For international employers · Oil, Gas & EPC
Falisha Manpower recruits drilling rig crew members from Pakistan for drilling contractors, well-services companies and operators running land, offshore and workover rigs. We cover the rig-floor ladder, from roustabouts and floormen (roughnecks) to derrickmen, motormen, assistant drillers and drillers, and recruit toolpushers where a candidate’s supervisory record supports it. Every engagement runs under our licence from Pakistan’s Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (OEP Licence No. 4035), from selection and contracts to visas and emigration clearance.
Rig crews are a specialised and comparatively small talent pool, and we are open about that. Our database holds a focused group of rig-floor profiles rather than a deep bench, so for many requirements we combine it with targeted sourcing among Pakistani rig hands working on domestic land rigs and on rigs abroad. At the requirement stage we tell you which positions we expect to fill readily and which will take longer.
What separates candidates is rig type, equipment and documented position history, not the job title. A floorman from a mechanical land rig with a kelly and rotary table works differently from one used to a top drive and iron roughneck on a jack-up. We match on those details, confirm that well-control and offshore safety certificates are current and held by the candidate, and have your rig manager or toolpusher interview the shortlist before you select.
Roles & specialisations
Matched to your specification and the work itself, not just a job title.
Entry-level crew who load and unload equipment, keep the pipe deck and rig site in order, paint and maintain, and assist with crane lifts offshore. Many floormen start here, so a roustabout with a clean record is often a future floor hand.
The core of the drill floor. They make and break connections with tongs or an iron roughneck, set slips, trip pipe, help run casing and keep the floor safe. Experience on your type of pipe-handling equipment matters more than years alone.
They work from the monkey board to rack and unrack stands during trips, and look after the mud system below: pumps, shakers, mixing and fluid property checks reported to the driller. The role needs comfort at height and a working knowledge of drilling fluids.
Responsible for the rig’s engines, generators, pumps and air compressors, for maintenance logs, and for fuel and lubricant handling. On many rigs the motorman also relieves on the floor, so mechanical aptitude and floor experience both count.
They support and relieve the driller, supervise the floor crew during trips and connections, keep tour records and watch well parameters. Operators normally expect an assistant driller to hold well-control certification suited to the position.
They operate the drawworks, rotary table or top drive and mud pumps from the driller’s cabin, watch for kick indicators, shut the well in when needed and lead the crew through each tour. A current driller-level well-control certificate is a standard requirement.
Senior rig-site supervisors who coordinate crews across tours, liaise with the operator’s representative and answer for well-control readiness and rig equipment. The role is usually filled from experienced drillers with a proven record of supervision.
Smaller crews on workover and well-servicing units who pull and run tubing, change out completions and support well interventions, moving between wells far more often than a drilling rig. Their well-control training follows well-intervention and well-servicing courses rather than drilling ones.
Maintenance and deck roles that keep the rig running: mechanics for engines and hydraulics, electricians for power distribution and drives, and crane operators for offshore lifts. We recruit them alongside the drilling crew when you need the full manning.
Before you hire
The distinctions that decide whether a hire works on your project.
Land rigs move often, so crews spend part of every contract rigging down, moving and rigging up, and live in remote camps. Offshore jack-ups and platform rigs add helicopter or vessel transfer, survival training and stricter medical fitness. Workover units need quick, versatile crews. Experience transfers between these only partly, so give us the rig type first.
Tell us what your rig runs: top drive or kelly, manual tongs or iron roughneck, conventional or automated pipe handling, mechanical or electric drive, and its rated depth and horsepower. A floorman from a rig with automated pipe handling may need retraining on manual tongs and slips, and the reverse is just as true.
IWCF and IADC WellSharp certificates are earned by the individual through accredited centres or providers, and they expire. Confirm which body your operator accepts, the level each position needs, whether surface or subsea stack applies and how much validity must remain at mobilisation. If a strong candidate needs a renewal, agree who arranges and pays for it before the offer.
Rig crews promote from within: roustabout to floorman, floorman to derrickman, then assistant driller and driller. Hiring one or two people per crew who are ready for the next step gives you cover for leave and turnover. Ask us to flag candidates who have relieved in a higher position.
Rigs run around the clock, so each position is filled by back-to-back crews on opposite rotations, usually working 12-hour tours. Rotation length, crew-change timing and the point where travel starts all affect who accepts the offer, so fix them before we approach candidates.
Your requirement
The more precise the brief, the more precise the shortlist. Anything you are unsure of, we work out with you.
Standards & qualifications
Qualifications, codes and licences candidates may hold or be assessed against — you decide which apply.
The International Well Control Forum’s programme has a Level 2 for well-site staff whose actions can affect well control, a Level 3 for equipment operators, who are assessed in the driller’s role, and a Level 4 for supervisors. Assessments are invigilated at IWCF-accredited centres, Levels 3 and 4 include a practical simulator assessment, and those two certificates are valid for two years.
The International Association of Drilling Contractors’ accreditation programme for well-control training. IADC accredits the training providers, which deliver the courses and issue certificates. Drilling courses run from introductory to driller and supervisor levels, with surface, subsea and combined stack options, and separate well-servicing courses cover workover, coiled tubing, snubbing and wireline.
IADC’s accredited basic safety orientation for rig personnel, delivered by accredited providers. It is designed for new rig employees, and some operators also use it to reinforce safe practice among experienced hands.
OPITO’s Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training is for people new to, or returning to, offshore oil and gas work. It covers offshore hazards, helicopter safety and underwater escape, sea survival and first aid, and firefighting and self-rescue. The FOET refresher keeps it current and must be completed within four years of BOSIET. Training is delivered at OPITO-approved centres.
Sour-gas fields require hydrogen sulphide training before anyone goes to the rig. ANSI/ASSP Z390.1 sets accepted practices for H2S training programmes and is one reference operators use, while many operators apply their own H2S standard that the course must meet.
Assessment
Arranged to your criteria before you interview, so you evaluate ability rather than a CV.
We check each candidate’s positions, rig types, contractors and time served through experience letters and references, and look for a consistent progression. A driller’s record should show the floor and derrick years behind the title.
Well-control, offshore survival and H2S certificates are checked for level, stack type and expiry, and confirmed with the issuing body or training provider where it offers verification. Certificates that lapse before mobilisation or early in the first rotation are flagged to you.
Questions follow the role: tripping, connections and slip and tong safety for floormen; racking, mud-pump checks and fluid properties for derrickmen; kick indicators, shut-in steps and tour handover for drillers. Your toolpusher or drilling superintendent can lead or join it.
If you want hands-on evidence beyond certificates, a drilling-simulator session or practical task can be arranged at a training centre that has the equipment, with the candidate assessed against criteria you set.
The medical covers the destination’s requirements plus any offshore or operator medical you specify. Floor and derrick roles involve climbing, heavy handling and work at height, so we confirm candidates accept those physical demands before selection.
How it works
From your requirement to workers on site.
We review the rig type, equipment, well programme, positions per crew, rotation and the certificates your operator requires, and agree what the screening must establish.
Because the rig-crew pool is specialised, we tell you at the outset which positions our database can cover and where we will run targeted outreach, so your timeline reflects real availability.
Rig histories, references and certificates are verified, and gaps such as an expired well-control certificate or missing offshore survival training are listed for each candidate.
Your rig manager or toolpusher interviews the shortlist online, or in Pakistan if you send a team. We group interviews by position so each interviewer compares like with like.
Where you agree, renewals or missing courses are booked with accredited or approved training providers, which conduct the training and issue the certificates. We track completion against the mobilisation date.
Selected crew complete the destination’s medical, document attestation and work-visa steps, plus Saudi skill verification where the visa occupation is a notified one.
Contracts and documents are registered with BEOE and cleared by the Protector of Emigrants before anyone travels.
Travel is booked to your crew-change dates, with back-to-back crews scheduled so every position is covered from the first rotation.
Sourcing
Pakistan has its own upstream oil and gas industry, where exploration and production companies run drilling and workover programmes on land. Many candidates learn rig moves, camp life and 12-hour tours there before working abroad.
Rig positions progress in recognised steps, and the main well-control and safety certificates come from international bodies with accredited or approved providers. That makes a rig hand’s record easier to verify than many trades, and we verify it rather than relying on titles.
We would rather tell you early that a senior position will take time than send a weak shortlist. Our rig-crew pool is focused, so we pair it with direct sourcing and state plainly which roles we can fill.
Pay & terms
Pay for rig crews is set by the employer and stated in the contract. It follows the position on the ladder, from roustabout through floorman, derrickman, assistant driller and driller to toolpusher, and it is shaped by the rig type, with offshore and remote land locations generally carrying a stronger package than accessible onshore work.
Experienced rig hands compare offers on the rotation as much as the rate: the balance of work and leave, whether travel to the crew-change point is paid, how transit and standby days are treated, and whether certificate renewals are funded. Agree these points before interviews, because late refusals usually start there.
Candidates must not pay unlawful recruitment fees. The final terms, covering rate, rotation, travel, standby and renewals, go into the employment contract that passes through Protector of Emigrants clearance.
Compliance & trust
Falisha Manpower recruits under Overseas Employment Promoter Licence No. 4035, issued by the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BEOE), Government of Pakistan.
Every selected worker is processed through BEOE and Protector of Emigrants formalities before departure — the legal route for Pakistani workers taking overseas employment.
Workers are not charged unlawful fees and their passports are not retained. Terms are documented in the employment contract before travel.
You set the specification and the acceptance criteria, and you make every final hiring decision — we source, coordinate, document and mobilise.
Read our quality policy, anti-trafficking statement, or report recruitment fraud. Licence status can be checked with the BEOE.
Sectors
Destinations
Subject to active employer demand and each destination’s visa and work-permit requirements.
FAQ
References: Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BEOE) · IWCF: Drilling Well Control Programme · IADC: WellSharp well-control and RigPass safety orientation accreditation · OPITO: BOSIET with CA-EBS standard · ASSP: ANSI/ASSP Z390.1 Accepted Practices for H2S Training Programs · NAVTTC: Pakistan–Saudi Arabia Skill Verification Program · Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), Government of Pakistan
Last updated 10 November 2026. General guidance for employers; destination rules change, so requirements are confirmed for each recruitment.
Send us the role, numbers, specification, destination and joining date. We will review it, confirm what the assessment must prove, and give you a realistic plan.
