in each other providing for sealed body protection, excluding wrists and neck. However that is quite sufficient for sandflies to get inside and cause damage. Mosquitoes start to appear closer to June. It would not be wise to describe mosquitoes as they are present practically everywhere if not for their regional tundra specifics – size, exclusive “rage” and high quantity. The first attack – large mosquitoes or “parents”. There are not so many of them, their bites are not painful and they do not bother you much. But that is so to say “contact reconnaissance” or preparation for the main invasion. After about three weeks there will be another attack of “children”. These are small mosquitoes, but in very big quantities, and their bites are much more painful. I have never seen such quantity of mosquitoes anywhere as in the tundra. To one extent or another, mosquitoes are present for the entire summer, however by August their number starts to decrease.
Sandflies come in the middle of June. They are very small, very annoying and hard-bitten midges. This animals attack in huge quantities. Sandflies find the most sensitive spots on human body which you cannot protect – neck and wrists, get behind the collar and into sleeves, and start traveling along the naked body under clothes, continuously biting and causing itching which you cannot get rid of in the process of work.
Season of botflies or horseflies starts in July. Opposite to their brothers from the midland, these “guys” are really big, and there are very many of them. Well, even very-very many. As well as mosquitoes. It is interesting that you don’t feel their bites. Probably they induce anaesthesia. However it is difficult not to notice consequences of such bites. If it is hot or you do not want to make your clothes dirty, you roll up sleeves when working, and after some time suddenly see that the arm to the elbow is covered with trickles of blood in case of several bites. It seems like horseflies do not just bite, they tear a piece of your flesh off, causing hemorrhage. That is why we called them “flying T-Rexes”.
The kingdom of insects and their complete domination in the tundra nature starts in July, when mosquitoes are not going to leave yet, sandflies are in full play, and horseflies just joined that army. Huge accumulation of insects in the air often paralyzes regular activities. It is very difficult to see something at the distance of a couple of meters. And each of such warriors has only one goal – suck your blood. And rather successfully. It is good that the peak lasts for not longer than two weeks.
External sources. These are hazards which are not operational, though indirectly they are associated with them. And that can be people or their incorrect or criminal actions.
In 1990-s, despite the “dry law” in oilfields, at many drilling rigs they kept a bottle of vodka just in case a guest will come from the tundra. Actually there were periodic visits of Nenets to drilling sites asking for some vodka. Such visitors could look rather menacing and have a big knife on the belt. Therefore nobody was going to argue or quarrel with them; frankly speaking the drillers were afraid. Usually such guest took a bottle of vodka and left.
Probably one of the main signs of that time was criminal activity of gangsters. Salary often was paid in cash, after rotation in the field people went home by a helicopter, and in the landing zone they were already expected by “possies”. Unfortunately, such mean things did take place. I hope that now it is all in the past.
And also dogs. My favorite huskies. I had never met such friendly and faithful dogs before. But it is only when they live with people. While the drilling rig remains in its location in the process of well pad drilling, usually several dogs also live there. However in the process of drilling rig move people leave the dogs behind in the tundra. Huskies decide that they were betrayed, and in order to survive they make packs, which later attack people.
In the period of my work in the tundra several persons did not return from fishing or hunting. And by all indications they were killed by huskies rather than wolves. Opposite to wolves, such stray canines know behavior of people much better and are not afraid of them. Therefore people had to start shooting the dogs down in the process of drilling rig move. Of course it is cruel, but that time it was the only way of fighting for survival. And in general, the tundra is not the place for walking alone. By the way, in forest-tundra zone you can also encounter wolves and bears.
I would also include road accidents into the same category. Once, on the way to work, our crew bus lost its front wheel, which began rolling on the road. That time we avoided an accident. In winter time the road to the field is usually very slippery, and road accidents are frequent. It mainly includes going to the ditch and collisions. When I assisted paramedics in an ambulance, I had to see many unpleasant scenes on the road. Therefore road safety was and remains one of hazards in the oilfield.
