O&G Sector Cut 700,000 Jobs Since 2017; Talent Begins Moving To Renewable Sector

[hatrack]

EDIT

The oil and gas industry had roughly 700,000 fewer workers last year than six years earlier, a decline of over 20 percent. Much of that drop had to do with the slowing of the shale drilling boom and greater automation. By comparison, employment in wind energy grew nearly 20 percent from 2016 to 2021, to more than 113,000 workers.

Oil and gas companies laid off roughly 160,000 workers in 2020, and they maintained tight budgets and hired cautiously over the last two years. But many renewable businesses expanded rapidly after the early shock of the pandemic faded, snapping up geologists, engineers and other workers from the likes of Exxon and Chevron. Half of Fervo’s 38 employees come from fossil fuel companies, including BP, Hess and Chesapeake Energy.

Executives and workers in energy hubs in Houston, Dallas and other places say steady streams of people are moving from fossil fuel to renewable energy jobs. It’s hard to track such movements in employment statistics, but the overall numbers suggest such career moves are becoming more common. Oil, gas and coal employment has not recovered to its prepandemic levels. But the number of jobs in renewable energy, including solar, wind, geothermal and battery businesses, is rising.

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In more than a dozen interviews, energy workers and executives said they had switched to renewable energy because they felt that the oil and gas industry’s best days were behind it. Others said they were no longer willing to tolerate the extreme ups and downs of oil and gas prices, and the accompanying cycle of rapid hiring followed by crushing layoffs. Many said concerns about climate change, which is primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels, were a factor in their decision.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/business/energy-environment/oil-gas-renewable-energy-jobs.html#commentsContainer

[GregariousGroundhog]

1. I work for a utility company

Over the last decade or so, the amount of newly installed capacity from grid-tied customer generation has roughly doubled every other year. Management believes that our future will gradually shift toward managing distributed energy resources and away from owning centralized generation.

[NNadir]

2. Yeah, I'm aware that the New York Times believes the issue of climate has been solved by wishful...

...thinking and chanting.

It hasn't, but the paper of record is certainly recording obliviousness.

As we're seeing in Germany, people investing in so called "renewable energy" should keep their coal shovels handy.