Texas: It's A Whole Other Country, a slogan the state uses to promote its travel industry, carries a much different meaning for oil and gas veterans in the Lone Star State. Visits to the Alamo and Padre Island aside, what's really unique about Texas these days are the jobs created by the oil and gas industry.

An Internet search for "Texas oil and gas employment" reveals an impressive volume of job listings comparable to the days when newspaper classified sections actually mattered. "Now Hiring" ads for oil and gas jobs are aplenty, and in some cases companies are scrambling to find workers.

At NAPE's 2011 summer conference in Houston, John Christmann, Apache's vice president for the Permian region, said, "If anyone's looking for work, we need people in Midland, Texas. It may be tricky finding a house, but we definitely need people. If I could get more folks in Midland it would help us take our rig count up."

However, it's not just the opportunities that have the industry gushing. The current oil and gas employment statistics are record-setting, and that means job prospects have turned into paychecks.

According to the Texas Petro Index (TPI), 224,200 people held exploration and production jobs in the state in June. The employment count eclipsed the October 2008 mark, which was the peak of Texas' last major oil and gas boom. And in July the news was even better as 6,200 Texans joined oil and gas payrolls, according to the TPI. The number of Texans working in upstream businesses now totals 230,400.

The TPI is a rating system that compiles information on indicators such as employment, commodity prices, production volumes and drilling data. A monthly overall score is calculated.

Tom Taylor, chairman of the board of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, the nation's largest state association of independent oil and gas producers, said July statistics show that 63% of active rigs in the state are directed at oil prospects. A steady increase in crude exploration, Taylor said, helped propel the TPI to 246.1 in July. By comparison, the TPI was 238.5 in April 2011; 186.6 in December 2009; and 285.4 in September and October 2008, when E&P activity in the state was at high tide.

"Clearly, the crude-driven expansion of the Texas petroleum economy continues, with the TPI for July improving a stout 17% over the July 2010 index," said petroleum economist Karr Ingham, who created the TPI and writes monthly reports. "But the industry already has eclipsed the employment record, and other activity indicators are nearing peak levels.

"As long as prices hold above $80 per barrel, it is unlikely that activity will slow appreciably. It's possible the industry's growth rate could slow down if well-site capabilities begin to reach their limits. Of course, all bets are off if crude oil prices begin to decline further," he added.

Among the leading TPI indicators for July are: crude production of 36.2 million barrels, a 2% increase compared with July 2010; a $3.37 billion value for Texas-produced crude, which is 30.7% more than a year ago; nearly 585.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas production, a year-over-year monthly decline of about 8.1%; and a Baker Hughes rig count of 858, which was 26.9% more than in July 2010 when 676 rigs were active.

Oil and Gas Jobs Dominate U.S. Hiring

Favorable news about oil and gas employment is not limited to Texas. According to data published earlier this year by Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. (EMSI), an organization that tracks labor market trends, regional economics and workforce development, the oil and gas industry dominated job growth in the U.S. from 2009-2011. The industry accounted for five of the nation’s top 10 job categories, according to EMSI.

Service unit operator was the No. 1 high-growth job, followed by derrick operator, No. 2. Rotary drill operator came in at No. 4, followed by roustabout, No. 5. Petroleum engineer was at No. 7. Together, the five oil and gas categories created about 20,900 new job opportunities during the two-year period.

Raymond James Makes Upward Revision of its Rig Count

Meanwhile, a Sept. 6 report by Raymond James & Associates observes that rig count is expected to grow faster than market expectations as long as oil prices remain greater than $70 per barrel. That is potentially uplifting news for job-seekers.

Raymond James has revised its 2011 U.S. rig forecast, raising it by 4% to 1,881 rigs. For 2012, domestic rig count is now expected to increase 10% to 2,172. Beyond 2012, Raymond James expects U.S. drilling activity to continue increasing at a 10% annual growth rate.

"Horizontal drilling and multistage fracing have unlocked the potential of oil shale plays and dramatically improved economics. In fact, drilling activity in the oily shales -- Eagle Ford, Bakken, Granite Wash, Permian, etc. -- has increased by 500 rigs or about 300% since the start of 2010. We recognize that a substantial part of the Permian activity is still vertically directed, but the horizontal rig count has expanded five-fold from 15 to 80 rigs and even the vertical wells are now using multistage fracturing technology," according to the Raymond James report. "Meanwhile, activity in the gassy plays -- Haynesville, Marcellus, Barnett, Fayetteville and Arkoma Woodford, etc. -- has only declined by 10 rigs, or about 3%, during that same time. Frankly, we thought it would have fallen more."

API: Policy Changes Could Create More Jobs

Oil and gas employment prospects could be become even brighter if the U.S. adopts policy changes that favor more production, according to a study released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Sept. 7. If such changes are adopted, the study suggests that more than 1.4 million new jobs, $800 billion in additional government revenue, and 10 million barrels worth of added daily production by 2030 could be generated. The study was commissioned to Scotland-based Wood Mackenzie Research and Consulting.

"Our industry has kept more than 9 million Americans employed through some of the toughest economic times in America's history, and we created thousands of jobs just last month," API president and CEO Jack Gerard said in a news release. "The study shows we could provide another 1.4 million jobs, with as many as 1 million created in just the next seven years and thousands of shovel-ready jobs available next year. It's time our national energy policy let America take advantage of this opportunity."

The suggested changes include opening non-park federal onshore and offshore areas to development where now prohibited; returning permitting in the Gulf of Mexico to historical levels; approving the Keystone XL and other pipelines; and establishing a regulatory environment that permits full development of the nation's oil and gas resources, including those locked in shale formations.

"The creation of these jobs is within the president's control," Gerard added."The policy changes involve actions he can take unilaterally. They do not require a super committee of Congress and they do not require new legislation," Gerard said.

Contact the author, Mike Madere, at mmadere@hartenergy.com.

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