The U.S. oilfield services sector lost 91,680 jobs due to pandemic-related oil demand destruction, according to a monthly a report compiled and published by trade group Petroleum Equipment & Services Association (PESA) on Dec. 8.
Demand for drilling services sank after oil prices collapsed earlier this year, pushing several oilfield services firms to file for bankruptcy, incur heavy losses and cut jobs. Easing of virus-related restrictions, however, has led to a rebound in demand for fuel and related products.
Oilfield sector employment rose 0.4% in November as companies sought to balance increasing oil and gas production with the uncertainty caused by a surge in COVID-19 cases, which has led to renewed lockdowns and reduced demand, the report said.
Employment rose slightly for a third straight month, with the sector adding an estimated 2,665 jobs in November, compared with 5,091 in October and 1,498 jobs in September, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and PESA analysis. However, it was down to 665,836 jobs in November compared to 747,446 a year earlier, a decline of 10.9%. The jobs lost represent annual wages of about $10.3 billion.
Within the sector, companies providing support services for oil and gas extraction saw the most job losses during the pandemic at 77,810, 85% of the sector's total job losses, PESA's analysis found.
Recommended Reading
Exclusive: Tenaris’ Zanotti: Pipes are a ‘Matter of National Security’
2024-04-12 - COVID-19 showed the world that long supply chains are not reliable, and that if oil is a matter of U.S. national security, then in turn, so is pipe, said Luca Zanotti, U.S. president for steel pipe manufacturer Tenaris at CERAWeek by S&P Global.
Exclusive: Sabine CEO says 'Anything's Possible' on Haynesville M&A
2024-04-09 - Sabine Oil & Gas CEO Carl Isaac said it will be interesting to see what transpires with Chevron’s 72,000-net-acre Haynesville property that the company may sell.
Chesapeake, Awaiting FTC's OK, Plots Southwestern Integration
2024-04-01 - While the Federal Trade Commission reviews Chesapeake Energy's $7.4 billion deal for Southwestern Energy, the two companies are already aligning organizational design, work practices and processes and data infrastructure while waiting for federal approvals, COO Josh Viets told Hart Energy.
Exclusive: Calling on Automation to Help with Handling Produced Water
2024-03-10 - Water testing and real-time data can help automate decisions to handle produced water.