October 28, 2020
The upstream sector of the Texas oil and natural gas industry added 700 jobs in September, according to data from the Texas Workforce Commission. This is the first uptick since February, bringing the total upstream employment in Texas to 170,500 jobs – jobs that pay among the highest wages in Texas. The upstream sector involves oil and natural gas extraction and excludes other industry sectors such as refining, petrochemicals, fuels wholesaling, oilfield equipment manufacturing, pipelines, and gas utilities, which support hundreds of thousands of additional jobs in Texas.
“At a time when some question the future of oil and natural gas, this small but positive job growth is an indicator of better days ahead,” said Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association. “Oil and natural gas jobs power modern life and we do not need political obstacles blocking the rebound of essential jobs. This industry is indispensable to our daily lives and will be a valuable part of the energy mix for future generations. Beyond transportation fuels and power generation, oil and natural gas form the building blocks for 96% of the products we use every day like computers and cell phones, medical devices and hand sanitizer, and eye glasses and zippers, just to name a few.”
Oil and natural gas extraction is upstream activity, meaning that it excludes other sectors in the industry such as refining, petrochemicals, fuels wholesaling, oilfield equipment manufacturing, pipelines, and gas utilities. The employment shown also includes “Support Activities for Mining,” which is mostly oil and gas-related but includes some small amount of other types of mining.
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Founded in 1919, TXOGA is the oldest and largest oil and gas trade association in Texas representing every facet of the industry.
