One shortage in booming oil fields: regulators
Regulators in Wyoming are hemorrhaging employees. The state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration lost a quarter of its inspectors last year. The state’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission fared no better. And Mark Watson, the oil and gas supervisor, says rehiring, especially for specialized positions, is extremely difficult.
“They’re in demand and we don’t pay as much,” he says.
“You know, that job,” he says, “we’re competing with someone in industry that might have 20 years of experience and we probably would pay 50 percent less than what they could get in industry.”
That’s right. 50 percent less. Watson says he’s talked to new graduates whose first offers out of college are $25,000 more than he makes as the state’s top oil and gas regulator. And it’s not just him. Nationwide, petroleum engineers working in industry make 70 percent more than those working for governments, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“In the boom times, I’ll say, we especially have a hard time competing with industry when it comes to recruiting and retaining people,” says Michael Madrid, who heads the minerals division of the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming. Right now, Madrid’s division is actually mostly staffed.
But there’s concern about the future, and not just in Wyoming. A recent report by the Government Accountability Office says BLM offices nationwide could find themselves short-handed as the boom continues. And Madrid says that would be bad for everyone, including industry.
“The work will eventually get done, but there’s long, significant delays if we’re short-handed,” he says.
Which is bad for those who want to keep the boom booming.
This story comes from Inside Energy, a public media collaboration focused on America’s energy issues.
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