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 Party Girl
Posts: 12293
   
Location: Buffalo, Wyoming | I currently work for a pipeline/heavy construction company in Wyoming. My SO is a Regional Sales Rep for one of the biggest companies in the Bakken.
What are your companies doing now that the price of oil is going down?
My company has laid of a few people, cutting payroll and cutting expenses all around. The big wigs are currently in a meeting to set payroll right now. I am thinking they are going to cut payroll in the office. I can't really go any lower than I already am, so I am hoping they leave me alone.
The SO's company is in the process of laying off 1400 company wide. He will be taking on sort of a new roll and a bigger area along with everyone else that will still have a job.
I know Schlumberger is laying off around 9000 people.
Just kind of wanted to see who was all in the same boat and what you and your companies are doing about it. The owners of my company keep telling me they are in a better postition this time around.... |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | Living in OKC Schlumberger/Haliburton trucks are all in the yards... it is weird to see. There are still a lot of work over rigs though. I used to staff for Schlumberger and still keep in touch. They have been on a hiring freeze for quite some time and the frac crews have been working out of state mostly |
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 Veteran
Posts: 210
| We live in PA and my SO has worked for Nomac for almost five years now. Very slowly the rigs home have been getting stacked out. He was working a week here, a week in Ohio, and a week off for quite some time now. But just recently a lot of layoffs have been happening and he and the other mechanics he works with were given the choice to either move to ohio, work two weeks in ohio and two off, or take the severance package. He and his boss and another friend got in with CAT luckily this week so they are all leaving and taking the severance package. Alot of higher ups have told them to get out while they can before sh*t hits the fan. |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | We are primarily a dirt contractor (we build locations and frac ponds) for the exploration side of things.... but over the course of the past few months we had just mostly been doing hauling jobs (hauling materials and equipment for workover rigs and clean up jobs) for the completions side of things. That hasn't really slowed down for us, but we know that it will as the exploration comes to a stand still.
We also do dirtwork for parties other than the oilfield (highway jobs and local farmers who might want a pond or road built), but the oilfield is our bread and butter and we just have to pray that we're diversified enough to keep going.
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 Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | I'm in oilfield supply and handle high yield materials for midstream pipeline projects. Our work hasn't slowed down at all, but I know that other segments have felt the downturn. We currently are under a hiring/wage freeze, no layoffs yet....
My brother is a directional driller. They've gotten super slow, but the company he works for must be amazing. They offered their guys wage cuts to keep from having to lay anyone off. It's about 30% less, but they are able to keep their benefits and work when they can. Not many companies do that when things get slow. |
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  Expert
Posts: 1584
Location: Central Texas | I work for a land surveying company that is about 90% oilfield in east central TX. We have gone from being crazy busy to absolutely nothing. The company has been in existence for 21 years and it looks real iffy now. We only have 11 people and now we are all part-time. We do some real estate surveying, but cannot survive on that with this many people. So...I'm in the job market and/or start my own business. Suddenly there are a lot of folks around here scrambling. It will be interesting to see what happens. |
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Party Girl
Posts: 12293
Location: Buffalo, Wyoming | rachellyn80 - 2015-01-23 10:02 AM I'm in oilfield supply and handle high yield materials for midstream pipeline projects. Our work hasn't slowed down at all, but I know that other segments have felt the downturn. We currently are under a hiring/wage freeze, no layoffs yet....
My brother is a directional driller. They've gotten super slow, but the company he works for must be amazing. They offered their guys wage cuts to keep from having to lay anyone off. It's about 30% less, but they are able to keep their benefits and work when they can. Not many companies do that when things get slow.
My BIL works on a rig in Southern Wyoming, my sister just text me and said they had cut their wages and have laid off around 50 people in the last 2 days. They said his job was safe for now.
I think it is great that they will offer a lower wage instead of laying off. Every little bit helps right now. |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | It's scary no matter what... Back in 2009 I was laid off the week after they told us that there would be no management level layoffs within the project group. I was 6 months pregnant with Savvy. The next day was the end of the month, so I had to go on COBRA immediately to maintain my benefits. At that time it cost me $1,236 a month to keep my insurance. My unemployment was $1,700 I think?
It looked like they made a list of all of the people who were at the highest of the payscale for their title and cut them... So many great people lost their jobs that week. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | My husband doesn't work in the industry directly but has been doing appraisals out in the Odessa/Midland area and business has certainly slowed. |
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 Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | My brother works in PA doing fracking for natural gas or soemthing like that... and he said he feels like he has a 40% of losing his job.... :-( |
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Location: Saskatchewan | We own a rig welding business that primarily contracts under big oil companies up here in Canada. So far everything was looking 100% nothing affecting us until they let everyone go on Monday no notice, being a contractor and not on payroll gives them more of a reason for no notice. Fortunately for us the hubby was already sent to another project. He usually works minimum 8 hours from home but this build sent him to a potash mine just 2 hours away for a project that will keep him busy for at least a few months with the potential for more tank projects after.
Won't lie I'm a bit scared seeing how he had 6 weeks off before heading back north but at least he has work and for myself I have a full time job plus the business. With owning our own company we have to think on so many different angles, with being owners on payroll its not like we can file for assistance if things go south. Just glad I keep the company and us on budgets with savings. All I can do now is save more and be thankful we have work still. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| We also have a rig welding business. We are contracted with Chaparral but they have stacked out all rigs but one at the moment. We have adapted a little and have been doing the location clean ups and taking hot shot loads from one location to another but it's about to get thin around here. We've been approached to go up to Kansas, Arkansas, etc. to weld on Salt water locations but that's all still in the works. I think are dilemma is going to be to hold on to our liability insurance policies for the occasional job or let them go. It's going to be hard to cover expenses with no income for a while! |
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Party Girl
Posts: 12293
Location: Buffalo, Wyoming | FlyingJT - 2015-01-23 10:33 AM We also have a rig welding business. We are contracted with Chaparral but they have stacked out all rigs but one at the moment. We have adapted a little and have been doing the location clean ups and taking hot shot loads from one location to another but it's about to get thin around here. We've been approached to go up to Kansas, Arkansas, etc. to weld on Salt water locations but that's all still in the works. I think are dilemma is going to be to hold on to our liability insurance policies for the occasional job or let them go. It's going to be hard to cover expenses with no income for a while!
We had a hot shot business as well. Our insurance was killing us and with the influx of drivers that are about to be out of jobs we decided to let it go. We stopped last week and I finally get my truck back.
We were pretty much paying the bills and keep our driver in a job. |
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 Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | My Hubby was working for Precision drilling in ND and his rig was stacked just after Thanksgiving. He ended up back to work in Texas last week making 1/3 of what he was in ND. Luckily we learned very well from the first drop in 09 and have savings. I am currently liquidating 80% of my horses but we will be ok. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 239
| We have a very small (1 truck 2 trailer) oilfield hauling business in Alberta. We are involved mostly in frac. So far things haven't slowed down terribly but no new projects are being planned, and many planned projects are being cancelled. I think we will go the same until break up and then summer and mostly fall will tell the tale. I am very worried but praying hard. .... hoping they will cut our rate but still give us the jobs. |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Centerpoint has projects planned this year in Minnesota. They are looking at 20" & 24" materials. I've also seen activity in the Ohio area for projects planned from April-June this year. This is all pipeline related though.
Since King Abdullah died this morning I'm curious to see if there are any noticeable changes. His brother who will come into power is old and in bad health as well. |
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 Chasin my Dream
Posts: 13651
Location: Alberta | My husband is a contract welder in the oilfield and the company he's with has said things may slow down come March due to trying to bid on another job. They likely won't stop work but have periods between no work....as with any oilfield work regardless of how industry is you always go day by day! |
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 Expert
Posts: 2128
| I worked for Shell Oil at their Haynesville Shale asset in N. Louisiana. They recently sold out to a new company (for which I am still working thank gosh). I have not witnessed any changes with my new company just yet but we just got started. Lots of local suppliers and vendors are slowing down and cutting personnell. My sister in law is a landman for a firm that handles all of BHP's leasing. Because of the budget cuts BHP just inposed, my sister in laws firm is going to be cutting jobs. Lots of people in my area work on drilling rigs. They are pretty worried. Rough times for oilfield folks for sure. |
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Member
Posts: 10
| I work for a oilfield rental equipment business in southwest Wyoming. We have two stores in WY, ND, CO and TX. I have not heard of any of the stores laying off employees but have heard that work has slowed down in some of them. My boyfriend was layed off; he worked for workover rig company here in Wyoming. |
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 Regular
Posts: 52
Location: North Dakota | I work for a casing company in the bakken and we are slowly cutting back on crews! At the first of the year we all took a 10% pay cut which wasn't fun but it's better than the umemployment line! Our office is going to keep cutting back on crews so that the guys that stay will still have work! They have been very good about trying to take cAre of the guys who have been through thick and thin with the company! Not. Very fun time right now! A lot of good friends on are rough necks are losing jobs! To all who work in the oil field keep your heads up and let's hope and pray this doesn't last long! |
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