Oil and gas production and services jobs
Oil and gas production and services jobs in Texas exceeded 300,000 workers this summer for the first time since such data has been compiled, according to the Texas Petro Index.
Many of those jobs are in the Houston region, but a lot of the surge also comes from exploration and production surges in West Texas in the Permian Basin.
The Texas index counted 302,700 workers in the energy services, and exploration and production fields in Texas at the end of July. That amount is the largest since the index began tracking jobs in 1995. Texas’ oil production totaled 93.65 million barrels in July — a more than 20 percent rise from July 2013.
The Texas Petro Index is a service of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, the nation’s largest state association of independent oil and gas producers. The index does not count energy jobs in areas such as downstream refineries or the petrochemical sector.
In slightly different calculations, the Houston region now counts 115,400 energy jobs, which includes 63,000 in oil and gas and 52,400 in energy support services, according to U.S. Department of Labor data at the end of July. In comparison, in 2005 at the end of July, there were 65,400 total energy jobs in the region.