The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says oil and gas employment in Texas grew again for the seventh consecutive month. The bank says the industry added nearly 4,300 positions statewide in June over May and it credited jobs growth in the mining sector. Oil field services are included in the mining sector.
Researchers estimated there are 223,300 positions on oil and gas payrolls in the state. No wonder as oil production from the state’s Permian Basin grew by more than 68,000 barrels a day in July. The Fed also indicated there was strong growth from the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas where drilling has rebounded. Oil output from the Eagle Ford grew by more than 41,000 barrels a day.
With oil production at 3.8 million barrels a day in the Permian and Eagle Ford, it’s no wonder employment has grown in the oil and gas industry. But there’s also a possibility the employment could be more than what figures suggest.
That’s because many of the Permian wells are drilled but uncompleted or DUC wells. It means oil companies are drilling far more wells than the number put into production, maybe at least 2,330 wells so far. A record high according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.