Employment

In Alberta, there are currently 251 active rigs. Each active drilling operation supports 75 direct field jobs, ranging from the drilling crew and service rig crew, to the cementers, loggers, testers, stimulation crew, and oil company representatives.

The Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) published an employment study which estimated that the direct and indirect employment of oil and gas drilling to be around 135 workers per rig. This includes workers that provide support in trucking services, camps, catering, road construction, mechanical services and a variety of other jobs. 

According to the provincial Alberta Energy department, one out of every six Albertans is directly or indirectly employed in the energy industry. Across Canada, some 500,000 jobs are directly or indirectly supported by the industry.

Some of the direct jobs associated with the energy industry include:

• Engineers: Petroleum (i.e. Reservoir, Production), Mechanical (i.e. Mechanical, Rotating Equipment and Development) and Materials
• Trades: Pipefitter, Ironworker, Rig Technician, Electrical and Instrumentation
• Business and Operations Support: Medical Personnel, IT Specialist, Specialty HR, Production Accountant, Finance, Occupational Health and Safety and QA Specialist
• Operators: Motorhand, Derrickhand, Driller, Field Operator, Well Services Operator (experienced) and Service Technician
• Field Workers: Drilling and Service Rig Work (i.e. Floor hand) and Seismic (i.e. Recording Crew Helper and Observer)
• Specialized Skills: Experienced SAGD Professional, In Situ Heavy Oil Technical Professional and Shale Gas Specialist
• Others: Mining and Construction roles (i.e. Site Superintendent and Construction Safety Office and Laborer)

Helping meet the world’s energy needs requires infrastructure to locate, reach, extract, develop, market and distribute resources. Energy industry employees buy houses, meals, cars, seek out services and pay taxes. It is by examining our economy this way that we are able to understand the true importance of energy in Alberta.  

Investment in the energy industry translates into gross domestic product, royalties, taxes and jobs for Albertans. The more investment Alberta’s oil and gas industry attracts, the more industry can invest back into Alberta.