(Bloomberg) -The short supply of labor in the US oil patch has plagued exploration and production companies...
(Bloomberg) -The short supply of labor in the US oil patch has plagued exploration and production companies all year, and the tightness continues.
While the sector’s unemployment rate jumped to 3.1% in November from 0.8% in the prior month on an unadjusted basis, it’s still well below the long-term average, according to a Labor Department report released Friday. A year ago, the jobless rate was 8.6% as many workers were sidelined due to the pandemic stalling output amid very weak oil demand.
Oil companies routinely cite their inability to find enough workers to drill new wells. The number of workers employed in US oil and gas jobs totaled 135,700 in November,climbing modestly for a third straight month, but still down from this year’s peak in July.
U.S. energy firms this week left the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating unchanged for the first time since June, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday.
The total U.S. oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, remained unchanged at 784 in the week to Dec. 2.
That puts the total rig count up 215, or 38%, over this time last year.
U.S. oil rigs held at 627 and gas rigs were at 155.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for January delivery fell $1.24 to $79.98 a barrel Friday. Brent crude for February deliveryfell $1.31 to $85.57 a barrel.
Wholesale gasolinefor January delivery fell 6 cents to $2.28 a gallon. January heating oil fell 9 cents to $3.17 a gallon. January natural gas fell 46 cents to $6.28 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Dow ekes out gain as S&P 500, Nasdaq close in the red after jobs report
Major U.S. stock indexes ended a choppy session mixed Friday, while still posting weekly gains, after...
Major U.S. stock indexes ended a choppy session mixed Friday, while still posting weekly gains, after monthly jobs data showed the Federal Reserve's rapid pace of interest rate hikes has yet to tame the roaring labor market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.10% rose about 33 points Friday, or 0.1%, ending near 34,428, after flipping between gains and losses. The S&P 500 index shed 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.18% lost 0.2%, according to FactSet. The main benchmarks still booked a second weekly advance in a row. The Dow rose 0.2% for the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.1% and the Nasdaq closed the week up 2.1%, according to FactSet. A hope that Federal Reserve officials might be able to raise rates at a slower pace in December has been feeding a more bullish tone in markets over the past two months, helping to significantly trimming year-to-date losses. But with the U.S. unemployment rate still low at 3.7% and wages rising in November, concerns resurfaced about the potential need for aggressive Fed actions to bring inflation down. Economists said Friday that could put another jumbo rate increase back on the table ahead of the holidays.
TotalEnergies Transitions to Renewables in Kazakhstan with $330 Million Sale
TotalEnergies unveiled on Dec. 1 the sale of its affiliate Total E&P Dunga GmbH in Kazakhstan as...
TotalEnergies unveiled on Dec. 1 the sale of its affiliate Total E&P Dunga GmbH in Kazakhstan as part of the French energy giant’s plans to develop the largest renewable wind energy project in the Central Asian country.
With the sale of the onshore Dunga oil field, TotalEnergies demonstrates a transition in its energy strategy, signing with partners Samruk-Kazyna and KazMunayGas to develop the Mirny project in Kazakhstan alongside its two solar power plants already in operation.
