If you are looking for an offshore rig job, then you need to start finding a list of offshore drilling companies. Besides the major players like Shell and BP, there are thousands of other companies in the oil industry. Some of these offshore drilling companies provide various sub-contracting services, like wildcatting, to the major players. Unlike the big boys, these relatively small companies concentrate on just one part of the process of finding, drilling, refining and distributing oil. Some of these companies were formed by far-sighted investors with deep pockets during the last oil slump, buying up equipment at a steep discount. Others popped up just as the current boom in oil prices started, catering for the sharply increasing demand for oil drilling services.
Out of the hundreds of local and foreign oil drilling companies, here is a list of 50 offshore drilling companies to get you started:
- Nabors Industries
- Transocean
- Diamond Offshore
- Rowan Companies
- Schlumberger
- Stena Drilling
- Tesco Drilling
- Transocean Sedco
- Prosafe ASA
- Abbot Group
- Acteon
- Akita Drilling
- Altinex
- Atwood Oceanics
- Baker Hughes
- China Oilfield Services
- Crosco Drilling
- Dolphin Drilling
- Egyptian Drilling Company
- Franklin Howard International
- Fred. Olsen Energy
- Geoservices
- Global Marine Drilling
- GlobalSantaFe
- IKM Subsea Design
- Japan Drilling Co
- KCA Deutag Drilling
- Maersk Contractors
- Metzke Engineering
- Noble Drilling
- Pajak Engineering
- Parker Drilling
- PetroMena
- Reamco
- Seadrill
- Smedvig
- Smith International
- ENSCO International
- BLAKE Offshore
- CDIS
- Coastal Drilling Company
- Crosco
- Extended Reach Drilling
- Frigstad Offshore
- Jindal Drilling & Industries
- KCA DEUTAG Drilling
- Marine Drilling Companies
- National Drilling Services
- Neptune Drilling
- Ocean Rig
Keep in mind that these are just 50 out of hundreds. Many more new companies are being formed each month to cater for the growing demand of the oil rush. Considering how fast-moving the oil and gas industry is these days, there is no guarantee that all of these companies will still be around when you read this. After all, the major players like Shell will almost certainly try to buy them up to secure their own supply of oil rigs and crew. Some of these companies provide both onshore and offshore services and may even provide pipelining services, so be sure to make it clear in your cover letter and resume/cv when you apply for jobs.
Although this is the internet age, not all of the companies above have websites or email. You may need to do some digging to find their snail mail or offline address so that you can send them you cover letter and resume through the post office. On the other hand, this is a big advantage for you, since most other job seekers will ignore companies like these.
You can try to get offshore drilling jobs from the major players, or you can try the smaller specialist
offshore drilling companies instead. The major players are of course more stable (at least during the oil boom). The smaller companies, on the other hand, provide more opportunity for advancement if you are bright and hardworking.
