Will Oil and Gas Workers Get Left Behind?
When you think of oil production, which countries come to mind? If you’re like many people, you may be thinking of countries throughout the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabi, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates. Would you believe, though, that one of the preeminent oil basins in the entire world is located right here in the United States?
In a recent Forbes article by Ian Palmer, the author notes that the Permian basin, which is located in southeast New Mexico and west Texas, “is the king of crude in the U.S.” Responsible for “producing over 6 MMbpd (million barrels per day),” the Permian has made New Mexico “the second highest oil-producing state in the U.S.”
Experts estimate “that crude oil from the Permian will increase 8% this year…leading to record levels of oil production in the U.S. that will approach 14 MMbpd by 2025…the highest oil production in the world.” However, Palmer points out that the oil and gas industry “predicts peak oil production in the 2030s.” After that peak, “[t]he general idea is that fossil energies would decline as renewable energies would increase.”
What’s driving these changes? (Pun totally intended.) If you guessed electric vehicles (EV), you’d be partially right. In addition to EVs, the push for renewable energy sources also comes from efforts to address climate change, as well as the fact that fossil fuel supplies are not renewable and will one day have to be replaced with alternatives.
Oil giant British Petroleum (bp) estimates “worldwide fossil energy consumption falling steadily from 80% now to 28-55% by 2050. Coal will fall the most, oil will fall, and natural gas may or may not fall.” New Environmental Protection Agency rules aimed at vehicle emissions could spur the transition to EVs, though, which could accelerate the decline in oil production.
This might seem like a problem for a state like New Mexico, but Governor Lujan Grisham has made a “strong commitment to address climate change. The state has mandated 80% of electricity to be provided by renewables by 2040, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be reduced by 45-50% based on 2005 levels.”
As the transition to renewables gains momentum, many in New Mexico are beginning to ask questions about what is to become of the state’s oil and gas workers. According to a recent article from The Wilderness Society, author Nicole Segnini notes that “the oil and gas industry hugely depends on Latinx and immigrant workers. According to New Mexico’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Latinos represent 46% of the state’s oil and gas workforce, many of whom are immigrants.”
Segnini acknowledges that “New Mexico, and the U.S. as a whole, must transition to renewable energy. But as they make that change, they need to ensure these workers, who have played such a crucial role in the economy, are not left behind. The state must value their expertise and livelihoods as it navigates the necessary transition to a healthier, more sustainable economy.”
For many Latinos and immigrants in New Mexico, “jobs in or supporting the fossil fuel industry are among the very few available to care for their families.” Unfortunately, it’s also this same group “who bears the brunt of the industry's challenges and pollution.”
Segnini notes that “[o]il and gas workers in Southeast New Mexico…are not sure if they'll be replaced, if they'll have to move or if they'll even get a fair chance at new clean energy jobs.” In fact, “[m]any fear people from outside the state of New Mexico will get those jobs instead, leaving them without a paycheck—and without easy access to training that could help them transition into safe and quality jobs in renewable energy or other industries.”
For example, Gabriela Rueda, originally from Mexico and living in New Mexico for the last five years, says, “Our community needs funds to improve the workforce, have other developments and training with work equipment." She and others working in the New Mexico oil and gas industry “all have one thing in common: they understand that the oil and gas industry has many flaws and could end. They just want to be considered when that happens.”
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Thanks to the advocacy of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a New Mexico immigrant and worker rights organization, the most recent New Mexico state legislative session secured “$6 million from the state’s budget for New Mexico’s adult education division to expand integrated education and skills building programs for disengaged and difficult to reach adult workers,” as well as “a $1 million pilot program to provide cash stipends to low-income workers enrolled in adult education and integrated education training program.”
Segnini concludes that “it is crucial the state…provides equitable access to workforce development and adult education programs and invests significantly in supplemental income for workers enrolled in training…Providing support, retraining opportunities and pathways to new employment sectors ensures that these workers are not left behind but rather empowered to thrive in a rapidly evolving energy landscape.”
For New Mexico and any other states navigating the transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources, the Amatrol family of companies can help with all your training needs. Oil and gas companies will continue to need skilled workers as oil production continues to increase over the coming decade.
As the renewable energy transition ramps up, companies will still need skilled workers. Many of the skills workers will need will be like those needed to produce traditional fossil fuels, while new skills will also need to be mastered. Amatrol, along with its sister companies, DAC Worldwide and Bayport Technical, offer a wide variety of training tools and systems to teach workers the skills they need to succeed.
For example, both DAC Worldwide and Bayport Technical manufacture oil and gas training tools and systems that teach hands-on technical skills with real industrial equipment they’ll encounter on the job. Here are a couple of samples of the types of training aids these companies produce:
When it comes to teaching the skills workers need in the alternative energy sector, Amatrol provides a full array (again, pun totally intended) of solar and wind trainers. Here are a couple of examples of Amatrol’s green technology training systems:
Reach out to an expert training consultant with Amatrol today to get started on the path to training the next generation of workers!