Oil & Gas

At a Glance
  • Because oil and gas extraction is typically more capital-intensive than mineral extraction, it tends to generate lower levels of direct employment.

  • Major societal, technological, and political trends are changing how oil and gas companies operate.

  • New job classes and capability profiles are emerging as oil and gas companies seek to respond to macroeconomic trends. 

Case Studies

Key Resources

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Knowledge Based Oil and Gas Industry

The study evaluates the Norwegian upstream oil and gas industries according to the underlying dimensions of a global knowledge ...

Oil and Gas Reality Check 2015: A Look at the Top Issues Facing the Oil and Gas Sector

This report analyzes six key issues impacting the oil and gas industry, with a particular focus on the upstream market. Pages 16 to19 ...

Skills Shortages in a Booming Market: The Big Oil and Gas Challenge

This resource provides several useful insights into the forces shaping labor demand in the oil and gas industry. Through extensive ...

Oil and Gas is Facing a Severe Talent Shortage

The article provides several insights into the oil and gas labor market in the Middle East, including a discussion of the prospects for ...

Oil & Gas Is Facing a Severe Talent Shortage

The article provides several insights into the oil and gas labor market in the Middle East, including a discussion of the prospects for ...

Topic Briefing

Oil and gas extraction is generally more capital-intensive than mineral extraction; as a result, it tends to generate lower levels of direct employment. A recent International Finance Corporation (IFC) study on the potential for local employment arising from three oil and gas projects in Ghana identified two factors that limit opportunities for the local workforce: (i) the sector is knowledge- and technology-intensive rather than labor-intensive, and (ii) the oil and gas sector is a recent addition to the economy—which means that education and vocational training programs have not been in place long enough to produce the type and level of skills required.

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Major societal, technological, and political trends are reshaping the environment in which oil and gas companies operate, disrupting the way they organize their operations. Technological advances affect the types and profiles of jobs required.[1] For example, advances in data generation and treatment are creating opportunities to reinvent how and where work gets done. New job classes and capability profiles attempt to increase operational agility (through decentralized operations that bring decision making closer to the job site), to allow industry-wide cooperation (through common standards and interaction with increasingly sophisticated vendors and supply chain relationships), and to refocus technical skills on sophisticated analyses (while more standard problems are handled by machines).  

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[1] Christopher Handscomb, Scott Sharabura, and Jannik Woxholth, “The Oil and Gas Organization of the Future,” Mckinsey & Company Oil and Gas, September 2016.