BBC_Life Offshore
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00:00This is one of the most dangerous roads in the world.
00:09The road is very dangerous, two corners at a time.
00:14But it's a good place to work for the players.
00:18Look down through the grid and you think, oh my neck!
00:21If you're not careful, you can straighten your knees in the middle of the road.
00:28Let's go!
00:31You need to try and keep as good a visual as you can through the windows.
00:39There's a lot going on at one time.
00:41Whatever the weather.
00:42Stand by for ditching!
00:48You'd be a long few weeks if you didn't keep smiling.
00:51So that's what it's all about. Old black gold.
00:57Old black gold.
01:13There's a lot going on at Port Tally, and Phil Slemings is working hard.
01:19And it's good to see him again.
01:27I initially woke up.
01:30I always hit the snooze button a few times.
01:36Morning, where's the telephone?
01:37The buzzer.
01:38Mobile phone today?
01:39Yes.
01:40We'll get you in skills first, please.
01:42That's fine, thank you.
01:43And how many bags today?
01:44Two today.
01:45Pop them all in.
01:47This is the manager of the club, or OIM, for Phil.
01:51And there's no doubt that he's used to working in a helicopter.
01:58A team of 10,000 people are working together in the heat of the moment.
02:04And they manage the small activities for each tourist who's coming here.
02:10Right, guys, S92 today.
02:12We'll give you a safety briefing.
02:13Okay.
02:17By paying close attention to the safety information in this briefing...
02:21We take safety very seriously.
02:23So this is to make sure everyone is, you know, at the same place.
02:25you know, at the same place.
02:26But you bear in mind, we've got people
02:27who've not as experienced.
02:28We have people who've been first-time flyers, potentially.
02:31Everything from the guys who've been 20 years
02:33to people who've never flown before.
02:37As Paul is aware, he's been on drugs for a long time.
02:40And today, he's going to give it a go.
02:46Thank you, bye.
02:49Not good.
02:50They're all up.
02:51So I'll go and explain to them.
02:52Joking.
02:54Cookie, cookie, lady.
02:56The weather cleared up and you're all good to go.
02:58But over the past five, 10 minutes,
03:00it's rolled back in.
03:03But before Anna and Miha start their journey,
03:05they have something to say to John Grish.
03:08Summer months, fog tends to be our,
03:11you know, the bane of getting a link on the fly,
03:13so I don't know.
03:14Winter months, it tends to be higher winds each day.
03:16So, it's a good time to use that as well, sure.
03:25It's not uncommon for the weather to be a source of
03:28a change in the economy of the region.
03:32In the past, the weather was the main source of income
03:35but also a source of income.
03:37Now, it's a source of income for the whole year
03:39and the three quarters of the month.
03:43Today, it's about 70% of the year of the year
03:47when the weather is good.
03:49But, despite the weather,
03:51there's still a lot to do.
03:54There's a lot to do on the roads.
04:00People have to get on the trains
04:02and on the helicopters
04:04to get to and from work in the city.
04:09There's a lot to do on the trains
04:11to get to and from work
04:13so the companies can get to and from work on the roads.
04:19And there's a lot to do on the roads
04:22to get to and from work.
04:25All you require today is just swimwear and a towel
04:28and we've all got that with us.
04:30Follow me, guys.
04:33To get to and from work,
04:35people have to get on the trains
04:37to get to and from work
04:39to get to and from work.
04:45He holds on to that insulated part of the horn.
04:48Despite all the work he has to do,
04:50he still has to get on the trains
04:52to get to and from work.
04:59But there's still a lot to do
05:01and a lot of work to do.
05:08At this time of year,
05:10you can use your DNA
05:12if you can get on the trains by helicopter.
05:18Stuart McEveillan was on the train course
05:21for the whole day.
05:23Out of the whole course itself,
05:25I would definitely say this is the most nerve-wracking part
05:28for most delegates.
05:29This is the bit they don't like the most.
05:31What could go wrong?
05:33It's something we have to do.
05:35If we don't do it, we don't go offshore.
05:37Simple as that.
05:38Give me two seconds to get the trainer in the water
05:41and our divers on air.
05:42Good to go, guys?
05:43Divers on air.
05:46I'm sure you can all relate to this system
05:50and the dangers it poses.
05:52It's a system that has to be adapted
05:54in order for it to work.
06:15It used to be for everyone,
06:17but now it's for the helicopter.
06:40It takes a lot of energy
06:42and a lot of patience to get it right.
06:48Ready in sight.
06:51We'll hoist the trainer out of the water.
06:53I will shout, stand by for dip chain.
06:55They'll then hear brace for impact.
06:57Brace, brace, brace.
06:58The helicopter simulator will then make contact with the water.
07:01They'll count to seven seconds.
07:03After seven seconds, they'll jettison their window,
07:05operate their harness and make their escape via that window.
07:10Understood on board.
07:12A diver on savour may vehicle screen each car car.
07:21Stand by for dip chain.
07:26Brace for impact.
07:27Brace, brace, brace.
07:41Seven seconds.
08:12And you, Heather, they should hold it in you.
08:17It's disorientating.
08:19I just think you just want to get out there
08:21as quick as you possibly can.
08:25I suppose all the training, going through it all,
08:27helps you with that.
08:29Yeah.
08:31Basically, what it's about,
08:32they've learnt the vital skills they require
08:34in the event of Mount Shaxi happening.
08:36Hopefully they never require them,
08:37but if they do, they've got them.
08:42Go, go, go, go!
08:47Back to Port Tally, Aberrean.
08:49It's time to take off,
08:50and there's a lot of people waiting to be heard.
08:58The helicopter can now take off
09:00and the passengers on board will follow suit.
09:04If you want to headwind, it can be quite a long flight.
09:06You definitely want to take advantage of the facilities
09:09before you get in your suit.
09:16OK, ladies and gentlemen,
09:17if I can just get your attention for a couple of minutes.
09:19Can I just get you all to stand up
09:21and check your fellow passengers' life jackets?
09:23Just make sure they're securely fastened
09:25and that the straps are untwisted.
09:40It's a long flight today,
09:42but it's going to be a good one.
09:46We'll hear more from them later on.
09:51Everyone's first flight is a bit exciting, I think.
09:54Helicopters, it sounds a bit more exciting than it actually is.
09:57It's very mundane for us guys now,
09:59but you travel...
10:00I've done this hundreds of times now.
10:03You just don't really think about it too much.
10:05It's just part of the scenery.
10:10It's a long flight today,
10:12but it's going to be a good one.
10:31There's a lot going on today.
10:33It's a long flight,
10:35but it's going to be a good one.
10:37It's the first flight of the day,
10:39and it's going to be an exciting one.
10:45The passengers are the first to land,
10:47and they're going to be on their feet
10:49for two days in a row.
10:54As the second flight of the day,
10:56there's a lot going on in the air,
10:58and it's going to be a busy flight
11:00for the first couple of years.
11:03Bord, Buzzard and Skipper were the first to land
11:06on the helicopter that was about to take off.
11:09Paul McInerney was the first to land as well.
11:32Stevie, you're number one.
11:34Right in the hold.
11:35Stevie, you're number two.
11:37Assist and Gordon, you're in the monitor.
11:39Right.
11:40And Hendo, you're the escort.
11:42True use.
11:43And it's detailed.
11:44All right?
11:45Yep.
11:51The helicopter is about to take off.
11:54And if the helicopter crashes,
11:56Skipper will be responsible
11:58for the damage to the helicopter
12:00and will be responsible for the safety of the passengers
12:03during the flight.
12:13He's going to be in charge of heli-admin.
12:16And if there's a problem with the radio,
12:19the helicopter will take care of it.
12:30A lot of it's preparation work.
12:41As you can see from the wind stop,
12:43that's the wind direction.
12:45And the helicopter will always come in
12:48newest to the wind.
12:50So that's what I'm just checking now.
12:55The pilot won't land the chopper
12:57unless the HLW has permission
12:59because he's basically telling them
13:01that the helideck's clear and it's safe for them to do so.
13:13Well, he's on standby there
13:15just in case there's a fire
13:17or there could be a fuel spillage
13:20or it could be like a crash landing.
13:23I mean, God forbid it never happens.
13:25But that's what we're there for.
13:30MUSIC
13:54Hi, I'm Lia.
13:55I just fit the inskipper to go on SARS.
13:59ENGINE ROARS
14:1385, Foxtrot, Buzzard, go ahead.
14:17A lot of people, they want to go offshore.
14:19They obviously want to go offshore
14:21for the money and the time off.
14:23But when they get offshore, they find it's a different...
14:26You know, it takes a while to adjust
14:28when you've been away from your family and your friends
14:31for two, sometimes three weeks at a time.
14:34You miss a lot of, you know, birthdays, Christmases.
14:38This will be my fifth year offshore
14:40and this will be my first Christmas at home
14:42since I came offshore.
14:44So you just have to adjust to these things.
14:49OK, welcome back to Buzzard
14:51and welcome to Buzzard for those of us who catch that.
14:54BUZZARD SHIP ENGINE ROARS
15:16Sorry for the wait, guys.
15:19I spent two years on the ship myself
15:21and I love my job.
15:23Cheers.
15:24Hi, Phil, how you doing? Fantastic.
15:26Good to be back.
15:30For some people, they're not in the right beds.
15:33A lot of people don't like having to share cabins.
15:36Well, who's worked for him two days in a go
15:39and then the next shift's coming about?
15:41Yeah, I've kind of had to move his around a little bit today.
15:44Everybody would prefer to have a night shift in with him
15:47but it's not always possible.
15:51Hi.
15:52I've been in cabins myself where you've got a big snorer.
15:56My missus might say I'm the same myself.
15:59But, yeah, it's not very good if you've got a snorer.
16:03Thank you very much. That's yours there, pal.
16:06Just grab a seat. Thank you.
16:08And with his new job at Kelly's,
16:10Hendo is now looking after the ship.
16:13He's been on board the ship for nearly two days
16:16with the aim of helping the whole family,
16:18including his wife's family.
16:20Put your bags in.
16:23Buzzard has been on the ship since he was 16 years old.
16:30Just over in that corner there's a dartboard.
16:32All the Sky Television, all the sport challenges, everything like that.
16:36Happy so far, yeah?
16:37We're soon to be done. Ten minutes.
16:39Tea and coffee and a chocolate machine, are you lads?
16:43Happy so far. Just one or two more things, then we're done.
16:46Are you following me, lads? Level two.
16:49Here, by the way, it's got grub on here, like,
16:51so it'll put a bit of weight on.
16:53Come this end, lads, because this is where you'll be coming in.
16:56All your cutlery's there.
16:58And it's all self-service, lads.
17:00Just go through. You can have as much as you want.
17:05OK, lads, as you can see there, this is the gym.
17:08There's everything you want in here.
17:10Follow me. Nearly done, lads.
17:13The clean overalls will be on one of these racks here, lads.
17:19OK, lads, and this protocol is level six.
17:22If anybody's staying there, it's just this end, mate, you'll see it.
17:25It's on the left-hand side there, that one there.
17:28It's bringing the kids up sometimes.
17:30Some of them don't listen, you know.
17:32HE BLOWS A RASPBERRY
17:38James is in the YM at the moment,
17:40preparing to start his new career.
17:45I'm James. I'm an apprentice.
17:48This is my first day offshore, ever.
17:51OK.
17:53I did some training at Asset. I'm doing college.
17:55So I've seen some basic systems, but nothing on this scale before.
17:59What discipline are you doing now?
18:01Production. Production? Yeah.
18:03Fundamentally, this is about, really, safety culture.
18:06Expectations from me as who I am.
18:08You know, what you can expect as far as, you know,
18:11safe systems, you know, attitudes towards safety,
18:14the fact that we, you know, would never cut corners.
18:17Even though we produce more oil than anywhere else in the North Sea,
18:21you know, we won't hesitate to, you know,
18:23shut things down if that was the right decision.
18:26We try to live that, and it keeps everyone
18:29in a very simple black-and-white conversation.
18:31It's either safe or it's not.
18:33Have a safe trip. Thanks very much.
18:35Thanks very much.
18:59Anyone in?
19:01Have you got any new safety glasses by any chance?
19:03Whereabouts have we got them?
19:05Does it look good on camera?
19:25This is the pump that they're actually going to have to get re-started.
19:28It's swapped over just now.
19:30All right.
19:33Phil is the head of the local council who's in charge of this.
19:37I mean, in general terms, my look around,
19:40other than, obviously, housekeeping,
19:42you're looking for anything out of place, essentially.
19:45It's a general area, especially for me when I walk around,
19:48as much as I like to chat to the guys.
19:50You go up there, do not whatever you do.
19:52Do a twirl at the end there.
19:54A twirl, yeah.
20:06This is what people often refer to as a Christmas tree.
20:09What we have at the wellhead itself here,
20:12a number of hydraulically activated valves.
20:15These essentially just shut off the Christmas tree
20:18and then shut off the reservoir fluids.
20:20They act as a safety barrier.
20:36Phil is the head of the local council who's in charge of this.
20:39This is what people often refer to as a Christmas tree.
20:42You want to start on that over here?
20:45Well, we can see everything from here,
20:47from the start of the process till the end of the process.
20:50So we've got all the flow lines, Christmas trees and so on,
20:54through the separation, through the whole process.
20:57Marty, how are you getting on with that?
21:03Thank you.
21:05These are our wells here.
21:07We can actually cook on any well at the moment.
21:09So as an example, we're going to B15.
21:12And that's the actual tree.
21:14So there's your flow line coming up.
21:16We can shut that valve or open that valve,
21:18whatever is required.
21:21Buzzing is a big process
21:23and there is a lot to keep your eyes on,
21:26all the safety systems as well, you know.
21:29So the eyes are the platform.
21:35It's been a long time since the local council
21:37has been involved in this project.
21:39It's been a year and a half,
21:41and they're back to work.
21:46Essentially, that's the end of the process.
21:49This is, hopefully, we've done it right.
21:51That's where we see several hundred thousand barrels a day
21:53come through that piece of pipe.
21:58It's a bit of a challenge to get it up and running.
22:01It's a lot of work to do.
22:04We've got probably about ten wells on at the moment,
22:07and as we need to increase the production,
22:09we'll be opening the rest.
22:27That's where you find a pot of gold.
22:30A pile of oil, maybe.
22:34You see, the biggest producer in Europe,
22:37it's a lot of money.
22:39So, yeah, I do take a bit of pride in my work
22:42and the job I do.
23:04GOLDEN EAGLE
23:07Golden Eagle has been working on this drill for 20 years.
23:12OK, I want the fireman on deck now.
23:14OK, so two guys, two hoses.
23:16Let's go!
23:21The manager of the company
23:23wants to know how the drill is going.
23:27Typically, we're doing a weekly exercise.
23:29We do various different exercises
23:31with scenarios from a gas fire to a helicopter fire.
23:42Go on up!
23:46At present, Golden Eagle is in a state of emergency
23:49for Buzzard,
23:50but there are other measures to be taken.
23:55Buzzard is in a state of emergency
23:57due to a fire in the air.
24:00But this isn't the only emergency Golden Eagle is facing.
24:04Golden Eagle platform, the newest platform in the North Sea.
24:08We started producing oil around five months ago
24:11and we're building up to the full capacity of the platform
24:15which will be 70,000 barrels a day.
24:19Golden Eagle is doing two things at the moment.
24:22One, the process at work
24:24and two, the oil has to be removed from the atmosphere.
24:28And there's a lot of oil in the North Sea
24:31that's going into the air.
24:34It's a lot of oil,
24:36and drills are being built
24:38to remove the oil from the sea.
24:47And this is part of the drilling process
24:49that Golden Eagle is doing.
24:52This is a skip-a-beak process
24:54to remove the oil from the atmosphere.
25:21This is the earth's crust.
25:23And in order to do that, we have a drill bit
25:25on the end of a long string of drill pipe.
25:28To make it as efficient as possible,
25:30we store that drill pipe in really long,
25:32in this case, 140-foot lengths,
25:35which are racked back in the derrick,
25:37which is why it's such an enormous structure.
25:42So, as this is an automated rig,
25:44we have the pipe racking system,
25:46which is the big yellow column behind me.
25:49It collects the drill pipe from the derrick
25:51and hands it to the top drive,
25:53which is the big yellow thing you see here.
26:14This is an iron roughneck,
26:15which is what we use to connect
26:17the two pieces of drill pipe together.
26:19It's got spinners on the top,
26:20which spin it in until it gets difficult,
26:22and then it's got two big jaws,
26:24which can torque it up to the correct torque.
26:28Rosie has a skip-a-beak drill bit,
26:30and Conal and Conal are working on
26:32the most difficult part of the job,
26:34removing the oil from the atmosphere.
26:36It's one of the most difficult tasks.
26:41We just need to make sure that we're looking up,
26:43watching the drive chain,
26:44make sure that doesn't come out.
26:46Good communication at all times,
26:48and just let me know when I'm at a good height
26:50for coming over,
26:51because you're good at doing that anyway,
26:52just so I can see where I'm going to be stabbing it.
26:55Good job!
26:56Good job.
26:59The drill pipe is at work at a depth of 5,000 metres,
27:03and it's not easy to remove it.
27:12Rosie has a skip-a-beak drill bit,
27:14and Conal and Conal are working on
27:16the most difficult part of the job,
27:18removing the oil from the atmosphere.
27:22Just to confirm, the jaws aren't clamped, are they?
27:25No, Rosie, you're good to retract.
27:35Rosie's job at the pipe is not easy.
27:44There's this chair which I'm in,
27:46which is for the PRS operator,
27:48so this is for primarily moving the pipe racking system.
28:03There's a lot you've got to be paying attention to.
28:06There's a lot of different controls
28:08that you're doing in a lot of different areas.
28:11You've got to be aware of
28:12what buttons you're pressing on both hands,
28:14but you also need to try and keep as good a visual
28:17as you can through the windows.
28:23She always trains your arm.
28:25The other leg.
28:33Someone just there keeping out of that drag chain.
28:37SHE BANGS ON PIPE
28:40Rosie's back foot is a bit stiff in the diamond shape,
28:43and the pipe is a bit flabby.
28:48Keep coming up some more, Rosie.
28:50Keep coming up, coming up.
28:54Good. Come on then.
28:57Now that the pipe is in place,
28:59she has to take it down again with a bigger pipe.
29:02It can take, well if there's 140ft in a stand, a fast speed to be drilling at is 100ft an
29:11hour.
29:12So you'll be dropping that length over the course of an hour, really, is quick.
29:19The process of drilling the pipe is not easy, and there's a lot of work involved.
29:29I'm waiting for the driller to take the pipe.
29:31The knuckle beam crane is loaded up, ready, waiting for the catwalk shuttle.
29:36Everybody in tandem is queued up, waiting for the driller, and the driller's just constantly
29:40being fed.
29:41There's no pauses.
29:42They're a lot of themselves, drillers, they do what they want, because they are the men.
30:04They are getting the sauce out of the city, aren't they?
30:06Getting the black gold.
30:07We all love each other.
30:09One big happy family.
30:10Colin never gets dirty.
30:11The overalls are two and a half years old.
30:12At Yemager, Chris Gedlin and Janoustat Kujok.
30:13It gives you a chance to catch up with folk, like myself, who spends a lot of time working
30:31alone.
30:32It's nice just to see people after a few hours, so no, it's good, you guys, good to go.
30:38I'm one of the offshore production chemists here on the Golden Eagle.
30:50There's five of us in total, and we run with a chemist on days and a chemist on nights
30:55to give them round-the-clock cover.
31:00The oil has made its way across from the wellhead's platform to here, which is where it now gets
31:12processed.
31:13So this is the second stage separator.
31:14So we're going to grab a sample here of the export oil.
31:27So that's the sample cylinder.
31:29So once we open this up, the oil will flow through here, out the top, and away, and we'll
31:36let that continuously flow through until it reaches the same temperature as the oil in
31:41the main mine.
31:42I suppose it's comparable to holding a hot cup of tea, or a hot cup of coffee.
31:49This is more what it's like every day at work, windy, rainy, grey.
32:02It's all your plant material, your vegetation, and dead animals and things from millions
32:24and millions of years ago, it's all been compressed down as layers and layers and layers of rock
32:31and mud and silt and everything else have built up over the top of it.
32:35And yes, after millions of years of that compression and things breaking down, it ended up with
32:42oil.
32:43It could well be bits of dinosaur in here, who knows.
32:52That is your crude oil, this is what it's all about.
32:56This is why we're here.
32:59This oil here is actually straight from the well.
33:02This is oil that's been coming out of a new well that we're testing at the moment.
33:07It has a very unique smell, which is kind of hard to describe.
33:10I mean, I suppose the next closest thing you could describe it to would be motor oil, maybe
33:16not quite diesel, slightly different smell to diesel, but kind of has the appearance
33:20of a gravy, I suppose.
33:23Pours quite readily.
33:24This is quite a clean lab actually, this is a good lab, one of the better ones.
33:31I don't know, you're getting a nice sort of cappuccino thing going on here at the moment
33:50at a Guinness.
33:52We take our sample oil, inject it into our cow fisher here, which in very basic terms
34:00measures the water content of what's inside the oil.
34:04The less water you've got, the more oil you've got, therefore the more money you're making
34:08basically.
34:10So here, I'm going to bring that up to, get rid of the air at the end of the syringe,
34:15take that up to 500 microlitres, make sure it's set to the right programme, and then
34:20we just hit start, and add our sample.
34:26This is one of the things that we have to do every day, it's just one of the standard
34:33tests that we do, so it's fine, it's like anything else, you know, you just get on with
34:37it.
34:38So, nope, that's us entered the tare weight into there, so we just leave this to run and
34:44do its thing at the moment, and that'll beep once it's done.
34:48And Chris is going to take another sample of the oil and see if there's any hydrogen
34:54sulphide in the corner of the gas.
34:56We hook that up to this bit of kit that we've got in here, we connect it up to this thing
35:01and flow nitrogen gas through it, which comes down here, and the H2S that's in that gas
35:11is passed through the tube, and you get a colour change in the tube, and that lets you
35:15know how much H2S is actually in your oil.
35:18Pretty basic test, but very handy.
35:21So we can leave that running now and go away and do another test and come back, and that'll
35:25be quite happy doing its own thing.
35:46And as you've buzzered, can you open the van you had overheard?
35:51It's a good bag anyway, it's taken some leathering off me, and a few of the other lads in here
35:55I suppose, so it's keeping alright.
35:58It's had the shackles changed at the top a couple of times.
36:01I'll fit the gym in, I'll do like a fast intense session on my dinner, in between my dinner,
36:06so like I'll do that as well, and then when I've finished after shift I'll come in for
36:10a couple of hours as well, just to keep myself fit and not getting bored as well on the night
36:14off I suppose.
36:30Just make sure I don't break my hand now when I'm on the bike.
36:37Hit, and then I'll pick it up every now and again,
36:41so we can whack the shot in.
36:47With me it's five past nine in the morning now, I'll go to bed after my shower, and I'll
36:52get up at six o'clock tonight, and then we'll go out all through the night, finish about
36:57half six, quarter to seven, then we'll be either out for all the time until nine o'clock,
37:02half past nine, or up to the gym again for training.
37:06It's just a bit funny eating steaks for your breakfast.
37:12It's busy now, it's busy, 180 people on board now, it's getting tough.
37:19Custard's in the steamer, I'll just be, just get in there a couple of minutes Jamie.
37:29I used to do a week in the Scot, then a week here, and dishes that worked on the Scot would
37:34bomb here.
37:35Pork chops in the Scot for instance, you couldn't get enough of them.
37:39So on here, they just want to touch them.
37:55It's through the back, this is where we do our butchery prep.
37:58Mince that, we do all of our mince, slice that for our raw meat.
38:10It's a beef casserole, steak pie basically.
38:14Loads of it, you can see it's probably 25kg of stewing steak in there.
38:21So we've got it thickened up and up, and pastry tops on top of it.
38:25Usually you start your casseroles and you would thicken it at the very start, you would
38:32flour your meat and brown it off, but because it's in such a big scale, by the time it's
38:37cooked and stuff, it's burnt, so you just add it at the end to thicken it up.
38:43You could say it's a bandit method, but it works.
38:48It needs seasoning.
38:50It might look a lot, but for a pan that size, it isn't.
38:55As a street, people are fed up with tourists from all over the country.
38:58They don't want to go to the Quarry every day.
39:25This is the most beautiful place in the world.
39:28It's only 500m away from Buzzard, so it's a long way to get there.
39:37But there's something special about this place that you can't miss.
39:41That's why this is the most beautiful place in the world.
39:45And I was lucky enough to have a chance to see it for myself.
39:51The sun is setting.
39:54And today, Captain Scandi is setting the boat for Buzzard.
40:01He's the one in charge of the boat.
40:06There's all sorts of stuff.
40:08There's the food.
40:10There's stuff for the insulators or the painters or the mechanical departments or the scaffolders.
40:16You name it, it comes on board, you know.
40:20Are you OK? Are you just going to go in there? You'd be safe to go in.
40:23He's a young man, but he knows the story.
40:26And he's not afraid to go into the water.
40:30We do normally try to get the food on board first.
40:33Because that's one of the most important things, you know.
40:36If you keep the lads well fed, you're halfway there, so to speak.
40:40But it's not easy to get on board, you know.
40:43You have to get used to the boat.
40:45You have to be able to scoot and swim, if not swim.
40:48They send what we call backload back.
40:50That's the materials they're finished with or they don't need anymore.
40:54That goes back to Aberdeen.
41:05Is it coming on now?
41:06Aye.
41:07Shall we go out the far end then?
41:08Yeah, magic.
41:12We're also taking diesel on board at the moment.
41:15And then there might be a bacon sandwich, I'm hoping.
41:18Diesel isn't on board yet, as the lads say.
41:25The diesel's full now. We're just going to bring the diesel hose in.
41:28Once it's disconnected, the lads will start the rail.
41:31And they'll start to bring the hose in.
41:37There's a lot of work to be done to keep the boat afloat.
41:41We have to learn how to keep the boat afloat.
41:48It needs to know what it's doing, yeah.
41:50A nice steady hand on the levers, you know.
42:06Nice bacon sandwich.
42:10Scottish bacon.
42:12English bacon.
42:14British bacon.
42:15This is the luxury.
42:19I've enjoyed it so far.
42:20This is only my first trip.
42:23I'm enjoying it, yeah.
42:24Good morning, good time on.
42:26You've got to look after the eminence, you know.
42:45OK, guys, we're going to be emptying containers.
42:47It's a challenge for the boat's steward.
42:49The steward is a bit nervous today.
43:05But the boat isn't doing too well on the skipper.
43:07That's why he's got to be careful.
43:18You can see it.
43:19You go for the four seasons in a day sometimes, you know.
43:22It's a nice morning and the glory holy on the afternoon, you know.
43:26Bricks on.
43:27Good.
43:31Now, here we go.
43:33Here we go, here we go.
43:48Well, the bananas, we get about three boxes of bananas every week.
43:53But they just disappear within two days.
43:58Here's the bananas.
43:59We do drop in half of an orchard pie.
44:01Let's put it that way.
44:16I think that's it.
44:17No fruit, no apples.
44:21It's only apples.
44:26Are they another container?
44:27Are we going to do them?
44:29That's it.
44:33See if they're in the front.
44:35If not, we'll leave it.
44:39No, we'll just leave it then, guys.
44:42That's it for today.
44:49Very difficult sometimes when it's the weather.
44:52And there's absolutely nothing you can do about the weather.
44:55So, it's the same for getting home.
44:57If it's foggy, you can't get home.
44:59Too windy, you know.
45:03Although the stories are different,
45:05there's still a lot to discover.
45:18In Galway, Seamus is still looking for a place to stay.
45:23This is the second day of the journey.
45:27The queue up here.
45:29The lights are going.
45:31The lights are going.
45:40Gally can't hear Seamus.
45:42He's using a spatula.
45:47We've got the nice food.
45:48The chefs do some quality food out here.
45:50I eat better when I'm out here.
45:51When I'm at home, I'll make some toast and some beans in it.
45:55Seamus, who can't hear Seamus,
45:57is still looking for a place to stay.
46:01How are you doing tonight when you're out here?
46:04Just doing fine.
46:06Mighty loud.
46:08This is the first time I've changed my beans on toast.
46:10It's normal, isn't it?
46:12Is this your second course or third?
46:14Yeah.
46:17It would be a long two weeks if you didn't keep smiling
46:19and speaking to anybody again.
46:21But, I mean, that's the way I see it.
46:25You wouldn't believe me if you haven't had some.
46:37Back in Golden Eagle,
46:38the chemists are busy with their work.
46:41They spend most of the day on the tubes.
46:46This is part of Chris's day-to-day work.
46:50I do enjoy what I do.
46:53I like science.
46:54I've always been interested in science.
46:56I had no idea that there was such a thing as an offshore chemist
47:00until I got speaking to folk who worked in the industry.
47:04And even at that, you still work on platforms.
47:07There's not a lot of people who know that there's chemists on them
47:10or what they do.
47:12They mix hydrogen sulphide, or H2S, with water
47:16to make a chemical.
47:18And they do it all the time.
47:21This stuff's fine, you know.
47:23We've got virtually no H2S in it at all.
47:35We've got the result of that.
47:36So, yeah, this new well,
47:38you can see there the water content of that is 0.0194%,
47:42so a lot of oil.
47:44Very, very little water.
47:46I'm sure they'll be happy with that.
47:49That'll come on and join the rest of the oil from the other wells
47:53and go through the regular process
47:56and through all the normal separators
47:58and get exported back onshore.
48:00It's a continuous process.
48:02Bring on a new one, test it, see if it's good,
48:04and then that sort of joins in with the rest of them.
48:07So that's what it's all about.
48:09Old black gold.
48:18A new well is being put in the future.
48:20It's the first of its kind in the world.
48:26At the moment, the manager of the new well, Kev Cooke,
48:29is putting his trust in the big pipes
48:31to ensure the quality of the new well is as good as it can be.
48:37But there's still a long way to go.
48:43These are where we'll be putting the wells in the future.
48:46They don't all go straight down.
48:48They'll kick off to the various areas of the field.
48:50But as we develop the field,
48:52there'll be more and more of these going down through into the seabed.
48:55We'll eventually, hopefully, fill all of the slots.
49:10The Golden Eagle platform is a permanent installation,
49:13so that'll stay there for the duration of its life.
49:16It's where the oil is being produced from.
49:19And we just come, drill the wells,
49:21and then we'll move off onto another contract somewhere else.
49:44It's a good place to live.
49:46And for the first time in history,
49:48the Golden Eagle has had a home in Osmyth.
49:59Seamus Kildington, a former sailor,
50:01is working as a deck skipper on the Golden Eagle.
50:04He was born and raised in Aden.
50:13All the operations, all the crane lifts,
50:15everything coming on board and coming off board,
50:17banksmen and slinging,
50:19we've always got some cleaning up to do, I suppose.
50:21And if we're not doing anything, we'll be sweeping the decks.
50:29It's a bit daunting when you first come offshore, I suppose,
50:32when you look down through the grid and you think,
50:34blimmin' heck!
50:36And you don't really realise how big it is.
50:39A dock hand skipper goes to work every day,
50:42every day of the week.
50:45We're taking oil drums up.
50:47Obviously, they're too heavy to just carry up and manhandle up.
50:50And some of them are weighing over 50kg.
50:53So we'll just put them in the oil transporter.
51:04It's dangerous, obviously. You're working with a crane.
51:07You never know when there could be a fault with the crane
51:11that none of us could know about.
51:13So you've got to always be on your toes, I suppose.
51:19We're trying to get into a team break at half nine,
51:22but if we run over a bit, we'll have to carry on from the job.
51:29I do two-week trips.
51:31Towards the end, I start thinking of home,
51:33so I've got to stay focused
51:35and try not to think about going home too much.
51:41Just the fact that you can't just go for a walk on the night.
51:46I realised when I first came offshore,
51:48after two weeks of running on a treadmill,
51:50when you get home and go for a run at home
51:52and you've got the fields around you
51:54and you feel like you're free,
51:56it's a nice feeling when you get home.
52:00Eight o'clock in the morning, 8am,
52:02I've just finished a night shift,
52:04been out there since about half past six last night.
52:07I've just got in now.
52:10Being away from my girlfriend,
52:12all the lads are going to torture me now for saying that,
52:15but being away from my girlfriend, being away from family...
52:19She should be at work soon.
52:21Hello, are you all right?
52:23Are you there? Are you all right?
52:25Is Dan back at school?
52:27Yeah, yeah. He's loving it, actually.
52:29Is he? He was tired last night, like.
52:31Yeah. How was work?
52:33Been busy, just busy. Same old.
52:35Same old. What did you do?
52:37As usual. Just doing lifts.
52:39Did you go to the gym?
52:41No, no, last night was my night off the gym,
52:43so I'm going to have a night off tonight.
52:45I'll let you get going, though,
52:47because I'm going to get myself to bed.
52:49Have a nice sleep, sweet dreams.
52:51Love you, dog. I'll see you later on.
52:53Love you always. Love you too. Bye-bye.
53:03THE NEXT DAY
53:08A new helicopter has arrived with a new skip.
53:11It's a sign that Joseph Havel,
53:13the Romanian-born, will be joining the crew soon.
53:34I'll just put in your cover sheets.
53:37Of course, it's a boost for the morale of the people.
53:40The guys are living in a nice, tidy place, you know.
53:45It's more likely they're going to do their job better,
53:48you know, in a good mood.
53:52Some people can do it, some not.
53:54It's up to the individual.
53:56You cannot actually really tell until you try.
54:00Be a half of your life away from your friends and family.
54:04If you are able to sacrifice that, why not?
54:14Right, boys, today's flight is a Mark 2,
54:17and we've got seven new starts on this flight.
54:21So let's hope they keep their ear defenders on.
54:25Right.
54:27Oh, let's go.
54:41This is the first flight of the new generation.
54:44This is the first time they've been on board.
54:51But this is the first time they've been on board for three weeks.
54:55I'm going home, going home.
54:58I'm going home.
55:00Anyway, man.
55:08I'm originally from Glasgow, but I've been in Stornowby for 26 years.
55:12My parents are from Ireland.
55:14There's people that live in Thailand,
55:16there's people that live in Spain, Ireland, Portugal.
55:22International flights are quite cheap there,
55:24but if some of these guys pay £400 just to come from Seaside to fly,
55:28it's only £430 to come from Bangkok.
55:31But he has to keep his ear defenders on.
55:35Keep your ear defenders on, you lads, when you're coming up.
55:38Anyway, if you want to stand on me, yeah.
55:42If you want to go on me, just stand by there, please.
55:45It has its ups and downs, and it has its benefits.
55:49If you want your time off, then this is the place to be, isn't it?
55:53OK, mate.
55:55Take it easy, have a good one, son, take it easy.
55:57Good to see you. How are you, mate? You all right?
55:59How are you, Vic?
56:01There are times when it's hard, you know.
56:04You're missing your family, kids.
56:06You miss out on things.
56:08I, in all likelihood, will miss out on one of my best friend's weddings,
56:11and as I do, they both fall right in the middle of my truck.
56:15That's right.
56:17OK, mate.
56:24Everybody ready?
56:27See you later, lads, yeah. Enjoy.
56:39A lot of my friends say, how well can you work away,
56:41but at the end of the day, I've got three weeks of quality time.
56:44We do a lot of good things together, you know,
56:46and the money gives us a lifestyle that I want to do a lot with.
56:51The time off's brilliant, you know, that's the one thing.
56:54I used to be self-employed,
56:56so I worked pretty much seven days a week,
56:59and I couldn't really switch off,
57:01so it's great having the time off now.
57:03You look forward to it and you get home
57:05and you realise you've got three weeks off, it's brilliant.
57:09MUSIC PLAYS
57:17They go away with the smell on their face cos they're going home, you know.
57:2785 Foxtrot, yep, that's all copied.
57:29Thanks for your quick turnaround, Steve, have a safe flight home.
57:32All right, see you another night.
57:38MUSIC PLAYS