Black Gold

Brandon is a tattooed tough guy who's living the roughneck life to the max. He does three things well in his life: roughnecking, drinking and fighting – but not always in that order. On the rig, he's all about top performance, but the two other vices are threatening his career.

In the past, Brandon's hot temper nearly got him tossed off the rig. If it weren't for the fact that he's one of the best, no one would have put up with his attitude.

This year, Brandon has cut back on drinking and he's trying to clear up his problems with the law. Brandon says that he must complete community service as part of his probation – but all those hours are hard to balance with his responsibilities on the rig.

Brandon has been given a shot as a driller on Rig 28 right now and wants to prove himself to the Big Dog top brass. To do that, he'll have to put together a Dream Team of hands to make sure things run smoothly under his watch.

This season, Cheston is ready to take his skills to the next level, but just being a roughneck won't be enough. The question remains how he'll fare with a crew that has little respect for him, and whether he'll be able to prove he can both talk the talk and walk the walk in West Texas.

Cheston is looking to learn the derrickman spot. Since last year he's worked on and off in the oil field and is looking to become a legitimate roughneck. His biggest obstacle will be to swallow his pride and ask for help – but personality clashes between him and the Wheeler twins might make that a challenge he can't tackle.

Josh & Aaron have spent most of their lives in Midland TX. In their off time, both pursue extreme sports. Josh is known as the "cowboy" in the family. He loves to ride bulls and almost died once after being trampled by an angry bull.

Josh is hoping to make money by coming to Big Dog. Josh gave up another job to lend a hand to his friend Brandon, who has offered him a big paycheck and a bonus for working the rig hard. He's not sure if it will pay off in the end – or if he'll be even able to stay on the straight and narrow long enough to get the big bonus he so desperately wants.

Josh's main goal is to save his cash and ride bulls. When he gets hurt riding bulls he tries to hide it on the rig – not an easy task with such a physically demanding job.

Brandon has recruited the Wheeler brothers based on their reputation in the oil field. Only time will tell if these former drillers will take orders from Brandon and be able to work alongside Cheston. Their hot tempers will make it tough for them to survive long enough to turn a profit for the company – and earn bonuses for themselves.

Aaron will work with anyone who does the job well. One of his tasks will be to teach Cheston how to do derricks. Aaron has far more experience than Cheston and considers himself a good coach, but he might just hit the ceiling once his patience runs out.

Aaron also wants to make an impression at Big Dog so he can get a driller spot. Brandon has given him an in, but it's up to him to work to get the respect he needs and he's not going to let Cheston get in the way.

Aaron often covers for his brother, who seems to get into trouble more often than not. This might be what screws him up in the end. They've been known to cover for each other on shift work, with Aaron usually being the one to save Josh.

Last season, Oscar proved himself to Jerry and the higher ups at Big Dog and scored his seat replacing Jerry as tool pusher on Rig 28.

Oscar's been working for Big Dog for 15 years now – just as long as some of the company men. For this, he has earned their respect and that of his hands as well. He's a stocky roughneck of Mexican descent, who is tough but fair to his crew. He yells a lot on the rig, partly so his crew can hear him and partly to impress urgency in them.

Oscar has to keep Rig 28 running. His biggest concern is making sure his drillers are running their hands and making a good hole. In the end he's responsible for having them execute on the plan. Oscar also has to deal with Brandon and his hot temper. This season, Oscar has made it his mission to mentor Brandon out of his tough times, but he can only take so much. If Brandon can't get his act together Oscar might have to fire him.

Most important of all is going to be trying to keep these crews together for the mission of finding the pay zone for Big Dog Drilling. There's a bonus involved and everyone wants a piece. Oscar is in need of qualified hands, and that's hard to come by. When the rig comes up short, they'll need to bring in Tank, who doesn't have the training. He can get the job done but might create more problems than he's worth by fighting with Cheston. Oscar won't stand for that on his rig, so he'll be on "Tank vs Cheston" watch 24/7.