The oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, consists of around 7,000 companies earning an estimated combined revenue of around £450 billion. However, production and associated income are fragmented; about 10% of companies generate about 60% of this figure. Demand for oil and gas is caused by economic activity, population growth, and the need for energy for residential, industrial, and transportation uses. The growth of an individual company is determined by the success rate of new finds, as well as the ability to continue producing from existing sites.
Larger companies have the advantage, as they have greater access to capital and the ability to buy smaller companies or propagate mergers. Smaller companies rely on their abilities to focus and develop expertise in a few geographic areas. In addition, oil and gas compete with other types of fuel, such as coal, nuclear power, and hydroelectricity. In addition, other energy sources are emerging, such as ethanol and biodiesel, and other forms of application are coming to the market, such as the new generation of hybrid-electric cars.
Oil and gas are found in huge underground basins that meet certain geological criteria. In addition to creating three-dimensional maps of underground structures and using seismic waves to determine a site’s potential, exploratory drilling remains an important factor in finding oil and gas. Last year, the number of exploratory drilling carried out exceeded 53,500. Once an area has been designated as promised, the area is cleared and a drill rig and crew are brought in to begin the process of extracting the resources that have been found.
Oil and gas jobs generally fall into one of two categories: upstream and downstream. Upstream works are in the process of obtaining oil and gas from natural resources: Drilling works are upstream works. Other jobs are likely to include those in construction and those involved in production facilities. Not all upstream work is done on land; For many, part of the appeal of this industry is its variety. Oil and gas fields are also developed below sea level, such as in the North Sea and recently discovered subsea sites in West Africa. These require specialists to find and extract the available resources.
Downstream work involves the transportation of oil and gas in its basic forms, the liquefaction of these substances, and their processing. While upstream jobs tend to be comparatively more transitory, as they are based on ultimate exploration and extraction, it is in the downstream category that the oil and gas races take place; While jobs on oil rigs, for example, will only last as long as the resource exists, marketing jobs can become lifelong opportunities as the team packages the combined products around the world.
The oil and gas industries are two of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. They employ a huge number of staff who work in an incredible variety of departments, from those on the ‘front line’ to those who design advertising campaigns to those who put it on our vehicles.