Commuting to the North Slope: Getting to work by plane, just another day in the life of an oilfield worker.

• Author: Friedman, Sam
• Position: OIL & GAS

When employees of ConocoPhillips and BP leave Anchorage to go to work, they make a commute that's unusual even by oil and gas industry standards.

The only practical way to get to work for thousands of employees each week is aboard a company airplane. Shared Services Aviation, the air transportation service for two of the three major oil companies in Alaska, operates three Boeing 737-700 jet airplanes out of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Viewed from the airport terminal, Shared Services Aviation looks and acts much like a commercial airline. Employees go through TSA checkpoints and line up at gates that look just like those at Alaska Airlines and Delta Airlines. On board the planes, the flight attendants--who are ConocoPhillips' employees--deliver safety briefings and serve passengers peanuts during the flight. "Besides there not being a cocktail, it's very much like a commercial airline," says Kevin Robbins, ConocoPhillips' Aviation Alaska manager.

Because these workers are headed to their jobs at North Slope worksites where corporate policy forbids alcohol, it makes sense alcohol is also not allowed on the shuttle taking them there. Shared Services also has a dress code that separates it from the commercial flying world. During the winter months employees may be denied boarding if they're not wearing heavy coats, gloves, and warm hats. It's cold and dark in the winter, and employees need to be prepared for the extreme conditions they will likely encounter as soon as they leave the warm jet fuselage.

History of Cooperation

Unlike much of rural Alaska, most North Slope oilfields are connected to the Alaska road system. The Dalton Highway leads north along the trans-Alaska pipeline from Fairbanks to Deadhorse, near the Prudhoe Bay oilfield. Private gravel roads, or in some cases seasonal ice roads, stretch out from Deadhorse to most outlying oil fields.

But while these roads are useful for construction and for hauling equipment and supplies, ground transportation over the 850 miles between Anchorage and Deadhorse isn't a practical way to get thousands of highly-paid employees to work.

A corporate air service takes the guesswork out of getting employees to job sites, says Dennis Parrish, director of customer and operations support for ConocoPhillips Alaska.

Shared Services Aviation

"That's one thing about corporate aviation: you look at the assets, the individuals you're transporting, what they're costing you to be on the...