A recent report shows industry salaries remaining fairly flat, but geologists, geophysicists and geological/geophysical technicians will see the biggest jump in compensation in the near term.

An annual E&P salary report issued by CSI Recruiting, a Denver-based recruiting firm, provides an interesting compendium of salary figures, compensation overviews, and detailed commentary on supply and demand for specific technical disciplines in the oil and gas industry.

According to Jeff Bush, CSI president, the report “can serve as a roadmap for those employers who desire to retain and hire technical talent and as a barometer for those professionals presently within the E&P industry.”

The data is made up of responses from technical professionals currently in full-time, salaried positions with E&P companies, working in a U.S. location. Domestically, the hiring marketplace has seen dramatic changes, and those with technical skill sets have been in high demand and short supply, causing a rapid change in base salaries.

The good news is that despite the recent downturns and the economic recession as a whole, E&P salaries from 2008 to 2009 have stayed largely flat or seen very modest increases in this past year. Although the bulk of the domestic economy has seen waves of job losses, complete abandonment of bonuses and, in some cases, business closings and bankruptcy claims, the oil and gas industry continues to hold on to the bulk of its technical staff in anticipation of a busy year to come.

Technical talent can expect a general upswing later this year and on into 2010, geologists, geophysicists and geological/geo­physical technicians more so than others. Geologists with experience in horizontal drilling operations will see the most notable rise in demand.

Reservoir engineers will be the main recipients of pay and benefits increases when the industry turns around.

Drilling engineers have been able to take a breather after the bouts of aggressive, multi-rig and high-dollar drilling programs; however it is proving to be a longer one than anticipated.

Production and operations engineers fall victim to the “luck of the draw,” with employment stability dependent upon the makeup of the employer (gas-heavy, oil-heavy or some combination thereof) and the geographic location of assets. While the premium basins in the Rockies are not doing as well due to the “discounted” gas prices, the Marcellus shale is hot and the proximity to strong pricing markets helps keep these engineers in business.

The report holds less promising news for petroleum landmen. Operators that once focused on growth and expansion and found landmen essential in managing land grabs from one shale play to another, now have less of a need for them.

The report does not anticipate significant changes in demand for land professions in 2009.

For more on industry salaries, see OilandGasInvestor.com.

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