Each month, Axis shines a spotlight on an employee who represents our motto of “One Team, One Goal.” This month, we’re highlighting Tommy Diviney, a homegrown success story who has been with the company since November 2017. He began his journey as an entry-level snubbing assistant with no oilfield experience and worked his way to a snubbing operator position within three years of starting with Axis. He currently works out of the Longview Pressure Control Services location.

“Tommy is someone we’re proud to have on the Axis team,” says Brad Smith, Pressure Control Operations Manager. “He joined the company with zero oilfield experience and now has been promoted to a high-pressure operator full time. He is dedicated and puts in the effort every day.”

Take a moment to learn more about Tommy and his career with Axis.

How did you get started in the oil field?

I started in the oil field with Axis and I’ve been here going on three years in November. I applied and ended up getting hired on as a snubbing assistant and just worked my way up from there—went from an entry level job to a snubbing hand, to a lead hand, and now I’m an operator!

What did you do before joining Axis?

I worked at this place called Pinnacle Railroad. All we did was unload brand new vehicles off of trains. I was a car unloader for the railroad.

Tell us about what you do at Axis.

I’m a snubbing operator. We put pipe in the hole. Going in the hole, I’ll snub it in, if there’s pressure on it. If there’s not, I’ll end up snubbing it out once we do get pressure, getting through all the kill plugs on the way out of the hole. Sometimes there are kill plugs down there, so right before we go in the hole, there’s usually not pressure until you get past that kill plug. Once you get past that plug, you finally have pressure on the well. On the way out of the hole, I’ll end up having to snub pipe out.

What do you like most about snubbing?

It’s fun being up there and coming out of the hole during a job, especially if you have someone up there that’s great to work with. I just love what I do—I like being around other people and getting the work done.

What would you say is your biggest accomplishment on the job with Axis?

A while back, we ran into a problem of having a hole in the tubing. Fortunately, we stopped the hole from blowing out, got everything under control and were able to get the joint out safely without anyone getting hurt. After our supervisor closed one of the rams on the accumulator, we got it pulled up and got everything bled off so we could get the pressure away to where it wasn’t blowing out of the hole and out of the tubing anymore.

What do you like most about working for Axis?

When we have our rigs and all our equipment out there, I like how we work as a team to get the job done. We often work with rig crews other than Axis and a lot of times when you’re out on location, when you’re out with a different rig crew, they don’t necessarily help you rig up and all that. Whenever you have Axis rigs out there, we all work together, and we all help each other get the job done. I like how we all work as a team.

When you’re outside of work, what do you like to do?

I like to hang out with friends, watch football, and have a good time. I’m really into sports, so I like to watch any kind of sports, like basketball and football. Also, when I’m not at work, I enjoy spending time with my fiancé.

What is most important to you?

My fiancé, my family, my friends, and my three dogs.