A Meaningful Career

Posted on: 27 October 2015

If you are just getting into oilfield roughnecking, there is a lot to learn about the job. As you work your way up the employment chain, you will encounter multiple types of trucks that do specific jobs. Without all of this heavy construction equipment, you and the rest of the roughnecks would have to do everything by hand, like they did a over a hundred years ago. Instead, all of the following trucks find their way onto the oilfield sooner or later, and they assist your fellow crew members with the following tasks.

Cranes

Cranes are some of the first trucks onsite when it comes to the oil business. They are responsible for lifting the oil rig components off of the flatbed and helping construct the oil rig itself. They can also assist with moving large and heavy loads of equipment from one area of the oilfield to another.

Flatbeds and Tandem Flatbeds

These are the trucks that bring in all of the oil rigging construction supplies. The standard flatbeds will bring all of the heaviest, longest and tallest components while the tandem flatbeds bring all of the lighter weight supplies. The standard flatbeds are much longer than their tandem cousins, and can haul the supplies to construct more than one oil derrick or rig.

Winch Tractors

These trucks closely resemble a semi tractor, except instead of a trailer on the back, they have a high-powered winch system. The winches are attached to the oil rigging and then the tractor pulls the rigging into an upright and vertical position. You and the other roughnecks then have to bolt and weld it together to keep it standing.

Oilfield Vacuum Trucks

Chances are, you will see a lot of oilfield vacuum trucks throughout the drilling process. They bring water into the sight to cool the drill and remove excess brine water from the site. Despite a popular misconception, they are not used on an oilfield to "vacuum" up oil that has seeped up through the ground or any oil that spouts off and lands on the ground below. They are strictly water trucks for the drilling process and once the drill has struck oil, the vacuum trucks' jobs are complete.

Oil Trucks

Finally, the last type of truck you will see drive up onto the oilfield are the oil trucks. These empty tankers are connected to the oil derrick/rig, filled, and then haul the raw oil away for processing. It will be par for the job (eventually) for you to assist the tanker drivers with secure connections, filling the tankers and recording oil shipments without ever losing a drop. Contact Oilfield Trucks in Alberta for more information.