Working in Nigeria

Anyone here worked in Nigeria, how’d they like it?

[QUOTE=ForkandBlade;89190]Anyone here worked in Nigeria, how’d they like it?[/QUOTE]

What type of work/vessel? Will you be in and out of Port (which ones)? How long will your hitch be?

I don’t know any of that yet, I got a phone call asking if I’d work 60/30, pass a security clearance and would I consider Nigeria. The call was from a reputable OSV company. I’m suppose to call back tomorrow morning but I thought I’d do some digging about conditions working over there first.

[QUOTE=ForkandBlade;89194]I don’t know any of that yet, I got a phone call asking if I’d work 60/30, pass a security clearance and would I consider Nigeria. The call was from a reputable OSV company. I’m suppose to call back tomorrow morning but I thought I’d do some digging about conditions working over there first.[/QUOTE]

Well, then you will be going in and out of probably Port Harcourt/ Port Onne, in which you will have an escort into Port. You will be one of maybe 3 or 4 expats on the boat, and if you were to be boarded by undesirables then you will probably be taken hostage and ransomed off. We had one of our OSVs (Chouest boat) last year taken 20 miles from our location and they were held for about 2 weeks. You have no protection running from the field you will be supplying to the Port Security boat you have to meet at a certain time to enter the Port. The food is horrible. Everyone wants something from you. You have to worry about viruses and bacteria. You have to worry about your crew performing their jobs correctly. Its a headache and sometimes not worth the money.

Plenty of work in the Gulf, no reason to work in that s- hole. PDC Mate is spot on.

Is PDC ,Pacific Drill,I was tentatively offered an AB spot there ,she said something about my AB unlimited maybe had to be converted to work on a foreign flagged vessel? even though will be in the Gulf,you know anything about that and is there the possibility of advancement?

The problem is I have zero experience on OSVs, I was thinking that it was a way to get my foot in the door.

[QUOTE=ForkandBlade;89241]The problem is I have zero experience on OSVs, I was thinking that it was a way to get my foot in the door.[/QUOTE]

Gaining experience in the oilpatch is available much closer to home and probably pays not too much less than Nigeria.

My first inclination is it’s close to Christmas and some poor bastard is 6 weeks overdue being relieved in Nigeria …and you’re dealing with a headhunter that only gives a shit about his commission. Am I close?

Not close at all. The person I have been speaking to is said to be a straight shooter and it’s coming from people I respect. The company is one of the leading OSV companies. I haven’t been officially offered the job, I have to call back today and discuss a few things. Does anyone know what the average pay for Chiefs and Asst. Eng. is in Africa? I’m trying to think long term here, basically jumping through the hoops and then get moved to the Gulf. I am worried that if I agreed to work over there, that I would get stuck rotating there because nobody else is willing to go.

No need to worry about that because that’s EXACTLY what’s going to happen :slight_smile:

was there in the 80’s for 2 days. The company had a boat coming back to GOM from there and I was asked to be mate for the make trip back. All in all, the place was scary , and very dirty and I was picked up and taken to boat from the airport at breakneck speed. Got on Vessel and was told “do not go ashore”. We left, and I was very relieved. my 2 cents.

Think I’m gonna turn it down and wait, unless it’s lucrative enough. :frowning:

Do the companies have set schedule for rotating equipment (boats) over there? Can’t imagine much getting done to them with limited shoreside support.

I can offer my 2 cents. I haven’t worked offshore in Nigeria, but I have dealt with a vessel fire there. I didn’t have to go to Warri, but Lagos was bad enough. I don’t know that I have ever been to a place where chaos was in charge. Now, it isn’t like I haven’t been to my share of crap holes in this world, but Nigeria really set the bar to an overall new low. It made the Ivory Coast and Cameroon look absolutely civilized.

With this particular company, they only had one expat, the Master, on their boats. The rest were generally eastern Europeans and locals. I never really felt safe, except when I was at the yard on Snake Island. The Master of this boat was particurly brave. He had gone native, even had his sweetheart come of from Warri to join him at the hotel in Lagos. I can tell you that the owners were not amused. . . .

I don’t know that I was ever happier to leave a place in my life.

i was on a tug that made the west Africa run this summer. i agree with the above posts…i couldn’t get out of Lagos fast enough. we had locals board us at 2 in the morning looking to steal some oil. one of our security guys ran them off with a fire axe…every official needs something from you and even the paper feels dirty. I’d hate to deal with the airlines and government on a regular rotation.

[QUOTE=tradsailor;89261]i was on a tug that made the west Africa run this summer. i agree with the above posts…i couldn’t get out of Lagos fast enough. we had locals board us at 2 in the morning looking to steal some oil. one of our security guys ran them off with a fire axe…every official needs something from you and even the paper feels dirty. I’d hate to deal with the airlines and government on a regular rotation.[/QUOTE]

Every hitch here I get sick from the food that is supplied and cooked by the Nigerian Catering department, that is standard over here. If you want to lose wight then come over here.

Also forgot to mention the Acid Beetlets (Rove beetles) that come in the atmosphere and engulf your rig or vessel. They can do permanent damage to your skin and cause permanent blindness if you get the acid in your eyes. Then you have Harmattan, which is when the season changes and the winds shift and sand from the Sahara takes over Nigeria. It reminds you of fog in the GOM, however its sand, and it makes your nose bleed and eyes hurt. Generally its one of the worse places on earth.

Yeah but the money’s great …

Yeah but how great?

[QUOTE=ForkandBlade;89272]Yeah but how great?[/QUOTE]

I get a 35% uplift, but thats overseas (25%) + and additional 10% for Nigeria. Starting to think 10% isn’t really worth the trouble anymore, compared to other oversea areas.