Global oil and gas industry job cuts may exceed 250,000 by the end of 2015 because of the low price, with oilfield services giants such as Schlumberger and Baker Hughes axing up to 20,000 jobs and companies such as Shell as many as 7,000.

250,000 oil jobs cut since January

LONDON, November 19, 2015 – Global oil and gas industry job cuts may exceed 250,000 by the end of 2015 because of the low price, with oilfield services giants such as Schlumberger and Baker Hughes axing up to 20,000 jobs and companies such as Shell as many as 7,000.

Activity on more than 1,100 rigs was put on hold since mid-2014, costing rig personnel their jobs in the foreseeable future. Job shortages and layoffs from cancelled or postponed projects may last until 2017, with companies planning to restructure and recover revenue if the downturn persists.

Cheap oil has hurt upstream jobs but has created more demand for workers downstream, with refinery activity booming. Refinery input in March 2015 increased by 94,000 barrels of oil per day compared to the previous year.

A similar bout of layoffs when oil prices collapsed in 1980s resulted in the current shortage of mid-career professionals as executives approach retirement and fewer qualified replacements are available.

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