Employment in the Texas upstream oil and gas industry continued to rise in April but at a slower clip than the previous month, according to the latest tally from the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO).
Direct employment in the exploration and production (E&P) sector totaled 199,400 for the month, up 700 jobs from March, TIPRO said, citing figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
By comparison, E&P employment in March rose by about 1,500 from February.
On a year/year basis, employment rose by 17,600 positions in April, including increases of 1,700 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction, and 15,900 jobs in the services sector.
The latest TIPRO report comes amid a downturn in U.S. natural gas prices. The Henry Hub benchmark has failed to surpass $3/MMBtu since late January.
TIRPO President Ed Longanecker was nonetheless upbeat upon announcing the latest jobs figures.
He cited the “continued growth in employment and production levels for the Texas oil and natural gas industry. This equates to enhanced energy security for our country and unmatched economic contributions to our state.”
TIPRO counted 15,127 active unique job postings for the Texas oil and gas industry in April, including 5,011 new listings. By comparison, California recorded 5,139 unique job postings for the month, followed by Louisiana (2,628), Oklahoma (2,184) and Pennsylvania (1,722), TIPRO highlighted.
Support activities for oil and gas operations in Texas accounted for the largest share of unique job listings at 3,989, followed by gasoline stations with convenience stores (1,927) and crude petroleum extraction (1,682).
Houston, as usual, led in job postings at 5,228, followed by two West Texas cities in the Permian Basin, Midland (1,391) and Odessa (686).
Broken down by company, John Wood Group plc had the most unique job postings at 844, followed by convenience store Love’s (613) and oilfield services giant Halliburton Co. (540), the BLS data showed.
The top posted industry occupations, meanwhile, included maintenance and repair workers (467), heavy tractor-trailer truck drivers (437) and managers (400). Leading posted job titles included lease operators (103), field service technicians (94) and process engineers (78).
For the industry to continue thriving, Longanecker also stressed the need for “long overdue federal permitting reform.”
He said, “Federal policymakers must remove, not add, regulatory barriers to unleash the true potential and positive impact of domestic oil and natural gas production…We will continue to advocate for a compromise permitting reform bill to be included in the final debt ceiling package that is being negotiated between Congressional leaders and the White House.”
The state’s drilling rig count stood at 357 as of Friday, flat year/year but down from 366 the week before, according to Baker Hughes Co. data.
The Energy Information Administration, meanwhile, is forecasting natural gas production from the Permian, which stretches into southeastern New Mexico, to grow by 82 MMcf/d in June versus May to average 22.6 Bcf/d. Eagle Ford Shale production is forecast to average 7.25 Bcf/d, a 26 MMcf/d increase.
