Industrial & Manufacturing Blog
Are you a truck driver looking for a job? You might want to consider heading to the Bakken oilfields where truck drivers are wanted and the pay is good.
What is the Bakken?
The Bakken Shale formation is located in western North Dakota and eastern Montana. Thanks to modern drilling techniques such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, oil is being pulled from underneath the ground in unprecedented numbers. Even though the price of oil has recently dropped, there is still a substantial amount of oil being produced in the Bakken. It was recently reported that there were over 500 barrels of oil being produced on a daily basis. This, along with the fact that it takes an estimated 2,300 trips by truck to develop every oil well in the Bakken, is why truck drivers continue to be in high demand.
Truck Driving in the Bakken
Truck drivers are needed to either haul fresh water to the drilling rig sites or transport crude oil from the oilfield to the refinery. Unfortunately, some of the driving is in inclement weather, which can be especially harsh during winter. The average temperature for the month of January in Williston--located in the heart of the Bakken--is 22 degrees. While this might not seem all that cold to those who live through the winter in the Upper Midwest, you have to factor in the wind chill.
During the cold winter months, truck drivers in the Bakken need to take extra precaution by wearing the appropriate clothing and always carrying an emergency travel kit. In cases where the roads are wet, muddy, or icy,drivers will also need to learn how to put chains on the wheels of their truck in order to drive safely and not get stuck.
Truck Driving Opportunities and Salary
Many trucking companies, like Twin River Logistics, hire truck drivers as well as owner/operators. According to Prairie Business, truck drivers in North Dakota earn an average salary of $42,000. It also states that truck drivers in the oilfield can make two to three times that amount.
If you are not too crazy about driving a truck in and out of the oilfield, there are also other trucking opportunities including:
Truck drivers are certainly wanted in the Bakken, and if you know how to drive a truck and don't mind driving in some challenging conditions, driving a truck in the Bakken might be the perfect job for you!
Share15 January 2015
Hello everyone, my name is Denise. Welcome to my site about industrial equipment. When I was a young kid, I studied the function of each type of industrial equipment in great detail. I loved to watch all of those TV shows about the manufacturing processes for different industries. I have continued my studies about industrial equipment in my free time to increase my knowledge base about how everything we use is made. I created this site to share this information with you all to help everyone learn about how products are manufactured. Understanding industrial processes helps you better understand the world around you.