The 10 most lucrative offshore platform jobs

Offshore drilling consultants - $143,000 - $305,000

The salary of a drilling consultant working offshore ranges from $143,000 to as much as $305,000 a year making it the most lucrative job on an offshore platform.

Drilling consultants supervise the daily operations of the rig and provide advice and consultation on a number of drilling issues. They coordinate with onshore supervisors and convey orders to on-site personnel to optimise the production of the rig. They are also responsible for ordering new supplies and equipment as well as maintaining the required number of workers on the platform at any point of time.

Offshore installation managers - $120,000 - $245,000

Offshore installation managers (OIM) occupy a senior position on an offshore platform, their annual salary typically ranges between $120,000 and $245,000.

OIMs manage all the offshore activities on the platform and ensure that production is performed according to rules and regulations. They are also responsible for the health, safety and wellbeing of the workers onboard and are trained to handle emergencies. They oversee the work and training of all the platform personnel and ensure the timely maintenance and repair of equipment.

Workover or Completion staff - $62,000 - $205,000

The starting salary of completion workers or workover staff is approximately $62,000 per annum while engineers and managers among them are paid as much as $205,000 annually. Workover or Completion staff are responsible for preparing the wells for production and fixing any problems with active wells.

They implement and execute the well construction as per design standards and specifications. They are also required to troubleshoot operational and technical issues relating to the completion and workover process. Experienced professionals analyse completion or workover performance and recommend changes in equipment or procedure.

Tanker captain - $75,000 - $170,000

Tanker captains are responsible for navigating large container vessels that carry oil and gas from offshore platforms to port facilities and are paid salaries ranging from approximately $75,000 to $170,000 per annum.

Their scope of work includes plotting the safest and most direct route between the offshore rig and mainland port facility and manoeuvring the vessel to avoid dangerous situations. They are responsible for the management and safety of the vessel at sea and also supervise the unloading of cargo at the port.

Marine engineer - $70,000 - $155,000

Marine engineers working on offshore platforms earn between $70,000 and $155,000 annually and are responsible for designing, installing and maintaining marine engineering systems on offshore platforms.

Marine Engineers plan, design and construct offshore rigs, pipelines and equipments. They also repair and conduct environmental, operational or performance tests on marine machinery and equipments like remote operated vehicles and drill ships. They manage the lifecycle of the project and oversee maintenance tasks on the plant and machinery.

Divers / Helicopter pilots - $93,000 - $150,000

Commercial divers and Helicopter pilots who work in the oil and gas industry earn approximately $93,000 to $150,000 annually. Experienced divers support the construction, inspection and maintenance of offshore platforms and are involved in activities such as underwater welding, repair and cleaning of subsea installations, pipelines and structures.

Helicopter pilots transport personnel and cargo to and from offshore platforms and assist in geological surveying. They also fly injured or ill workers to onshore medical facilities during emergency air ambulance missions.

Production / Maintenance supervisor - $108,000 - $147,000

High entry pay levels upwards of $108,000 increasing to $147,000 for the experienced make Production and Maintenance supervisor jobs one of the most lucrative on an offshore platform. Production and Maintenance supervisors oversee respectively the production and maintenance operations of an offshore platform's drilling, utility and safety systems.

They are responsible for ensuring that the production plant and the mechanical and electrical equipments function efficiently in order to meet the production targets. They manage the activities of the production and maintenance technicians and coordinate with engineers and the offshore installation manager, as well as liaise with onshore engineers to solve production and maintenance issues.

Subsea / Chemical process engineers - $93,000 - $147,000

Subsea engineers and Chemical process engineers, the most highly paid engineers on an oil platform, earn between $93,000 and $147,000 a year.

Subsea engineers design and install equipment, tools and infrastructure required for offshore oil and gas production, and administer the installation of wellheads on the seabed and the pipelines that connect them to the platform.

Process engineers are responsible for designing and constructing the facilities and equipment involved in the processing and production of oil and gas. They also plan the maintenance and improvement of the equipments and take part in risk assessments.

Geologists - $105,000 - $120,000

Well trained and experienced geologists and geophysicists, who conduct seismic surveys and analyse the data to locate new deposits, are paid $105,000 to $120,000 per annum in the offshore oil and gas industry.

They examine the properties of a prospective reservoir or field and assess the geological risks associated with it. They build geological models and plan the development of the exploration wells. They are required to spend time on offshore oil production platforms to perform test drilling and maximise the oil or gas production from a field.

Reservoir engineers/ Drilling engineers - $62,000 - $116,000

Reservoir engineers and Drilling engineers are paid approximately $62,000 to $116,000 per annum. These professionals use geological data to determine the distribution of oil and gas reserves in the reservoir and create simulation models to predict the flow of fluid through rocks to ultimately develop economically viable plans to extract them.

Drilling engineers plan, develop and oversee the drilling operations of oil and gas wells. They contribute throughout the lifecycle of a well, from the design stage to testing, completion and abandonment. They also plan and administer the budgets of drilling operations.