Exploration and production companies in Texas added about 2,400 jobs last month as the industry continues its recovery from the pandemic. Texas Workforce Commission said the state has 185,300 drilling and extraction workers – about 16 percent fewer than the 220,300 before the pandemic began in January 2020. Texas has recovered about 35,000 (58 percent) of the 60,000 upstream jobs lost during the pandemic. Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, said, “The Texas economy continues to rebound, and the upstream sector’s addition of 2,000-plus jobs every month for the past six months is a prime example of how critical this industry is to the state’s recovery.”
Oil and gas companies in Texas posted 9,613 new job listings in November, according to Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, including 2,985 in Houston, 709 in Odessa and 651 in Midland. Companies with the most job postings include Halliburton, National Oilwell Varco and Delek.