Mobile Edition
Print
Get the Mag
Weekly UpdatesSince its start more than 33 years ago, Alaska's North Slope oil and gas industry has created a new and unique type of employment opportunity for individuals with the skills and desire to work long days in a harsh and remote environment.
The North Slope worker subset within Alaska's oil and gas industry has translated into a lifelong career choice and a preferred employment location for hundreds of individuals who are willing to adjust their personal lifestyle to the unique schedule, work location and demands of the job.
For people like Rick Dufek, who began working on the North Slope for drilling contractors in 1980, the changing schedule, long-distance commute and the frequently harsh work environment all have become a preferred way of life and a good method to support his family.
"I'm very proud to be part of it all--I have pride in what I do," said Dufek, who now typically works a two-week-on, two-week-off schedule as the North Slope safety coordinator for Nabors Drilling. "We've done very well the last 23 years and now my son has started working up here this year."
Following his father's footsteps, the younger Dufek has found a crew he enjoys working with, a schedule he likes and a job he looks forward to returning to. "For many of us, it becomes a way of life, and when you're away from it, you actually miss it," Rick Dufek said.
THE GOOD LIFE
Some characteristics of North Slope employment remain the same today as in the early days of the oil field development, such as quality food, accommodations and transportation provided to workers while on the job.
Workers are transported from Anchorage to Deadhorse via 737 jets operated by the producers' shared services operation, aircraft that are typically full and do not offer a first-class seating section, nor an alcoholic beverage service for northbound flights. After arriving on the Slope, workers are transported to their work or camp site via shuttle van or other types of ground transportation.
Sleeping accommodations are in dormitory-style camp buildings, complete with cleaning service, workout rooms and, in some areas, satellite television and Internet service. Full-time employees may bring personal items and leave them, as well as their work clothing, in their rooms while off the Slope.
Workers dine in cafeterias that offer a wide variety of entrees, side dishes, desserts and take-out snacks, and Slope workers are offered healthy food choices. And some workers are even provided, free of cost, the required protective clothing, footwear and gear needed for employment.
TWO WEEKS ON, TWO WEEKS OFF
Schedules usually consist of working seven days a week, one to two weeks in a row, with a similar amount of time off, although construction workers tend to work longer stretches in a row, frequently four weeks on and two weeks off or three weeks on and off.
Long hours of work each day, usually 10 to 12 hours, coupled with the back-to-back days and weeks of work translates to considerable overtime and results in hefty paychecks. But that increased compensation comes with a price-living away from home and family for extended periods of time.
"When something breaks down at home, it's always going to be when you're on the Slope, not when you happen to be home," said Gregg Alexander, who has spent most of the last 20 years working on the North Slope for a variety of contractors and companies. "That can wear on you a little bit."
Alexander now works for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. as the area manager for flow station 1 and the seawater treatment plant and seawater injection plant, spending one week on the job, then one week off, a schedule called a one-and-one.
He shares his managerial job duties as well as his North Slope room accommodations with an alternate worker. The two usually meet for an hour or so to discuss job-related issues at the Deadhorse Airport when they are rotating duty, Alexander said. Additionally, they fax work notes, send e-mails and occasionally call each other.
FAR FROM FAMILY
Like other North Slope workers, Alexander cites time away from family as one of the disadvantages to an oilfield career path. But a Slope work schedule also provides "quality" time away from the job, allowing him to spend extended time on his snowmachine, in his riverboat and with family that he otherwise might not enjoy.
"The big difference is that I can come and go more freely as I please, and not be caught up in the frenzy of trying to do everything on the weekend ... with the weekend warriors," Alexander said. "To the person who has spent time up here, one of the best things about working on the Slope is the schedule."
He speaks from experience, after spending a recent 19-month stint working a more traditional work schedule out of the Anchorage office, commuting each day from Wasilla. "It didn't take me long to appreciate the schedule of the Slope, which is all our family has ever known," Alexander said. "Working in town has it advantages-I'm home every night, so I can help with the house, with supper and the bedtime routine, but I miss out on some quality off-time."
While he can prepare for his on-duty work while on the flight north to Deadhorse, working in town created "two hours of windshield time to commute to the office every day," he added. "I made the best of it and developed a solid network, but I still prefer to work on the Slope."
As well as benefits from the schedule and lengthy time off, other advantages of working on the Slope include nice living conditions, compensation better than similar-type of jobs in the Lower 48 and being involved in a strategic part of the company portfolio, said Jeff Smith, who works as a senior environmental coordinator at Kuparuk for ConocoPhillips.
With almost five years of experience working on Alaska's North Slope, he's currently working two weeks on, two weeks off. That schedule is more efficient for work but more difficult because of being away from family, Smith said, adding that workers "... can get burned out after two weeks of long work days.
"North Slope is a very unique place. The weather can be brutal, the environmental regulations are among the most stringent in the world, living conditions are nice," he added. "A large majority of North Slope workers are extremely competent in their jobs."
North Slope work tends to draw people who are adventuresome, Dufek noted. "The person who wants to go there, it attracts those kinds of adventuresome people. They're well qualified and good workers."
EVOLVING TO THE GOOD
The type of workers and the accompanying environment has evolved through the years, Alexander and others said. "Years ago, there were worries about unscrupulous people," he said. "The class of the environment and lifestyle has improved. It's more subdued or even sophisticated."
Construction workers have noticed a change in attitudes on the Slope, compared to past years of big capital projects that brought on large volumes of workers, creating an atmosphere almost like Mardi Gras, said Jim Laiti, business manager of the Plumbers & Steamfitters Union Local 375, based in Fairbanks. "People were happy to be there, it was like a tremendous social event," he said. "Now there are fewer people ... they're more focused on the task and a little smarter now."
Changes in social attitudes from the 1970s and 1980s are also part of the evolution, creating a different atmosphere on the Slope now, compared to those past years. "Back then, almost everyone use to smoke cigarettes ... you'd see lines of people in the hall, smoking cigarettes and waiting to call home."
Now, few workers smoke, more phones are available in the camps and cell phone service provides communication in the developed areas of the Slope, he said. Access to the Internet also improves Slope workers' communication with family and friends.
Talk about workers bringing alcohol and drugs to the North Slope, which are now dismissible offenses, is not as prevalent as in past years. "You hardly ever hear about anyone being busted for alcohol," Alexander said. "I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's much more subdued."
Zero tolerance by employers has contributed to that change in attitudes, as well as a changing dynamic in peer pressure, he said. "To a person, employees have no tolerance to help others break the rues. They hold each other accountable to a higher degree."
Emphasis on safety, another recent change in the North Slope work environment, also has contributed to that cultural evolution when "a lot of cowboys were running around," Alexander said. "Now it's a culture of responsible development ... it's gone beyond an understanding that it's a condition of employment to believing that it's the right thing to do."
The focus on workplace safety has come about in recent years, probably the most dramatic change for North Slope workers. "The environmental and safety concerns are to a level you can't imagine, even compared to 10 to 15 years ago," said Rodney Brown, business agent for the Plumbers & Steamfitters Union Local 375, who began his North Slope work career with construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.
In prior years, completing the assigned task on schedule was the priority for contractors completing large capital projects for producers, said Dave Matthews, vice president and Alaska general manager for H.C. Price, a pipeline and construction contractor with a lengthy history of North Slope work. "No matter what it takes to get the job done, you did it," he said.
Now, the focus is safety first, and the North Slope has become "more of a maintenance operation, where we see less and less construction opportunities," Matthews said.
Weekly, sometimes daily, meetings are held to discuss safety issues, and more emphasis is placed on completing a project with zero injury occurrences, even above budget constraints and scheduling concerns, he said.
FEED