No. The Bakken field is to the Southeast.
Posted on 03/28/2011 5:15:11 AM PDT by thackney
Labour shortages aren’t looming in the Alberta oilpatch, they are already here, said the head of the Petroleum Human Resources Council.
As oil and natural gas liquids activity ramps up on the back of strong prices, conventional operations are having to compete not only with like-industries such as construction, but with unconventional projects — the oilsands.
“Our shortage, just based on activity alone, is now, in 2011,” said Cheryl Knight Thursday at an Economic Society of Canada presentation.
In 2009 the oil and gas industry directly employed 172,000 people in operations, most in out in the field in the services sector, Knight said, at the Chamber of Commerce. Drilling and servicing rigs, or exploration and production, drew the next largest segment of workers, with the oilsands trailing third.
But in terms of sheer magnitude, the key growth sector industry is in the oilsands, she said.
Job opportunities in the oilsands are expected to double by 2020, growing more than 24,000 positions from 12,000 to 13,000.
“As oilsands companies increasingly contract to the service sector for their maintenance contracting we see increased stress on the services sector,” she said to the audience. “There are going to be challenges for oil and gas producers, both on the conventional and the oilsands sides to access the service sector workers that they need.”
Skilled workers fled the oil and gas industry when commodity prices crashed in 2008, heading toward industries and more stable jobs. Attracting them back and keeping them is a challenge most companies have been struggling and planning for.
Activity in Alberta’s oilsands has surged on the back of strong oil prices, with almost $170 billion worth of projects currently underway or proposed in the region.
Topping the council’s list of occupations in the oilpatch was heavy equipment operator, followed by steam and non-steam operators, supervisors for oil and gas drilling, rig crews, millwrights and machinists.
Already this year Cenovus Energy Inc. plans to boost its staff by 400 employees, bringing its payroll up to 4,000.
Half of the new hires will work downtown, the other half in the field, primarily the company’s oilsands projects Foster Creek and Christina Lake, said spokeswoman Rhona DelFrari.
While the energy company has been successful in filling vacancies, Cenovus is well aware competition for qualified workers already is hot, she said.
“We have to be competitive to attract people in the field,” she said. “And one way we do are competitive is with our camps.”
Workers in the know find out which camps, where companies provide temporary accommodation, offer what perks and often chose the job based on them. At Cenovus’ Christina Lake camp, employees can take advantage of state-of-art gyms, cinema rooms, a music space with instruments supplied for impromptu jams, and their own dedicated rooms.
“The oilsands win at the end of the day because they have so much more to offer,” said Mark Salkeld, president of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.
The service sector expects to add 19,000 jobs over the next eight years, and Salkeld anticipates conventional oil and gas drilling operations will have to wrestle with oilsands projects for people.
“Within our own province we are going to have that struggle in the industry for conventional requirements versus oilsands,” he said. “Where the oilsands advantage lies is that it’s a year-round operation, allowing nice, consistent shift work at decent pay.”
In contrast, work on conventional oil and gas rigs is seasonal — with the busy season being winter — and generally in remote areas with few amenities.
The industry as a whole will need another 40,000 people in the next decade, Salkeld said.
The oilsands is in a better position than the conventional side of the oilpatch because the work isn’t necessarily industry-specific, industry insider said.
i have contemplated this, but the main obstacle for me would be that I cant work for 6 months after entering Canada. I could easily find a place to live as my inlaws live there...
And don’t forget the satellite businesses needed.
Workers eat, drive cars, wear clothes and party on weekends.
That means they need restaurants, clothing stores, mechanic shops and saloons.
Any unemployed folks good at frying eggs and hash browns or changing brakes? Opportunity waits.
I remember when I worked at factories, the food pick-ups would show up at breaks and lunch. You could buy a pop, coffee and hot sandwich.
I cant work for 6 months after entering Canada
Why is that? I know several people who went to Canada for working in the oil patch.
that’s what my wife says is the case for immigrants - which is what I would be there.
Izzatso? How'd that work out for them?
I know several people who moved from the US to Canada for working in the oil patch who did not wait a day.
You do not need to immigrate to Canada. You can retain US citizenship and get a work permit. It is commonly done.
More info at:
About Working in Canada
http://www.workingincanada.gc.ca/content_pieces-eng.do;jsessionid=9B10985FD0B789B3287AEF996ECADBF8.imnav1?cid=983
That said, I've also been willing to move and take jobs in undesirable places for the experience and pay. Having a family makes some of those opportunities tough to accept.
no she prolly doesnt want to go...lol...thanks, you have just given me my fun for the day with her...lol
Isn’t this the northwest end of the Bakken oil formation which extends down into ND? It is by far the most productive oil field in the US right now, and could be ten times as productive without all the liberal wackos. Yet, a couple of hundred miles north of our border it is being drilled like a prostitute at Charlie Sheen’s mansion. Doesn’t make much sense. They just completed a pipeline from Alberta to Cushing, OK to transport the oil. God forbid we drill here - Obummer makes sure that Canada, Brazil, and Venezuela get the work.
Those of us who had seen the 'bust' of 1982 noticed the similarity in the shape of the price curves, runup to a peak, drop beyond normal pricing, and the rebound to a more stable price. Inflation is a factor which has changed things a little this time, last time the price stabilized for longer and did not continue to climb. Geopolitics has an influence, too.
Many of us started our own businesses in the slack time and are back in the saddle with the benefit of considerable experience.
No. The Bakken field is to the Southeast.
Interesting story but my point is ‘82 was no ‘08. Dont know about Canada, but there weren’t a helluva lot of jobs to find in the US in ‘08.
It was in Western ND in '82.
It was like '08 was everywhere else.
Not only did the rig count in the Williston Basin go from 212 to 54 (better than 3 of 4 jobs lost) in '82, but the Ag sector took a hit that year, too (the other part of the local economy then).
Some of the people who stayed were out of work for a year, long before that became fashionable. Others went from $40K to minimum wage ($3.35, then).
Just no jobs to be had.
The housing bubble burst, and homes sold for a third of what they had in '80 by 1986.
After going through that, some of us youngsters learned how to be far more prudent with our money when we started doing well again.
How did that bumpersticker read again?
“PLEASE GOD, Just Give Me One More Oil Boom. I Promise Not to Blow It Next Time.”
I started on the slope for a new company (Native owned) and never missed a hitch for the next 15 years. Boy, was I a lucky little roughneck!
Awful. But getting back to my post, for those who left the industry in 08 to find “stable” jobs — it wasn’t just an oil bust, or a localized economy bust. It was a “global financial meltdown.”. There were no “stable jobs” to find. That was the point and I’ve spent waaaaaay too much time trying to make it. Gotta go find a job! ;)
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