Rig workers are reaping the rewards of hard work in a tough environment.
Oil rigs are tough, intense places to work, remote and often lonely but, with a global boom in offshore drilling and a scarcity of managers and workers, salaries are soaring. Keppel Corp, the world’s largest rig builder, has seen a 27% rise in salaries between 2007 and 2011. With nearly 90% of its staff in the oil rig division, the company's headcount has increased by more than five percent over the same period. The Oil & Gas Global Salary Guide 2012 reports that permanent salaries are up six percent in the past 12 months.
A tough job but well rewarded Image: Lindsey Gee |
Average mining, oil and gas exploration salaries in the US have seen a rise of five percent in the past year, due to the boom in oil and gas exploration in several US states. Roustabouts, who are the least skilled workers on a rig, have seen salaries double in the last five years. One example is a worker who rose through the ranks from rig worker to operations manager in twenty years, with a salary increase from $5 an hour to some half a million dollars a year.
With China doubling its consumption between 2001 and 2011 and global oil demand rising by 14% in the same period, salaries have risen commensurately. Huge projects in Brazil, Australia, China and Iraq and other activity to satisfy demand and offset the drop in the output from accessible fields has boosted high-paying employment opportunities through exploration in the Arctic and new offshore zones (e.g. the Bay of Bengal) as well as deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil.
Despite the attractive salaries, there remains a skill-shortage withing the exploration industry. With 57% of people working in their home country and 42% working abroad in 2012, finding skilled workers to meet demaind is a huge challenge for recruiters. There has been an increase in countries actively encouraging hiring local nationals, with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Brazil and Venezuela, amongst others, providing significant increases in local pay whilst the figure for overseas workforce remains relatively steady.
Two regions in particular have seen falling salaries – Northern Africa and mainland Europe. Hays Recruitment says, “Both are a reminder that whilst the demand for energy remains high the industry is not immune to what is going on in the world around us on a regional basis, be it social conflict or economic pain.”