Oil in my Hair, Gas in my Belly! The Oilfield Life!
Once you get in the Oil business, it’s hard to get out! Lord knows I’ve tried, but there’s just something about the oil and gas industry that captures you, and I mean capture, good or bad you seem to be held hostage to a life in this business that’s damn difficult to escape from.
There’s an old saying amongst the Elder Statesmen of drilling and producing oil and gas….”I have Oil in my Hair and Gas in my Belly!”. Back in the 70’s and early 80’s the definition on an oilman was a guy wearing a Gold Rolex President, Gold Nugget rings, rolling up on location in a Cadillac, wearing a Cowboy hat and sporting Ostrich skin boots! Those days are long past us now, but we can still learn from our Elders about getting into this industry, the love for it, and the downside to it. It literally gets in your blood, well, not literally, but it sure feels that way. I’ve been trying to retire for years now, but the business just keeps drawing me back in, time and time again. I love this business, mostly, some days I hate it and swear I’m done forever, but there’s just something about it that keeps me in the game.
Over the course of many decades, I’ve tried, more than once, to explore other industries, they just don’t have the same magic, the same romance, the same guts and glory we have in the Oil Industry. Who in their right mind would work 100+ hours a week for zero paycheck? Who in their right mind would risk Everything to bring in just One Well, Just one Deal??? Sitting on location, day after day, night after night, away from family, away from friends, away from home, and just hoping and praying this well comes in good. There is something amazing about being out on location, the camaraderie you make with all the hands, all the great folks doing a job that most aren’t cut out for, not to mention, after a long night looking at drilling samples, having a cup of black coffee that could be used as drilling mud. I’d trade any number of boardroom boring meetings and investor pitches for one single cup of good coffee, even a bad cup of location drilling mud coffee. Just One Good Well, Just One Good Equipment Deal is all it takes, and beyond all the bad ones, You Are Hooked, For Life!
The Oil and Gas Industry has many gears to it, legal, geology, engineering, etc. For me, the best part of our industry is out in the field. I don’t stay in this for all the long drawn-out deals, the legal crap we have to go through to get a deal done, I don’t stay in it for the money, I stay in it, because I love it, I love being out there, hearing the engines roar, the drawworks grinding with a brake, the banging of pipe, and being around the hands that make things happen. Whether it’s an equipment deal, inspecting a rig, or even if I’m in deep on an investment in an oil drilling deal, I’m in it, because I Love It, and I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world. Some folks make millions, some folks lose millions, and we all seem to be so attached to this industry that all the gains and losses get lost in the annals of time. Make a buck, lose a buck, really doesn’t matter so long as you get to keep doing what you love, living the oilfield life, and for me, this life has been nothing less than a dream.
If you are considering a life in the oilfield, you should consider this….once you start, it’ll get into your blood, you’ll end up with Oil in your Hair, and Gas in your Belly!
Jim Harvey/CEO PetroRigs.com