Job Satisfaction and Security in the Oil and Gas Industry: Through the Eyes of Professionals

Abstract

Forum - Results of TWA survey on job satisfaction and job security in oil and gas. The reach of the oil and gas industry is vast and global. According to IBISWorld, the industry generated revenue of around USD 5 trillion in 2013 and employed roughly 1.34 million individuals worldwide. Yet the average global discovery drilling success-to-failure ratio is 1:10. If a company experiences repeated failures, it might end up cutting overhead by downsizing. Human resources have become a large focus for management in the oil and gas industry since the 1980s. During the 1980s and 1990s, the industry did far less university recruitment than it does today. In “Benchmarking Industry Talent Needs” (Journal of Petroleum Technology, July 2010), author Olivier Soupa noted that during the boom from 2004 to 2008, the demand for petrotechnical professionals substantially increased recruitment targets for oil and gas companies. Though there was an economic collapse in 2008 and oil prices entered a period of high volatility, the industry still continues to recruit actively on campuses around the world. So what does this mean for the job security of young professionals entering the industry and those already established within the industry?