What is It Like Living on an Offshore Rig?

Many of us don’t put a lot of thought into what it must be like for oil rig workers.  But for the 35,000 offshore workers in the Gulf of Mexico and their family members the dangers faced on rigs are regularly on their minds.

Offshore rig workers will live for weeks at a time on platforms that are equivalent to the size of two football fields.  While life on an offshore rig has gotten better over the years, there are hazards that are dealt with on a daily basis.   Workers are exposed to hot metal, the scorching sun and unpredictable seas.  Even the helicopter ride to the rig can be dangerous and many crash.

Windell Curole, a Lafourche Parish levee manager, told the Associated Press, “you could know how long someone had been in the oil industry by how many digits were missing.”

Over the last several years, there have been numerous deaths and hundreds of injuries, which prompted the U.S. Minerals Management Service, which supervises the industry, to pursue new safety procedures designed to prevent human error.  However, these regulations are still being created and were not in place before the recent rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite all of the dangers on oil rigs, offshore workers will tell you that one of the hardest aspects of the job is being away from family.