What Lasting Oil and Gas Workforce Changes are Underway?
Approximately 14% of permanent U.S. oil and gas employees lost their jobs in 2020, Deloitte estimates. Additionally, the consultancy has warned that more than 70% of those jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic may not return by the end of this year. Consequently, this “great compression” of the oil and gas workforce could usher in dramatic technological changes – notably more digitally oriented tools. In this article, Rigzone contributor Monique Jozwiakowski presents insights about how working in oil and gas – and preparing for careers in the industry – are changing. An energy tech executive and a Texas A&M University professor provide additional context regarding the workforce transformation.
New 2021 and 2022 Oil Price Forecasts from EIA
The Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, has made minor changes to its projected average Brent spot prices for this year and next. EIA’s short term energy outlook (STEO) for May anticipates an average 2021 Brent spot price of $62.26 per barrel – two cents lower than last month’s Brent STEO. However, EIA did revise upward – by 25 cents per barrel – its average Brent spot forecast for 2022. The DOE unit now expects the benchmark to average $60.74 next year.
Geothermal Is a Different Kind of Renewable Resource
How to transition from non-renewable to renewable energy resources is a prominent topic nowadays in the oil and gas community. Only one renewable resource – using heat from the earth – offers a steady, clean source of baseload energy, a geothermal industry executive told Rigzone. Moreover, he pointed out that integrating geothermal into the electrical power grid relies less on long-distance transmission and ancillary services than renewables such as wind and solar. Also, he observed that collaborative opportunities exist between the geothermal and oil and gas sectors.
To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.
