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Commercial Diver Pay Scale

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Commercial Diver Pay Scale

Commercial Diver Pay Scale. Commercial divers inspect, repair and construct structures underwater. Often these structures are man-made, such as bridge pilings, submerged pipes and oil rigs, although commercial divers may also be employed to carry out scientific surveys of natural phenomena as well. Salary levels for the profession depend upon factors such as location and employment sector.

  • Average Pay

    Having collated wage data from over 3,000 individuals working as commercial divers across the country, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculated that the average yearly wage for the profession was $58,060. This translates into a monthly income totalling $4,838 and an hourly rate of $27.91. Top earners, those in the highest 10 percent, received $94,130 or more, while those amongst the lowest-earning 10 percent received up to $32,510 a year.

     

  • Pay by Employment

    According to the report by the bureau, industry sectors in which commercial divers were likely to receive the highest average salaries were utility system construction, at $67,330, and other heavy and civil engineering construction, at $64,110. Support activities for mining were listed at $59,440, while highway, street and bridge construction offered an average of $56,210. Support activities for water transportation were listed at $43,470.

     

  • Pay by Location

    California and New Jersey were the states with the highest average rates of pay for commercial divers, according to the report by the bureau, at $82,690 and $82,090, respectively. Third and fourth place among states were taken by Texas and Louisiana, some way behind at $59,550 and $58,920, while Hawaii was listed at just $42,670. At the level of major cities, a survey by SalaryExpert.com in May 2011 found that divers based in Chicago, Illinois, and Houston, Texas, could expect the highest rates, with averages of $101,962 and $92,480, respectively. Miami, Florida, was listed at $51,996.

     

  • Conditions

    Divers never work alone. There are always at least two individuals in the water, and a support crew on the shore or in a boat monitoring each dive. At many feet underwater, even routine tasks can become difficult, and commercial divers often have to combat cold conditions and little visibility. There is some danger from decompression sickness, which is caused by surfacing too quickly so that nitrogen bubbles expand in the blood, but extensive training minimizes the risk. Before each dive, the entire crew goes through the safety procedures.

     

 

 

 

 

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Obama Says US Should Take Advantage of Cheap Fuel With Oil Tax

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Obama Says US Should Take Advantage of Cheap Fuel With Oil Tax

President Barack Obama defended his proposal to levy a new $10-per-barrel tax on oil, arguing that low gasoline prices afford the U.S. an opportunity to finance dramatic improvements in its transportation systems.

“Right now, gas is $1.80 and gas prices are expected to be low for the forseeable future,” Obama told reporters at the White House. It’s “important to use this period when gas prices are low to accelerate the transition to a clean-energy economy,” he said.

The proposed fee drew swift objections on Thursday from oil-industry groups and congressional Republicans. The idea is part of a broader Obama administration plan to shift the nation away from transportation systems reliant on internal-combustion engines and fossil fuels. The plan envisions investing $20 billion to reduce traffic congestion and improve commuting, $10 billion for state and local transportation and climate programs and $2 billion for research on clean vehicles and aircraft.

“We’ll have a much stronger economy, stronger infrastructure, we’ll be creating the jobs of the future,” Obama said.

It isn’t clear how the tax would be structured or who would pay it. White House officials said it wouldn’t be assessed at the wellhead. Exported oil wouldn’t be subject to the tax, though Obama misspoke during his remarks and said it would. Jeff Zients, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters on Thursday that the White House expects oil companies would pass on some costs of the tax to their customers.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, called the proposal “dead on arrival.” Republicans “always say” that, Obama said.

He said he plans a larger speech on the oil tax “and the direction we need to go on this.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Halliburton Launches Electrohydraulic Subsea Safety System

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Halliburton Launches Electrohydraulic Subsea Safety System

Halliburton has released the Dash 3-inch Subsea Safety System, a solution for electrohydraulic control of Halliburton’s subsea safety tree.

Previously, control was provided through direct hydraulic pressure from the surface. According to Halliburton, this latest edition to the Dash series employs the speed of electrohydraulic actuation to core safety functions while still providing full direct hydraulic redundant control of all functions. This helps to increase reliability and provide more cost-efficient operation and maintenance.

Linking with downhole and surface read-out control systems, the Dash system enables analysis to help drive optimal performance and avoid non-productive time during deepwater dynamic testing.

“The system delivers industry leading response speed to critical well isolation, pressure containment and emergency disconnect functions,” said Abdalla Awara, vice president of Halliburton’s Testing and Subsea business line. “It also offers a simplistic design that is easy to operate.”

Recently, the Dash Subsea Safety System was deployed on a deepwater well in Latin America from a vessel in 7,506 feet of water with over 400 hours of in-hole operational time. During this deepwater well test, Dash demonstrated a six second downhole safety shut-in followed by an eight second surface shut-in and disconnect.

 

Moody’s: Oil, Gas Loans Not Likely to Choke Big U.S. Banks

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Moody’s: Oil, Gas Loans Not Likely to Choke Big U.S. Banks

Losses from souring oil and gas loans at the largest U.S. banks are probably manageable, even if fuel prices remain low, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

At the six biggest banks, funded exposures to the industry amount to 2.3 percent of total loans, Moody’s said Friday in a report. Morgan Stanley is at the high end, with about 5 percent of its funded loans to the sector, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. is at the low end, with 1.5 percent, the analysts wrote. Trading exposures are smaller and likely to have cash or securities as collateral, or they’ve been hedged, according to the report.

“The recent earnings results of the U.S. global investment banks reveal that their direct energy-loan exposures are manageable and do not present a significant concentration risk,” they wrote.

Still, the firms may have to add to reserves for loan losses if the price of oil stays low, Moody’s said. While much of the banks’ capital isn’t threatened by energy losses, Citigroup Inc.’s total funded and unfunded commitments account for about 40 percent of its common equity tier 1 capital, the most of the group, the analysts said. Wells Fargo & Co., which doesn’t disclose unfunded commitments by industry, wasn’t included in that calculation, Moody’s said.

Bank of America Corp.’s reserves appear “somewhat low,” the analysts wrote, adding that it may be due to a more conservative grading system or more collateral backing the loans, they said.

 

 

 

 

 

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EU Approves Schlumberger’s Acquisition of Cameron

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EU Approves Schlumberger’s Acquisition of Cameron

The European Commission has given the green light, under the EU Merger Regulation, for the acquisition of Cameron by Schlumberger.

In august last year, a definitive merger agreement was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies in which the companies will combine in a stock and cash transaction.

The proposed merger was already approved by the U.S. Department of Justice in November last year, followed by the Cameron’s stakeholders nod a month later.

Cameron’s stake in OneSubsea, currently a joint venture between Cameron and Schlumberger, is also part of the transaction.

OneSubsea was formed in 2013 and is active in the development and supply of products and services for subsea oil and gas production.

“The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given the very limited overlaps between the companies’ activities and the modest increment in market shares brought about by the transaction,” the European Commission said in a statement.

 

PSL Releases New Product; Gets Harkand and Bibby Offshore Support

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PSL Releases New Product; Gets Harkand and Bibby Offshore Support

PhotoSynergy Ltd (PSL) has added a new product to its subsea portfolio, the SLS2000, developed to provide the option to illuminate the dive umbilical from the diver end.

The unit, with 30mm in diameter and 70mm length, was designed to provide a light source to saturation divers using an LED attached to the umbilical at the diver’s end.

Operational sea trials of the unit are planned with existing clients following the completion of final in-house tests and third party pressure testing.

Furthermore, the company has included PSL’s LIGHTPATH technology in its diving operations and management guidance document.

PSL’s LIGHTPATH range has received support from the inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) specialists Harkand and Bibby Offshore.

PSL Director Don Walker said: “The recognition of the increased safety afforded to divers utilising the LIGHTPATH umbilical lighting concept by these companies marks a significant step for PSL, and we very much appreciate their support.

“We are very grateful for all the help and guidance we have received over the past few years from Harkand and Bibby Offshore – the level of support they have shown has been invaluable and helped us develop LIGHTPATH further for more specific markets.

“We have been operating the LIGHTPATH in the North Sea for the past three years, and the general consensus among the dive community is that divers feel safer using the technology to illuminate saturation diver umbilicals, which enhances safety and productivity for all parties, including the individual diver, colleagues in the water and the bell-man.

“It also gives confidence to the ROV pilot as to the location of diver umbilicals, thus minimising the risk of collision and can significantly reduce the incidence of umbilical snagging, both for saturation and surface air divers.”

Jerry Starling, Harkand’s group diving manager, and a member of the IMCA diving division management committee, said: “Harkand is committed to the wellbeing of its personnel and presenting the most appropriate solutions for clients. As a company we have recognised that although not a mandatory or industry specific requirement, LIGHTPATH further enhances the diver’s ability to manage their umbilical, improving their safety and simultaneously delivering more efficient operations.

“Umbilical management is a key component of diver activity for both safety and time saving reasons. We have found that LIGHTPATH helps reduce recovery time as the diver can track and identify their route back to the bell, as well as identify any snags and entanglement of the umbilical due to the variations in colour offered by the equipment. It also ensures divers and ROV pilots can constantly monitor that the umbilical is clear during equipment deployment and recovery, which are generally high risk activities.

“We look forward to working further with PSL in the future.”

Bibby Offshore Diving Manager Ian Mitchell, said: “Bibby Offshore regard the LIGHTPATH as a significant safety enhancement and use it as standard on all our DSVs. We are pleased to be involved in the further development of the LIGHTPATH system and believe the SLS2000 will further enhance the usefulness of the product and increase its potential applications.”

 

Commercial Diver- THE REAL POOP

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Commercial Diver- THE REAL POOP

Ah, the life of the typical American blue collar worker. He gets up after a long night at the local pub, maybe scrambles an egg in a dirty iron skillet, then grabs his wetsuit and goes down to the pier to find a contractor looking for work. Then, he boats a mile offshore to dive 150 feet down and wrestle an octopus for a piece of pipe so he can weld it back together. Okay, so maybe we’re not talking about a typical blue collar worker.

 Most commercial divers are essentially the construction worker and repairmen you’re probably familiar with, but underwater. That’s right—things need to be built, hammered, drilled, and screwed just as much beneath the surface of the Pacific as they do, uh, next to it. Like, on the ground.

While commercial divers may often find themselves tasked with performing similar work as their terrestrial counterparts—say, welding joints or repairing structures—they’re usually compensated much, much better for it. Your typical welder, brazer, or solderer only makes about $36,300 per year, but a commercial diver can expect more like $45,890 (source). This is because they have to get wet. Oh, and also it can be incredibly dangerous. So, there’s that.

When things go wrong underwater, they go really, really wrong. Malfunctioning equipment, rising pressure levels, dropping oxygen levels, rabid moray eels—a good professional diver has to be on top of all of it. Except maybe the rabid eels, because we’re actually fairly certain they can’t get rabies.

And it gets worse.

Really experienced commercial divers can branch out later in their careers, taking jobs that can put their annual pay average up to near six figures. This work, however, is often even more dangerous, requiring deeper dives and even “non-water” dives. What’s a “non-water” dive? Trust us, you don’t want to know. But…yeah, we’re going to tell you anyway.

 Many advanced commercial divers work inside of specially designed HazMat suits that allow them to swim in raw sewage. There, they navigate scores of discarded needles and broken glass instead of cute tropical fish. What’s that? Swimming in sewage isn’t your thing? Join the club—though we should warn you, roll call takes a very, very long time.

Sometimes, instead of sewage, skilled divers who are looking to up their pay will work on nuclear sites. Sure, they’re less likely to catch a flesh-eating parasite from a ten-week-old diaper, but they do have to contend with that little rascal we like to call radiation. And not the fun, now-you-have-spider-powers sort of radiation. No, this is the symptoms-so-grim-we-don’t-like-to-talk-about-them radiation.

Of course, even entry-level commercial diving has its hazards, and an incredible amount of training and experience is required to get started on this career path. The beginner stuff should be fairly (if not utterly) obvious: finish high school, learn how to swim, learn how to dive. 

After that, you’re going to need to complete a program to snag your certification. That’ll cost anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000, depending on how comprehensive an education you want (source).

Looking into our crystal ball, we see that those of you still interested at this point like the water, know a thing or two about diving already, and don’t mind a bit of adrenaline on the job. Right? If that’s you, it’s time to get started. 

Most companies only want to hire divers between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five, especially for the fancy, high-pay offshore stuff like working on oil rigs (source). After thirty-five, you and your aging body are more of health (and hiring) risk.

Just remember, even if you start at age eighteen and have a seventeen-year career, you’re still not even halfway to retirement age. So while you’re not going to be booted on your thirty-fifth birthday like some sort of aquatic Logan’s Run character, you do need to start planning for your future. 

Maybe that means using the same skills for easier inshore diving work, or maybe that means being prepped to do something else entirely. Either way, it’s good to think ahead.

The dripping wet world of commercial diving isn’t a glamorous one, a safe one, or a particularly easy one, but for those who are mechanically minded with a thirst for adventure, there’s hardly a better job on the planet. Maybe that Sebastian guy was right after all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Subsea UK Backs MATE ROV Challenge

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Subsea UK Backs MATE ROV Challenge

Subsea UK has committed £20,000 to the Scottish MATE ROV competition, the industry body announced at Subsea Expo.

The initiative, organised by the Robert Gordon University, encourages young engineers to design and test underwater machinery with help from industry mentors.

Subsea UK joins BP, which has supported the competition since its first year, as headline sponsors, with ROVOP and The Underwater Centre in Fort William providing additional support.

The major STEM initiative aims to inspire future engineers through hands-on experience of designing remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) used underwater in the oil and gas, defence, oceanology and marine renewables industries.

Last year’s competition was won by a team from Peterhead Academy who, along with runners up from Mackie Academy, are displaying their winning remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to thousands of delegates at the Subsea Expo 2016 exhibition and conference on 3 – 5 February at AECC.

Blair Paton, Principal Teacher, Faculty of Technologies, at Mackie Academy, said: “The value of extra-curricular work, particularly in engineering, should not be underestimated. The MATE ROV project allows students the opportunity to take the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom, and apply them to a real life problem, giving a real insight into the world of subsea engineering and technology. The pupils have also benefited from the opportunity to present their design to subsea engineers at Subsea Expo.”

Subsea UK chief executive, Neil Gordon, added: “With all the recent bad news about the oil and gas industry, it is more important than ever to continue to inspire young people about our sector. Initiatives like MATE ROV are dynamic and practical ways of attracting young people into engineering and the exciting world under the sea.

“We were blown away by the creativity and ingenuity of all of last year’s participants, and in particular the teams from Peterhead and Mackie Academy, who have been impressing some veteran engineers with their approaches to designing ROVs at the exhibition today.”

The annual event, which is co-ordinated by the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Centre in California in partnership with Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University (RGU), involves teams made up of pupils from schools across Scotland.

RGU engineering lecturer and competition co-ordinator, Graeme Dunbar, said: “We are delighted that Subsea UK is continuing its support of the competition again this year. Without Subsea UK, BP and our other sponsors, we would not be able to run the initiative, meaning many young people across Scotland would miss out on a unique opportunity to see what engineering is all about.”

Tim Smith, Vice President Communications & External Affairs for BP North Sea, added: “The ROV design competition has become a real highlight in the engineering calendar and BP is delighted to once again support RGU with this excellent initiative. The MATE ROV challenge offers pupils a fantastic opportunity to find out more about the oil and gas industry and supports BP’s strategy to develop capability and talent in the STEM subjects.”

MATE’s international student underwater robotics (remotely operated vehicle or ROV) competition consists of an international event and a network of 28 regional contests that take place across the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Scotland, Egypt, Russia, and Turkey. The competition consists of four different classes that vary depending on the sophistication of the ROVs and the mission requirements.

 

Underwater Welding

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Underwater Welding

Underwater welding can be divided into main types that have been in use for many years: “wet” welding, which is done in the open water; and “hyperbaric” welding which is either performed “dry” inside a specially constructed positive pressure enclosure, or in the open water.

 

Underwater welding is a risky but necessary form of welding. There are many ships and structures that require underwater assembly or repair, including offshore oil rigs and oil tankers.

Welding is simply the best way to assemble or repair most metals, and the alternatives like grouted or clamped repairs are unsatisfactory in many instances.

Wet underwater welding

In “wet” underwater welding, MMA, or manual arc welding is the most common method. This is a variation of shielded metal arc welding, which employs a waterproof electrode. The other common processes in use are friction welding and flux-cored arc welding. In both of these methods, the power supply that operates the welding equipment is connected via a set cables and hoses.

The wet welding method is typically limited to fairly low carbon steels, or equivalents, especially at greater depths because of the risk of hydrogen-caused cracking.

In the future, there will be a need for improved power sources and revised electrode coatings in order to weld higher carbon steels at greater depths.

Hyperbaric or dry underwater welding

The use of hyperbaric or dry welding is a process of welding in high pressure environments, usually underwater. While hyperbaric welding can be done wet in the open water, it’s more commonly performed inside a specially constructed hyperbaric chamber that is a dry environment. This type of welding is used to perform the same kind of assembly and repair work as wet welding, namely underwater pipelines, offshore oil rigs, barges and ships of all sizes.

In hyperbaric welding, the diver/welder works from outside the chamber. The special MMA electrodes are positioned in advance through a flexible port, and the welder manipulates them as he looks through windows in the enclosure. Some of the newer chambers are completely transparent enclosures that surround the weld area, and water is evacuated by pumping gas inside.

When high quality welds are needed, dry hyperbaric welding is usually the method of choice. More control over the conditions are possible inside a dry enclosure, including the application of pre and post weld heating. This controlled environment results in a much improved welding process and higher quality welds when compared to wet welds of the same type.

Dry hyperbaric welding is typically used in depths of less than 400 meters, but there are special techniques being developed that may one day allow welding down to 2000 meter or more.

Risks of underwater welding

There are many risks of underwater welding, including the rest of electrical shock to the diver/welder. Special welding equipment has to be used, equipment that have been insulated and adapted to the rigors of marine environments.

Then there are the safety issues that all divers face, including the risk of the “bends,” or decompression sickness due to the increased pressure inherent in saturation diving. An additional risk when wet welding is the buildup of pockets of gas and oxygen, which are potentially explosive under the right conditions.

Common precautions for underwater diving include a system for administering emergency air, a team of stand-by divers to perform a rescue, and decompression chambers to help prevent decompression sickness following saturation diving.

 

 

 

 

 

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Phoenix Returns to Search for MH370

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Phoenix Returns to Search for MH370

Phoenix International has been contracted by the Commonwealth of Australia to provide deepwater towed side scan sonar services in support of continuing the underwater search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370).

Phoenix and Hydrospheric Solutions (HSI) will conduct side scan sonar operations using the SLH PS-60 (ProSAS-60), a 6,000 meter depth-rated synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) towed system.

Team Phoenix will mobilize aboard the Chinese Rescue Salvage Bureau (RSB) vessel Dong Hai Jiu 101 in Singapore. Following a brief port call in Fremantle, Australia, Phoenix will start search operations in February 2016.

Previously Phoenix participated in the search for MH370 from April – June 2014 using their 5,000 meter depth-rated Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Artemis. The Phoenix/HSI team was subsequently contracted by Malaysia from October 2014 – June 2015, using HSI’s towed SAS system to perform a high resolution search of the seafloor in their assigned area.

Under a tripartite agreement involving the Governments of Australia, Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China, the MH370 search team, under the leadership of the ATSB, has searched more than 80,000 km2 of seafloor.

“We are deeply honored to be asked to rejoin the search for MH370. We fully understand and appreciate the magnitude of this effort and we look forward to assisting the ATSB in finding MH370 and bringing closure to those impacted by this tragic event,” said Mike Kutzleb, President of Phoenix.

 
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