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"It’s not always the easiest thing to do because of the cultural
and communication differences, but by necessity, to be a
competitive workforce and to have the flexibility to quickly move
a rig to one area or another, you have to do it," Sheldon noted.
"English serves as the primary mode of communications,"
Howe said. "On most of our rigs, we have mixed crews and there
must be a common language, especially during the drilling
operation."
Turnover on Santa Fe's rigs is minimal. "Promotion from
within" has provided an incentive for every hand, ranging from the
floorhand to drilling superintendent to stick around, Bauer
explained. "The guys down the ladder, where there is usually less
motivation, are keen to move up because there are opportunities,"
he said.
In the PNZ, where Santa Fe recently spudded-in a new rig,
benchmark well was set on its fourth hole. By bringing personnel
up through the ranks, "you are able to place strong rig crews on
new rigs where traditionally you would have a very tough time,"
he said.
"We probably have less turnover than an individual rig in the
U.S. We have roughnecks that have been with us 5 to 6 years on
the same rig,” Hutchison said. For these workers, it means long-
term work, and social relationships will be developed across
cultural boundaries. Even the operational managers are "long
termers." Bauer, Hutchison, Howe, and Abbasi are all 20-year,
Middle East veterans while Sheldon grew up in Kuwait as a boy.
Of course, safety is an ever-constant issue for Santa Fe,
which is promoted by safety awareness and crew longevity. Staff
and crew members attend regular safety classes on well control at
Santa Fe's IWCF certified training center at its Al Ahmadi office
and there are compulsory, weekly safety meetings held at the rig
site.
"We have a rig in Oman, Rig 150, that just completed 7
years without a lost time accident, and that rig moves about every

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