Since resigning my position at my last employer I have come to realize how much my hard hat reminds me of all of my best and worst times in the oil patch. Covered in stickers from all of the different companies we worked with and for, it is a visual journal of sorts. Each takes me to a memory of what I was doing and who I was with. Every time it was covered in mud, grease, or oil, I most likely was too. Overall it is a symbol of that community and chapter of my life.

At this point in life, five years after high school graduation, there are few communities in which I feel a sense of camaraderie or fellowship. I have gone from being the “the kid in all of those punk rock bands” to being a productive member of society plagued by “the man.” The group in which I most fit in with these days would be the individuals who work for the company that I recently resigned from. We were all experienced hands for an oil field service company. For the most part we all worked our way up to our positions from the same starting point; a “worm” on the rig floor. As this earned us admiration from each other, it also granted us respect from the various rig crews we worked with. This allowed for very tight bonds and friendships to be built and flourish. Looking back on the “punk rocker” days of my youth I realize that the traits I look for in friends or a community are vastly different now.

I must explain the conditions in which we worked for one to understand the bond it created. When a drilling rig gets to a certain part of its well our services are called upon. The time period that it will take to finish a well is always unknown and generally many things go wrong along the way. There would commonly be three to four employees from our company on location at all times. While there, we lived, cooked, cleaned, worked, and reported to many other individuals, as a team. This is far different than the “friends at work” that one makes at a job where they are allowed to return to their home each night. At a “normal” job, one has time apart from individuals to reflect on their interactions. In our situation all interactions either built upon or tore down the previous exchange in real time. Spending this much time together created bonds and differences. In the end we all had common objectives and goals. For the most part everyone had unique view and expertise to offer to the experience.

The oil field is usually seen as a rowdy bunch of “rough necks” that are foul mouthed and dirty in all senses. That is truly not the case. The oil and gas industry has grown in leaps and bounds as far as technology and complex processes to become more efficient. For example just the B.H.A. (bottom hole assembly) or the part of the drill string doing the actual drilling is vastly different than those of the past. We have discovered how to use certain tools down hole to drill directionally, and how to use the mud as an energy source to propel the bit at speeds not imagined in the past. The tools that I was responsible for were used to determine inclination, azimuth, temperature, gamma ray, and tool face direction. In combination it was used to decide which way to drill and how to get there based on the many variables it reported to us. Drilling a well is not only dirty, but also, extremely technical and beautiful in some ways too.

While the production of oil and gas is often perceived as a dirty and crude process; the beauty of a North Dakota morning on a drilling rig is often overlooked. There are so many sights, sounds, and smells that it is impossible for the senses to be bored. As one walks closer to the stairs they would start to feel the hum in the diesel motors that they have been hearing since arrival. Deep breaths of the mingling smells of diesel exhaust, drilling mud, and gasses burning off the flare stack are unique to this place alone. One can see the steam rising off the mud tanks, black diesel smoke billowing into the air, and the sun starting to break over the horizon making a vivid orange glow emit from behind the derrick. Once the ascent to the floor is started the vibrations underfoot immediately signify that rotary drilling is underway. Even though oil field work is considered to be dumb iron, it is an unparalleled sensory experience.

As I rigged down all of my computers, sensors, cables, and instruments, I took in everything I could. It was my last job working in the field as an LWD Engineer. While packing up my gear in the command center I felt great and ready to be home. Rigging down the satellite I couldn’t wait to be done. Starting towards the rig floor to break out my sensors I started to fell the gravity of the situation. While I pulled my MWD tool out of the collar I looked around to see the faces of those who would be the last to make “waitin’ on you” jokes at my expense. Laying down the tool and breaking it down for shipping was my last task to complete before the journey home, and back to reality.

While I will miss these sights and sounds every day, I feel that what I have chosen for now is correct. The decision to leave my close-knit community of oil field workers was one of the most difficult and yet so far most rewarding decisions I have made. I am ecstatic to learn how and why we did the things the way we did and hopefully how to improve upon those processes. Earning a BS in Petroleum Engineering will be my next step towards a lifetime in the oil and gas industry. I always have my hard hat to remind me where I have been, what I have learned, and what to focus on.

-Sam Antrim