Oil and gas job growth continued in March, production could expand

The Texas oil and gas industry continued its upward trajectory of job growth, adding 1,500 jobs last month to bring the total upstream jobs to 198,700 in March.

The industry added 20,000 jobs in March over the year, representing an 11.2% increase. The increase included 1,100 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction and 18,900 jobs in the services sector, the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association reported.

The upstream sector includes oil and natural gas extraction and a small amount of mining. It excludes other industry sectors like refining, petrochemicals, fuels wholesaling, oilfield equipment manufacturing, pipelines, and gas utilities, which support hundreds of thousands of additional jobs in Texas.

Since the COVID-19-induced low point in September 2020, months of increase in upstream oil and natural gas employment in Texas outnumbered months of decrease by 26 to 4, the Texas Oil & Gas Association noted. The industry has added 41,700 upstream jobs, averaging a growth of 1,390 new jobs a month, it said. Texas oil and natural gas industry jobs paid among the highest wages in Texas, with an average salary of approximately $115,000 last year.

“Job growth in Texas’ oil and natural gas industry even in the midst of turbulent economic times is a continued testament to the demand for the irreplaceable products that help power our modern lives,” said Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association. “Industry remains committed to enhancing national and energy security for our nation and our allies around the world.”

According to a TIPRO analysis, there were 14,491 active unique job postings in the industry last month, including 6,193 new job postings, or a 21% increase compared to February.

Among 17 specific industry sectors, Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations had the most unique job listings posted in March of 4,027, followed by Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (2,002) and Crude Petroleum Extraction (1,548). The top cities for employment are Houston with 4,949 jobs, Midland with 1,284 jobs and Odessa with 659 jobs, according to TIPRO’s analysis.

TIPRO has also posted an average annual wage for a range of jobs within the industry as well as leading industry positions with median hourly earnings, education, work experience and typical on-the-job training. It’s also posted a sample of 500 active industry job postings over the last month.

Continued industry job growth is critical as the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. oil production in May will grow by 49,000 barrels per day (b/d) and exceed 9.328 million b/d—led by Texas.

In the Permian Basin, the most prolific shale oil basin in the U.S. located in West Texas and southeast New Mexico, the EIA projects that oil production output will increase by 13,000 b/d to reach 5.694 million b/d. Oil production in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas is also expected to increase by 6,000 b/d to reach 1.141 million bpd.

Domestic natural gas production is also expected to increase in May to reach 97 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d), with production growing to 22.5 bcf/d in the Permian and 7.26 bcf/d in the Eagle Ford Shale.

“The Texas oil and natural gas industry continues to ramp up employment and production in-line with growing demand for our product here and abroad,” TIPRO president Ed Longanecker said. “With global oil and natural gas demand projected to increase by 34 percent by the year 2050, it’s imperative that policy at the state and federal level reflect this reality and that our elected officials support continued investment in energy infrastructure and domestic production. By not doing so, energy prices will only increase for Americans and our country will become more reliant on other countries for oil and natural gas that do not adhere to the same environmental standards as the U.S. No other industry sector is more pervasive or important to our everyday lives and national security than oil and natural gas.”