When you hear about energy needs and resources in the united states, you might think that “alternative energy” sources such as solar or wind power were the next big thing. Although these types of energy sources are growing in popularity, they still make up a very small percentage of our overall energy production compared with oil and natural gas. Because of the growing need for energy sources, more and more jobs are becoming available.
In recent years, drillers have refined oil & gas training courses techniques for extracting oil and gas (this would be fracking) that has creating increased opportunities for oil and gas companies to increase their output as well as their need for qualified employees to do the drilling, research and management of this operations. Jobs in the oil and gas industry are in high demand around the globe and with the right background, training and certification, you might just find you next job in the energy industry. Here are a few reasons why energy demands will continue to grow, creating jobs for thousands of individuals looking for work.
With countries like China and India making huge strides forward in their respective economies with better paying jobs and standard of living increases for millions of people, basic necessities such as electricity for homes and gasoline for cars and trucks are in high demand. Add the demand from emerging countries on top of the needs from the US, Europe and other developed nations and you can see that the energy industry is big business.
Drilling operations in the us have incorporated fracking into their extraction processes for years and have now gotten to the point where this type of drilling technique where water and other chemicals are injected into certain types of rock formations have become economical and cost effective. For decades, the us has known that they there is an abundant supply of oil and natural gas locked up in shale rock formations, such as the Rockies, but it has been too expensive to extract and still make a profit. Not anymore… with improvements in fracking, operators are hiring additional workers to help at drill sites and in transportation infrastructure to take advantage of growing supplies, eliminating the need to import from the Middle East and other historical producers of oil.
With an ever growing supply of natural gas becoming available here in the us and historically low prices, power plants are converting to natural gas, delivery and garbage trucks are being constructed to run on LNG (liquified natural gas) and their is talk that we may be in the early stages of an energy revolution, where the united states, becomes less dependent on energy sources from countries such as Saudi Arabia and is able to produce our own energy resources running on cheaper oil and natural gas. As demand increases, so will job opportunities.
With natural gas trading at around $2. 00 per unit in the us, it is extremely cheap compared with countries in Europe and Asia, where the cost per unit for LNG can be north of $15 per unit. Because of this price difference, companies in the us are working on exporting LNG from the US to these foreign countries, where they can sell supplies for several times to going rate here in the us. With these exports expected to increase significantly over the next several years, more jobs will definitely become available for suppliers and shippers of LNG.