I’ve discussed in a previous post the impact that the oil and gas industry has on jobs in the United States. I took note this past week of an article in the Oil and Gas Financial Journal regarding the testimony of Daniel Yergin (author of The Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World) to the US House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power. His statements regarding the oil and gas industry’s contributions to the economy are worth highlighting:
- Oil and gas production currently supports 1.7 million jobs, with growth to 3 million by 2020.
- Even in areas where there is no activity, long supply chains mean jobs are created everywhere. For example, in New York, where shale gas development is banned, at least 44,000 jobs have been created by the industry.
In addition to job creation, Yergin commented on the continuing concern around what fracking does to the environment. The technology is not new, but the impact of the scale and intensity in regions that are not accustomed to oil and gas development is still in question. “Understandably, the environmental impacts need to be carefully assessed and monitored, and the public needs to be confident about these impacts.”
But the environmental concern due to shale drilling isn’t all bad. Emission reductions can be attributed to increased availability of natural gas as well! According to Yergin, “US carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption are down 13% since 2007… the most significant part is the result of natural gas supplanting coal in electric generation at a rapid rate.”
In order to manage both the increase in employees and environmental compliance, oil and gas companies can’t rely on outdated software. To remain competitive and grow, they need software that can keep up and help busy employees remain efficient.
For more on using software to manage employee data, read our case study…
To find out why most oil and gas companies avoid creating a system for managing compliance, read our series on the topic!