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This book describes my life and experiences as a Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) worker in the oil and gas industry, from trainee to fifteen-year veteran. My career - so far - has included stints on four offshore facilities and one major onshore LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) project. I currently work on the World’s largest floating object which I helped build in South Korea over a three year period. These experiences have been unique in many ways, but are conveyed in a very human way; I was not interested in writing a technical book, a history of the industry, or an environmental tome of monumental importance. This is just a story of my life as a FIFO worker during one of the busiest and most interesting times in the industry, particularly Australia.
For example, my current facility was the first floating LNG plant ever designed, and is a game changer for the industry, but the process is described in laymen’s terms, easy to understand. We have also seen major upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic; border restrictions, enforced separation and isolation, falls in oil prices and increased Unionism. In short, this is a description of a unique way of working and living. It involves a cast of hundreds of characters, places and events, most of them amusing, some of them sad or possibly even exciting, a lot of them are things that are small in their own way but have never been presented in a book, with the possible exception of Don’t Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, She Thinks I’m a Piano Player in a Whorehouse . It is what we do on a day-to-day basis when we are at work, and I believe that a large amount of normal people are very interested in this lifestyle, apart from the 150,000 plus FIFO workers based in Australia, Canada and elsewhere. It also openly and honestly describes my descent into depression, sometimes so bad I wanted to suicide. FIFO can be hard. FIFO is a different life altogether, it comes with its own issues and problems, from distances travelled, the method of getting there, fatigue, dangerous conditions, depression, anxiety, separation from family and The World, huge relationship hurdles, as well as the concept of being trapped by the lifestyle and the large salaries, the Golden Handcuffs as we call it. In fact, this book is a study of Australian working culture in many ways with all its blemishes.
The lifestyle is not for everyone, especially offshore, and many people have crashed and burned in the time I have been in the job. We do a minimum of 12 hour days, 7 days a week, up to 28 days straight, sometimes longer when storms hit or choppers fail. At the same time a lot of us get paid well and we get decent breaks where we spend that money we earn. And we work with some of the best people on the planet, even if the Companies and their management structures leave a lot to be desired. I hope you enjoy it and find it interesting.
