help!!

[lost]

someone like to tell me what a weldor does when he sets up a rig and goes to alberta to weld?i have my 6 inch b pressure and my interprovincal as a welder,along with a few other tickets(c.w.b) ?they say thats the thing to do,,but i dont think its as easy as they say???anyones input would be helpful,pipeline or oil patch work?someone told me there paying people with rigs 80/ h to weld structual???is this true??

[beamwalker]

80 an hour? sign me up

[beamwalker]

plus all the wire i can squirt in a day. gotta be lincoln 232 wire tho 50-75 pounds a day. i wont use stick its t o o o o s l o w.

[Black Wolf]

I am not a pipeline welder so I'll leave that to Pipeline Dan, WickedOne, etc from central and southern Alberta. We are experiencing a general slow down here in the north in both pipelining and manufacturing. It is supposed to turn around fairly soon. As far as hiring rigs, we have several companies taking on rigs as soon as it picks up. Vision Oilfield Projects, Flint Energy Services, Doran Stewart Construction, NWP Pipelines. etc etc. We also have local storage tank manufacturing plants (De-In Industries & Peaceland Fabricating) that take on rig welders for outside work - retrofits, and repairs etc. We also have companies that manufacture portable & permanent bridge spans for oilfield roadways. Companies that set up and complete oilfield batteries and line heaters etc. Companies that build gasplants. Companies that do maintenance "turn-a-rounds" at pulp & paper mills. Companies that build drilling rigs, service rigs, coil tubing units, frac units, sand units, etc etc. It goes on and on until you get to where I am, building the trucks that haul the equipment to the lease to get the whole ball rolling. My part of the industry has slowed down too, but we still have trucks waiting 10 to 12 months before they even get started on the rig-up. About the only part of the industry where your 'B' ticket wouldn't blow wind up their skirt is building bridges or building trucks - really not needed but is still good to have as a bargaining chip for rates.
As far as rates go.... that really depends. Some companies offer reduced rates but offer full supply ie all consumables(rods, disks, gloves, lenses etc. & fuel) Others you carry the full shot yourself. What should you do, as a 'B' welder to work in AB? I'm declining to comment because it is not my segment of the industry BUT, we have many pipeliners on here that I'm sure can help you out and point you in the right direction.

Later,

Oh, I almost forgot the $$$. Prices vary with the industry. I've heard from pipeliner friends locally that $85 - $100/hr is possible depending on inches/day and terrain. I've also heard rumors 2nd and 3rd hand that companies around Hinton were hiring portables for well over $120/hr. I cannot substanciate that statement though. Could be B.S.

[lost]

im allmost tempted to try as a welder helper to see what actully goes on

[burnie]

I would have to say that it isn't always as easy as rigging up and making your millions in the patch:D Just my opinion but 12 years ago I thought I was ready to go on my own but because of the way things went (wife and kids) it took me alot longer to do. I was pretty down about not being able to do it the way I wanted to but as time went on and my $$$ and experiance grew I realized that things happen for a reason and in hindsight, all the added years of experiance made it realistic to contract. At the time, I had no doubts about my own abilities but realistically I would not have lasted ten minutes because my ***** were bigger than my abilities. Now, because of the extra years of experiance in all kinds of different fields (welding, business, and life;) ) I am able to represent my company in a quality, professional manner. All I'm saying is that you could try out a bunch of portable work for someone else before you shoulder the financial responsibities yourself because things don't always go as planned in the patch:)

[Black Wolf]

I'm liking Burnie's post on this. Why not plan to come over for a while, sniff around and see if you like it. Bide your time and gather equipment (if you haven't already) then when the time is right, go out on your own. I wouldn't want to see anyone go for broke and fall on their face. The ditches of this province are full of blood, seat, tears and shattered dreams. Don't want you to become just another victim.

Later,

Hey, I've seen on other threads that you have experience around drilling rig derricks etc. Why not try calling Nisku, AB (Industrial section of Leduc) and checking with Mastco or someone like that? Just a thought.