Our own local oil rig expert

Raglan man, Denis Edmonds has just returned from his latest assignment on an oil rig and only 4 months ago was based in the Gulf of Mexico near to and on a rig similar to the one that is now causing the oil slick in the USA.

“Safety is the very first consideration when we work and live on rigs offshore,” says Denis.

“Ive been drilling on offshore rigs for over 20 years now and it’s the most exciting career. I work for six months and have six months off, where I live in Raglan” – During his career Denis has worked in over 25 countries, and has never seen a disaster of this magnitude before.

The sinking of a rig is a very unusual event anywhere in the world, for something like this to happen it would need a series of things to go wrong. These new 5th and 6th Generation ‘ultra deep water’ rigs are very hi-tech and are designed to operate in 10-12 thousand feet of water and have all sorts of safety systems in place to prevent mishaps like this. The oil companies spend millions of dollars on safety equipment, systems and training for there employee’s that work on these rigs, making this industry one of the safest in the world.

“Over the last few months we have set up a training programme for kiwis who’d like to know more about the industry and more importantly get employment on a rig. Kiwi’s have a good reputation in our industry as they are hard workers and are good problem solvers so employers in both Australia and NZ are wanting more people like this.” Denis explained, “I was at Singapore International Airport lounge a few days ago on my way home to New Zealand, and ran into a Kiwi mate who is building rigs in Korea and he is looking for people as well.”

The induction seminar gives Denis a full day to tell the participants everything he knows about working offshore and there is ample time for them to ask questions as well. “I enjoy sharing my knowledge about an industry I’m passionate about and giving people with no experience the opportunity to get employment and work on rigs around the world.” If you want more information on these training seminars go to: www.manningoffshoresolutions.com.