Oil people

[Kremithefrog]

I know there are a lot of ya'll in this area. I'm interested in jobs in the industry. I don't have any real specific qualifications so it would be an entry level job. Any information that ya'll could give me would be real helpful. I'd like to live in the area of some other CEGer's and get a good paying job. Thanks!

[Beachboy]

Kremit, I'm assuming you're looking for jobs in the oil industry? In Kansas, most of those would be in the Southcentral part of the state, around Wichita. Although Wichita is Kansas' biggest city, it seems like what few CEG'ers we have live in the Kansas City/Topeka metro area, and I'm not aware of any CEG'ers elsewhere in the state. With the price of oil being what it is, I don't know if there is much drilling going on, and most of Kansas' oil fields are pretty well depleted after their 1930's heyday.

But in the Wichita area, KOCH Oil is a biggie, and there are several small independent oil drilling/speculating companies in Wichita. Most oil production in Kansas is in the Southcentral and Western parts of the state, and natural gas production is all in the far southwestern part of the state. If you're looking at refineries, you're looking at McPherson, Coffeyville, or ElDorado, all located in Southcentral or Southeastern Kansas.

Let me know if I can help ya with any more questions. I'm not directly in the oil business myself, but I have/had buds in the oil/refinery business and I grew up in the middle of the oil patch.

[Kremithefrog]

Thanks for the info. I was thinking more the lines of Texas or Louisiana, possibly off-shore. It's not something I know much about at this point but I'm looking.

[IRingTwyce]

Now's not the best time to try and get into this industry. Layoffs are happening left and right. My company just cut my meal allowance, mileage reimbursement, and housing yesterday (happy Friday the 13th). This will cost me about $1500 a month, out of pocket. Two weeks ago we laid off 1500 people worldwide, and they closed 7 bases in the US, laying off a total of 850 people. Honestly, I think they're trying to make things so bad that we'll quit rather than have to be laid off. That way, they don't have to pay severance. Every other word out of management's mouth is if you do such-and-such, then it's immediate termination. They're beating this phrase to death. Morale is in the toilet.

If you really want to break into the oilfield, I'd wait it out. These things go in cycles. When oil gets back up to $80-$100 per barrel, then I think things will pick back up. But for now, most long-timers at work are saying this is the worst they've seen it since the bust days of the mid/late '80's when oil was less than $10 per barrel.

On the up side, if things get bad enough you'll see a mass exodous from the oilfield. That will be a big opportunity for getting in when things rebound, as companies will be scrambling to fill positions.

[Kremithefrog]

Thanks for the info.

[IRingTwyce]

You're quite welcome. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer them.