engineer

accountant

production engineer

intern

analyst

Canadian Natural

A typical day at work would be to cancel forwarding the phones, then gather any paperwork that needs to be completed for the day before the office opens.  Once opened then it is answering telephone enquiries, tenant concerns and updating inventory and reports throughout the day.  If needed, go out and pick up inventory items towards the end of the day.  Complete cost code processing for invoices that come in and update lead hand daily on any new requirements or changes to the area.  I have learned that to stay on top of the bursts of activity with a temporary accommodations site you would have to be prepared ahead of time and have an order or process to get all the information prepared correctly and in time.  Management is a gem to work with. They provide assistance when needed and can go forward and present any ideas or projections that you think would be necessary to improve this project.  The hardest part of the job is to locate where all the past files are to know how to process everything in the same manner.  The most enjoyable part of my job is able to communicate with the different tenants that come through the door and able to accommodate their needs as best I can.

Safety focus is the last thing on this company's mind! There is more effort and energy put into covering up incidents rather than investigating for root cause to initiate actions to mitigate incident recurrence. It's only a matter of time when the numerous minor/serious incidents result in this site (Horizon) having more fatalities to add to it's record. CNRL is utilizing the current COVID crisis as a means to force service providers to provide them with rates that makes it impossible to attract and retain a quality workforce with little to no profit margin for the contractor service provider. The department head consistently misleads contractor service providers with false praise and dangling increased scope with no intention in following through. There are some contractor service providers that are provided increased scope based on the value of gifts they provide to individuals. The management style of CNRL is one of the "old boys club" if your in you will get recognition and if not your efforts don't reap any of the benefits of the club.    

Unfortunately the current culture in IT does not value experience. The younger and cheaper you are the more attractive you are.

The managers in software development have no formal IT background so rely solely on process to manage. You need to be a process drone to excel in the IT software development group of this company. My definition of a process drone is someone who works to the metrics of process without regard to the possibly detrimental consequences to the goals those processes and metrics were originally intended to achieve. In this team you will NEVER be faulted if you follow the process. If you can turn off your brain and follow process you will excel here.

Things are much more results oriented in the field. There it tends to be more results oriented. Get it done as quickly, safely and efficiently (low cost) as possible and work any process later. More agile to use the jargon.

I started out in the Security Area as the HSRS Admin which is accepting and getting job applications checked for any reasons why person applying could not come on site. Data Entry work and checking for details was required for this position.
I managed the EBI Station which was attended by the Security group that was on site.  This Station is where everyone received their badges to come on site.
I was transferred to the Fire Hall at Canadian Natural to help the fire fighters with any clerical jobs that were required. I enjoyed working with all of the Fire Fighters on sight because it was a very relaxing surroundings. I learned how the pacs are set up in case there is any emergencies  eg. H2S. I enjoyed all the jokes and laughter everyday from the time you walked in the Fire Hall until you left for the day.
All of the coworkers were great people to work in both areas that I 
worked.  They always made you feel at home.

Where to begin. 

They have no safety culture. They hire inexperienced safety people with no experience in the oil sands or construction and they are bullied and ignored by management that couldn't care less about safety. Their philosophy is get it done as quickly and as cheaply as you can. Safety should be seen and not heard. Incidents are covered up or blame shifted to the workers instead of management who creates the problems to begin with. 

Crane topples, major shutdown due to explosion and fire, and at least 3 people dead and at least 53 charges from OH&S. Their record speaks for itself and it's the worst in the Alberta oil sands.

The camp is horrible. Food is worse than the worst high school cafeteria you've ever eaten at. Rooms smell like urine. They bring in unqualified migrant and foreign workers who are cheap, easily exploited and sent packing if they complain about the abuse. 

Avoid at all costs...

CNRL  Jackfish, has been a very good experience as a contract operator. Crews basically are an extended family,  as are in many other company camps.
CNRL,  so far for me, has been the lowest paying company, appearing cheap to the ground floor employees,  while the Calgary high rollers getting the big rewards, and they don't offer any apologies for running business like that. It is what it is.
Being a very large company,  gives the ability to move around quite a bit from within, which is very nice to not be pigeon holed into one roll, where you may excell in a different roll with the end goal the same...make money for the company. 
My only complaints are the pay, no travel premium(time is money right...except when they have to pay for it) and too much emphasis on education vs experience...green people with a few years of school  will usually make more per hr than a person who brings a wealth of experience and expect the experienced to train the green to help them go further.




*Responsible for drilling operations representing the company.  Working 24 hours/day. Directing & supervising drilling service contractors. Maintaining communications with Superintendent and regularly reporting operational progress & status. Controlled drilling materials, supplies & service contractor arrangements. 

* Review & check drilling programs. Ensured procurement of services, materials and supplies in accordance with approved operation programs. Provided drilling service contractors with detailed operational procedures & requirements at every step of the operation. Ensured that all activities are carried out in accordance with the company's safety policies and procedures.

* Prepared and delivered daily drilling operation report via Well-View including various drilling parameters, material supply and consumption, costs, and other associated information.

What is the best part of working at the company?
CNRL as a lead Energy provider in Canada providing lots of opportunities for technical personals to touch different industry sections, you can accumulate field experience and engineering design skills. Like the teams because you work with a group professional member. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
How to make your job better each day 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Majority people are friendly, and team members help each other to achieve the project goal. You get respect and enjoy your daily work.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Reading emails and start to prepare your daily deliveries; coffee break with team members and switch lesson learned on project. Back to work and go out with friends for lunch.
Normally I head to home around 4:30 pm

Not much management support, direct supervision had little or no interaction or direct communication on work duties. Senior project management had favoritism to particular contractors as had been acquired from that contractor. CNRL as a whole had gone from one of the top paying to contractors in the area to one of the lower, had not improved rates for inflation for over 12 years. Did look after personnel with new camp and improved living conditions. provided transportation to and from site so there were some tradeoffs! Some people have worked there for many years but their conditions had not changed since starting but any new hires had to bite the bullit and some project people also.

The culture at CNRL is a very work-oriented culture. There are many opportunities to learn and contribute, which is expected of every employee. "Creating Value" is a very strong part of their mission statement and it is shown by the work ethic of all the employees. Part of their mission statement is also "doing it right with fun and integrity".  The part which I feel needs the most improvement is "fun". Many of the employees (including myself) were consistently stressed for most of the time I worked there. This had much to do with completing the "deliverables" effectively while meeting the constrained deadlines. It could be much improved by discussing the deadlines instead of stating it outright.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Engineer 14 salaries reported	$116,429 per year
Accountant 4 salaries reported	$75,750 per year
Production engineer 3 salaries reported	$104,333 per year
Intern 3 salaries reported	$68,833 per year
Analyst 3 salaries reported	$80,000 per year

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