According to TIPRO’s (Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association) analysis, direct Texas upstream employment for July totaled 194,100.
That’s what TIPRO said in a statement sent to Rigzone, which cited the latest Current Employment Statistics (CES) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In the statement, TIPRO outlined that the total July figure represents an increase of 1,600 jobs from revised June employment numbers.
“TIPRO’s new workforce data yet again indicated strong job postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry,” the organization noted in the statement.
“There were 11,524 active unique jobs postings for the Texas oil and natural gas industry last month, including 3,641 new job postings added during the month by companies,” it added.
“In comparison, the state of California had 4,453 unique job postings last month, followed by Florida (2,471), New York (1,662), Pennsylvania (1,606), and Louisiana (1,593),” it continued.
“TIPRO reported a total of 59,766 unique job postings nationwide last month within the oil and natural gas sector,” it went on to note.
In the statement, TIPRO highlighted that, among the 19 specific industry sectors it uses to define the Texas oil and natural gas industry, “Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores” topped the ranking for unique job listings in July with 2,820 postings. The organization pointed out in the statement that this was followed by “Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations”, with 2,480 postings, and “Crude Petroleum Extraction”, with 943 postings.
The leading three cities by total unique oil and natural gas job postings were Houston, Midland, and Odessa, TIPRO revealed in the statement. Houston had 3,286 postings, Midland had 863, and Odessa had 471, TIPRO highlighted. The organization revealed in the statement that the top three companies ranked by unique job postings in July were Love’s, with 985 postings, Baker Hughes, with 623 postings, and Cefco, with 559 postings.
“Of the top ten companies listed by unique job postings last month, four companies were in the services sector, four in the gasoline stations with convenience stores category, one midstream company, and one upstream company,” TIPRO said in the statement.
“Top posted industry occupations for July included retail salespersons (553), first-line supervisors of retail sales workers (424), and maintenance and repair workers, general (381). The top posted job titles for July included sales associates (224), assistant store manager (142), and maintenance technicians (120),” it added.
“Top qualifications for unique job postings included valid Driver’s License (1,823), Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) (264), and CDL Class A License (212),” TIPRO went on to state.
In a statement sent to Rigzone last month, which also cited the latest CES report from the BLS at the time, TIPRO noted that, according to its analysis, direct Texas upstream employment for June totaled 189,100. That figure represented “a decrease of 2,000 industry jobs from May employment numbers, subject to revisions”, TIPRO highlighted in that statement.
EPRA
In its latest statement, TIPRO also pointed out that, last week, an educational campaign managed by the organization by the name of Texans for Natural Gas (TNG), “highlighted important pending legislation, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (EPRA), that is critical in providing expedited approval for energy infrastructure projects to meet growing energy demand”.
“In July, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) released a long-awaited bill that aims to expedite the development of domestic energy projects by streamlining the federal government’s energy infrastructure permitting process,” TIPRO added in the statement.
“Overregulation is consistently cited as an obstacle that has stalled energy projects across the country. Electricity demand will increase rapidly in the coming years, particularly in Texas, and provisions in the EPRA will help streamline processes for producers to meet that demand and provide reliable, affordable energy for years to come,” TIPRO went on to state.
TIPRO also noted in the statement that EPRA streamlines several other permitting processes as well, “including simplifying the oversight authority over interregional transmission projects, requiring offshore oil and gas drilling lease sales to be held annually through 2029 instead of once every two years, and removing a requirement for projects to obtain both state and federal drilling permits in specific instances”.
The organization highlighted in the statement that EPRA was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with a bipartisan vote in July and that it is currently pending before the full senate. TIPRO said it believes the chances of a passage of a stand-alone bill will be challenging but added that “there is a possibility that it could be included in a broader legislative package during the lame-duck session after the election”.
The Congress website shows that S.4753 – which is sponsored by Manchin and Barrasso and described as “a bill to reform leasing, permitting, and judicial review for certain energy and minerals projects, and for other purposes” – needs to pass the senate and the house before going to the president and becoming law.
In the latest TIPRO statement, TIPRO President Ed Longanecker said, “Texas producers continue to lead in providing access to reliable energy to meet growing global demand and it’s time for policymakers in Washington to work together in an expedited fashion to pass the EPRA”.
“This important piece of legislation will remove infrastructure permitting delays and related federal bureaucracy to ensure that our vital energy reaches communities throughout the country and our allies abroad in a safe and efficient manner,” he added.
“TIPRO will continue to support this legislation and encourages all energy-minded Americans to contact their respective representatives in Washington to directly ask for their support,” Longanecker went on to state.
Rigzone has asked the White House, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) for comment on TIPRO’s EPRA statement and for comment on EPRA itself. At the time of writing, none of the organizations have responded to Rigzone yet.