Greetings to all! In light of recent events—the Coronavirus, oil prices tanking, etc.—this month’s installment may not delve into the intricacies of typical safety topics. Since most of the workforce has been laid off in the last month or two, there is probably not a huge interest in hearing a discussion of the theories of Residual Risk Reduction at this time.
For as long as I can remember, since the days of wooden derricks (okay, I’m not quite that old), when oil prices were up, our morale and pocketbooks were also up. When the oilfield goes down, there are some companies and people that recover, and some that do not. Regardless of how conservative and prudent we are, the downturn still hurts everyone. As the Bible saying goes, if we live by the sword, we die by the sword, metaphorically speaking.
What goes up must come down and conversely, prices will go back up. It is inevitable. Anyone who reads this publication has been around long enough to know that there are several characteristics that go along with our industry. Our industry is resilient. Unlike some other industries, we have grit! Being a son of an English teacher, I feel compelled to give you the definition of “grit.” The dictionary defines it as “courage and resolve; strength of character.” That definition, from what I’ve seen and experienced, certainly depicts and describes “What we are and who we are.”
I’m not so naïve as to think that this downturn will not be painful. The purpose of this article is not a writers’ pep rally. I am just stating the facts. However, historically, whether you work in the field or you are a CEO, we keep coming back. Historically, each time we come back, we adjust, adapt, and overcome.
One of my all-time favorite quotes is from Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States:
“It is not the critic who counts; Not the one who points out how the strong stumble, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the one in the arena; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error, but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends their life in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and at worst, if he fails, at least fails daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”
It is upon us to pull ourselves up from the bootstraps, reassess, re-plan, and stay focused. In the interim, it’s not only important to stay busy, it’s also important that we remain productive. Back in 1980, I was working on a rig as a tool pusher. While standing on the steps by the top doghouse, I spotted a roughneck dragging a long chain behind him across the location. I yelled at him, “Hey hand! What are you doing pulling that chain across the location?” Without hesitation, he responded, “Ever try to push one?” I cracked up laughing. He had a plan, he was executing the plan. Regardless of his mission, he was focused.
Our industry takes a lot of heat from the environmentalists, politicians, and other groups who are not aware of what we go through. Of course, we are desirous of making a profit, but to categorize us as indifferent to the environment, health, and welfare of our country is naïve, uninformed, or just plain ignorant of the sacrifices made to make our country great. You may notice I didn’t say “again.” From where I sit, we, as a country, have always differentiated ourselves from other countries in how we have a love of country, a love for mankind, and a dedication to being good stewards of our environment. It is fairly easy for the people to sit in their offices, call people who has been around the oilfield (never in it), and make wide sweeping and disparaging comments about our industry. I would be interested in knowing one of these individuals that makes claims of how all oil companies actually work when they never actually set foot on any location from beginning to end. I would challenge their experience of having firsthand knowledge for their own contrived slant. But I digress.
America was founded on ingenuity. There are two kinds of people in the oilfield: 1. Those that have experienced a downturn, 2. Those that are going to. It will come back. The times are changing and we must be able to change with it. Nobody likes change except a baby. We as an industry will survive until there is a better replacement technology. We will survive. God bless you all and God bless America!
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Dusty Roach is a safety professional based in Midland. He is also a public speaker on subjects of leadership and safety, and he maintains a personal website at dustyroach.com.
I enjoyed reading this Dusty, thank you!