Texas upstream oil and natural gas job growth up by 13% from last March

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square

An additional 4,300 jobs in the oil and natural gas industry were added in Texas in March, according to a new jobs report released by the Texas Workforce Commission.

At 184,700 total upstream jobs, March 2022 jobs are up by 21,700, or 13.3%, from March 2021. Since the low point in employment in September 2020, job growth months for the sector have outnumbered decline months by a ratio of 16 to 2.

“The Texas oil and natural gas industry has proven resilient over the years and continued job growth in the upstream sector benefits every American and our environment,” Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, said. “No one produces the oil and natural gas the world needs in a more environmentally responsible way than American producers, and the lion’s share of that production takes place right here in Texas.”

The upstream sector includes oil and natural gas extraction. It excludes the industry sectors of refining, petrochemicals, fuels wholesaling, oilfield equipment manufacturing, pipelines, and gas utilities, which create additional jobs in Texas.

Of the 21,700 industry jobs added since last March, 3,600 are in oil and natural gas extraction and 18,100 are in the services sector, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO), said.

In an analysis of workforce data, TIPRO says the majority of the industry jobs were added in the Houston metropolitan area, the largest region in the state for industry employment. Houston metro upstream employment in March was an increase of 5,300 jobs from last March, including an increase of 2,100 positions in oil and natural gas extraction and 3,200 jobs in the services sector, it says.

Strong job posting data for upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors in March were in line with rising employment overall, TIPRO noted, “showing a continued demand for talent and increasing exploration and production activities in the Texas oil and natural gas industry.”

Another positive sign, TIPRO notes, is there were 11,433 active unique job postings in the industry in March, a 14% increase from February’s unique job postings.

However, in February, there was a record number of drilling permits issued for new wells in the Permian Basin. Producers have been responding to the need to increase domestic production to address global supply shortages and rising gas prices at the pump.

“Domestic production will continue to increase in the coming months, but operators still face a number of obstacles that will constrain our industry’s growth potential, including workforce shortages, higher material costs, and an uncertain regulatory environment,” TIPRO President Ed Longanecker said. “Our industry needs more than a temporary green light from policy leaders in Washington to make the long-term investments necessary to achieve sustained energy security for our country and allies abroad.”

Within the oil and natural gas industry, the Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations Sector reported the greatest number of unique job listings, TIPRO found, with 3,167 new postings. Crude Petroleum Extraction had the next greatest number of 1,512, followed by Petroleum Refineries of 1,040.

Houston had the greatest number of unique oil and natural gas job postings of 3,895, followed by 1,256 in Midland and 583 in Odessa, according to TIPRO’s analysis.

The companies with the most unique job postings available in March were Baker Hughes with 637 unique jobs available, followed by Weatherford International’s 494 and Halliburton’s 488.

Top posted occupations last month were heavy tractor-trailer truck drivers, software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers, and personal service managers.