Report: Oil and natural gas industry creating more opportunities for women and minorities

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2016 – Women and minorities will fill an exceptional number of the nearly 1.9 million job opportunities projected in the oil and natural gas and petrochemical industries by 2035, according to a new IHS report, Minority and Female Employment in the Oil & Natural Gas and Petrochemical Industries 2015-2035, sponsored by API. 

“The oil and natural gas industry pays wages significantly higher than the national average and can provide tremendous career opportunities for women and minorities,” said Jack Gerard, API president and CEO. “These careers can help shrink the income inequality gap without spending a dime of taxpayer money.”

Of the industries’ new job opportunities, 707,000 positions—38 percent of the total—are projected to be held by African American and Hispanic workers, according to the report. Women are estimated to fill 290,000 of those jobs.

“We have the natural resources and the technology to continue to be a global energy superpower that will provide major economic and national security benefits,” Gerard said. “But we need to abandon backward energy policies -- like restricted access to federal lands, the rejection of infrastructure modernization projects and the Renewable Fuel Standard -- that are anti-consumer and raise costs. With smart energy policies and leadership, we can help millions of workers, ranging from Americans with high school degrees and post-secondary training to those with post-graduate degrees. These new high paying jobs have the potential to be a strong tool in reversing the trends of poverty.”

Of the 1.9 million new job opportunities, 57 percent are projected to be in blue-collar occupations and 32 percent are projected to be in management and professional fields. African American and Hispanic workers are projected to account for close to 25 percent of new hires in management, business and financial jobs through 2035. Of the women projected to be hired by the industry, more than half are expected to fill management and professional occupations.

API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, which supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy. API’s more than 650 members include large integrated companies, as well as exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms. They provide most of the nation’s energy and are backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 30 million Americans.