one thing they're not showing is that there are always three crews on a rig 'cause they don't ever stop drilling if they can help it
They allude to the other crews since the Big Dog team didn't show up.
I spent a summer working worm corner in the oil patch of south west Wyoming. Natural gas actually, but the same process. That was some fucked up work and this show is pretty spot on - Especially with the drinking and such. I lived in Lyman, population 2,000 most of the time, but on occasion stayed in towns with 200 or less. They always had two bars because you know damn well you're gonna get kicked out of one sooner or later and need somewhere else to go. I also recall the bars being the liquor stores - The drive-thru liquor stores!
There was so much drilling I skipped out and got fired a couple times. The worst part of it was being an East Coast college city boy, but I held my own. Once I actually let loose and some bar patrons didn't shine to that!
I remember the weather changing on a dime - Over 100 degrees and next thing you know - Hail storm! I took up chewing tabacco because of course you can't smoke near a rig - You can't believe how much petroleum is used to get more out of the ground! I'm hoping they get more into the science and engineering of the rigs because they're pretty incredible machines.
Saw guys get hurt. Hurt bad. Got my first job when some worm lost half a foot. Never understood what the title of the movie 'Five Easy Pieces' meant until I roughnecked! They wanted to promote me a couple times to throwing chain or working up in the dereck, but it was just a dollar or two more per hour and I didn't think it was worth it.
As they said - Roughnecking was great for hippies like me: Joints are 30 foot long, dope comes in 5 gallon buckets and you trip all.night.long!
