Working Hazard
Work started at 0600 hours. Gao arrived at the airport on time and the three of us took off to the destination. I had no idea that GSF was running the show and that the platform is actually manned. Scott from Scotland managed to get us acquainted with the working scene. Having no other reaction to the surprise, I went down to the production deck with the rest of the team in an attempt to educate myself. We were fixing the module with Gao leading the replacement. Even though I was looking closely at what they were doing, only about 20 to 30 percent of the process is within my comprehension.
The day got hotter as the sun shone right from above. The system cabinet was not even placed in a proper control room but a simple shelter instead. As the drilling bit was making its way to the borehole, the deck rocked slowly from side to side as a result of the momentum. It was real dirt on the floor and that spots of water were everywhere. Metals and beams were already showing the signs of oxidation - reddish spots on corners and open surface. In this condition of zero comfort, I was wondering why men would go out and work here. Were jobs so difficult to get until we were left with one option only? Or perhaps we were enthusiastic about oil and gas?
The slow rocking movement continued, making an ambient sound that blended in almost perfectly. It was as if a huge air-conditioning machine had just been throttled to its full power. I glanced over to the open sea and admired the glitters on the surface of the water. The mere sight of flickering reflection from the sun rendered me speechless. Even at the remotest of a location, nature never failed to make us ponder. Noticing schools of tiny and huge fish dancing against the ripple at the base of the deck, I sighed in relief realizing that the natural habitat had not been disturbed at least. And if only I had a fishing line with me there and then, I wouldn’t feel so bad for not coping up with the system.
Even though we had a break for lunch in between, I was wearing off quicker than the sunset. In the middle of the fix, I felt so dizzy in the utmost fatiguing endurance test ever. No system test had ever been this meticulous and long. The experience tech. didn’t even bother to describe it to the level of details that would had kept me aspired. I sat down on a wide red box of which appeared to be a temporary storage for miscellaneous tools. It’s been a while since the last time I felt this thirsty, I thought. Finally, under the hot blazing rays of sun we wrapped it up and convinced ourselves that the local module had been successfully restored. Only the outer link required a little more configurations. I was sleeping like a baby while spending the night at the mother platform nearby. It was good that we had to travel to there by boat - I learned how to jump on and off the basket.
The day got hotter as the sun shone right from above. The system cabinet was not even placed in a proper control room but a simple shelter instead. As the drilling bit was making its way to the borehole, the deck rocked slowly from side to side as a result of the momentum. It was real dirt on the floor and that spots of water were everywhere. Metals and beams were already showing the signs of oxidation - reddish spots on corners and open surface. In this condition of zero comfort, I was wondering why men would go out and work here. Were jobs so difficult to get until we were left with one option only? Or perhaps we were enthusiastic about oil and gas?
The slow rocking movement continued, making an ambient sound that blended in almost perfectly. It was as if a huge air-conditioning machine had just been throttled to its full power. I glanced over to the open sea and admired the glitters on the surface of the water. The mere sight of flickering reflection from the sun rendered me speechless. Even at the remotest of a location, nature never failed to make us ponder. Noticing schools of tiny and huge fish dancing against the ripple at the base of the deck, I sighed in relief realizing that the natural habitat had not been disturbed at least. And if only I had a fishing line with me there and then, I wouldn’t feel so bad for not coping up with the system.
Even though we had a break for lunch in between, I was wearing off quicker than the sunset. In the middle of the fix, I felt so dizzy in the utmost fatiguing endurance test ever. No system test had ever been this meticulous and long. The experience tech. didn’t even bother to describe it to the level of details that would had kept me aspired. I sat down on a wide red box of which appeared to be a temporary storage for miscellaneous tools. It’s been a while since the last time I felt this thirsty, I thought. Finally, under the hot blazing rays of sun we wrapped it up and convinced ourselves that the local module had been successfully restored. Only the outer link required a little more configurations. I was sleeping like a baby while spending the night at the mother platform nearby. It was good that we had to travel to there by boat - I learned how to jump on and off the basket.
posted by Zidni at 9:47 PM
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