If you are planning to work in the oilfield, you will likely spend some time in man camps or as they are also sometimes called work camps.
Remote oilfield facilities are often located far away from any urban areas and motels and hotels are not readily available.
Advantages of Staying in Camps Over Hotels
There are quite a few advantages that man camps have over the hotels with number one being close proximity to the work locations.
Living close to the worksite can save hours of travel every day and allow oilfield workers to properly relax at the end of the day before coming back to work the next day.
In addition, many companies focus on safety and driving causes a lot of injuries.
Especially in the oilfield where most of the roads are in pretty bad shape and either muddy or slippery for half of the year.
That’s why most operators provide camps and prefer everyone to stay there.
Having prepared food available 24 hours a day is another advantage camps have over conventional hotels where you have to get food yourself.
Work camps have security stuff that makes sure everyone is safe while staying in a camp.
They also enforce all the policies that are usually set by the oil company.
Most camps are either operated by the oil company itself or by contractors such as Horizon North.
I personally always preferred camps: I don’t have to wake up early, food is always ready and oftentimes camps have a pretty decent gym.
It is not fun to drive one hour each way to get to the hotel after a 13-hour shift.
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Typical Oilfield Camp Amenities
The rooms in camps are usually provided by the oil company to its workers or contractors.
Oilfield work camps can house anywhere from 50 to 1000 oilfield workers.
Most camps have a cafeteria and workers are usually allowed to take as much food as they feel they need.
Food is usually included in the price of the room which is paid by the client.
Work camps also have many facilities that allow workers to feel at home.
Some examples of the common facilities are a gym, laundry, entertainment room, cinema room, etc.
Not all the camps are the same but good ones usually have rooms with big TVs, pool tables, large fully equipped gyms and kitchens serving food comparable in quality to dishes you can get in good restaurants.
Food is usually great in most camps and you can even get steaks and shrimp on some days.
They usually rotate the food menu so that you are not stuck with the same dish for your entire stay.
The quality of rooms in camps can vary, but most will have a single bed, table, wi-fi, and TV.
Most camps usually have a washroom and shower in a room that is either private or shared between two rooms.
Depending on your position and the company you might have to share your room with a roommate that works on a different shift.
For example, if you are on days, he will be on nights so this way you will never see each other.
The maids usually clean the room between the shifts.
Some older camps still have washrooms and showers in hallways that are shared by all the camp guests.
Most rooms are usually equipped with some type of temperature control for comfortable sleep.
Living in an oilfield camp is not that bad considering the large variety of facilities and entertainment options available to oilfield workers.
However, if you are working long rotations and didn’t see your family and friends for 3-4 weeks, it can get a little depressing.
That’s why keeping a good diet and exercising is important while living in work camps.
Additionally, a large amount of available deep-fried food makes exercising a requirement if you are planning to stay fit.
Oilfield workers who live in camps are mostly men with a female population of less than 5%.
Related: Working In the Oilfield | Requirements, Entry Level Jobs and Work Conditions
What to Bring To a Remote Work Camp?
- Extra clothing – some camps have laundry while others don’t.
- Toiletries like toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, and razors for shaving – you have to be clean-shaven to enter almost any oil lease.
- Gym clothing and sneakers.
- Laptop – I recommend downloading movies and any other big files in advance if you are not sure how good the internet is in the camp.
- Slippers – you can’t walk in your dirty work boots around the camp so slippers might be handy.
Also don’t forget all your usual work stuff like coveralls, boots, and other PPE.
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