The future of oil and gas on the world stage ! (Houston: buying, schools)

[ipuck]

Originally Posted by Oildog

You think the energy industry doesn't recruit, nor do many have advanced degrees? Top engineers are recruited by many energy companies. Granted, not many Ph. D. recipients are turning wrenches, but they are in the research centers, where their skills are better utilized....and while I bash the Aggies on a regular basis, a top CS grad from there would have a very good chance on landing a good job at a high tech firm like Google. More to it than grades.

Location plays a part as well. Many tech companies are located where there is a very high cost of living, so they need to pay more to attract top talent, 90k goes much further on the gulf coast than on the left coast.

Don't be bitter, not everyone has mechanical/chemical inclination or can solve problems under pressure.

I am saying the average joe blow fresh out of school with a Chem Eng Degree does not deserve 70k-90k.

You think an Electrical Eng Degree can command this kind of salary from a public univ in Texas?

Since you move the post to Texas, I think lot more Dallas folks can provide better insight to this discussion as it is not bias loaded with O&G folks.

I think the top talent deserve the money, but it is not the case with the current pay structure in O&G. My whole point is the industry been way over compensated mainly due to the inflated oil price.

Imagine if every airline have a 400 floor to the ticket price thx to some cartel.

Also, location really does not make much difference here, especially with the COG in Houston and Texas. Should everybody get paid less because you live in Texas? It is obviously not the case with the current pay in O&G.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by ipuck

I am saying the average joe blow fresh out of school with a Chem Eng Degree does not deserve 70k-90k.

You think an Electrical Eng Degree can command this kind of salary from a public univ in Texas?

Since you move the post to Texas, I think lot more Dallas folks can provide better insight to this discussion as it is not bias loaded with O&G folks.

I think the top talent deserve the money, but it is not the case with the current pay structure in O&G. My whole point is the industry been way over compensated mainly due to the inflated oil price.

Imagine if every airline have a 400 floor to the ticket price thx to some cartel.

Also, location really does not make much difference here, especially with the COG in Houston and Texas. Should everybody get paid less because you live in Texas? It is obviously not the case with the current pay in O&G.

People are paid what their work is worth. That's free enterprise.

There's a reason for the big turnover rates in the oil and gas industry. If it was easy money, don't you think more people would stick around for the paycheck?

[ipuck]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Wow, you really believe that?

I worked in outside sales for decades. I understand the pressure of big ticket item sales in the white collar world.

But there's a HUGE difference between that world and the world of oil and gas. There's really no comparison. It separates the men from the boys, that's for sure.

Next time your jeep gets stopped in a rain forest at 2 am by drunk militant rebels with machine guns on Christmas Eve, who are yelling at you in a foreign language, let us know how that turns out for you! And keep us posted on how your coworker who is kidnapped by Nigerian pirates is doing.

My husband was in Saudi Arabia on 9/11. I'm just sayin'.

I was schedule to be on WTC on 09/11 while I was in consulting. I fly out on Monday that following week at 5am because all flights were grounded that week. Just another day in the job in the consulting business.

All jobs are hard. Some are harder than others. I don't doubt your husband's job is tough but he is well compensated for it. But to say all jobs in O&G is extremely hard and demanding is a stretch.

You think IT jobs are walk in the park? What do you think happen when the server broke in the middle of the night? You don't go home till it is fixed.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by ipuck

I was schedule to be on WTC on 09/11 while I was in consulting. I fly out on Monday that following week at 5am because all flights were grounded that week. Just another day in the job in the consulting business.

All jobs are hard. Some are harder than others. I don't doubt your husband's job is tough but he is well compensated for it. But to say all jobs in O&G is extremely hard and demanding is a stretch.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining. I'm just putting things in perspective.

Oil and gas jobs pay what they have to pay to get and keep good workers - nothing more and nothing less. Don't you think that if big, bad oil and gas companies could pay workers LESS and still keep them, they'd do just that? They have to pay what they pay in order to keep the talent, period. And it's because most oil and gas jobs are much more demanding than people outside the industry realize.

And if they're not particularly demanding, they're not particularly highly paid. Oil and gas companies know how to pinch pennies just like every other industry knows how to do. They pay more because they know they have to, not because they're altruistic.

By the way, I'm not doubting that people in other industries work hard - of course they do. I'm just saying that the vast majority of industries' pay scales reflect supply and demand, period. Payroll is an expense and it's factored as part of the business plan. Companies generally pay only as much as they have to - including oil and gas companies.

You think IT jobs are walk in the park? What do you think happen when the server broke in the middle of the night? You don't go home till it is fixed.

Let's just say that "not going home till it's fixed" means different things in different industries. At least you're not having to climb under a huge piece of machinery in the mud and sleet at 4 am to fix something, or fly on Air Gabon and then take a helicopter out to an Italian rig that's infested with bedbugs to fix something. Count your blessings!

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Oil and Gas is a boom bust industry. Thats just the way it is. Being that Houston's economy is greatly tied to the industry, they will feel it more than any other major city though not as much as Midland or North Dakota. Right now, it looks like O&G will go through a little bit of a bust. That doesn't mean things will be the way they were in the 80's, but things will cool off for a bit and people will get laid off.

[0825spring]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Wow, you really believe that?

I worked in outside sales for decades. I understand the pressure of big ticket item sales in the white collar world.

But there's a HUGE difference between that world and the world of oil and gas. There's really no comparison. It separates the men from the boys, that's for sure.

Next time your jeep gets stopped in a rain forest at 2 am by drunk militant rebels with machine guns on Christmas Eve, who are yelling at you in a foreign language, let us know how that turns out for you! And keep us posted on how your coworker who is kidnapped by Nigerian pirates is doing.

My husband was in Saudi Arabia on 9/11. I'm just sayin'.

I was working in Uzbekistan on 9/11 and my husband was with me. Drove back to the man camp through the desert in complete darkness after the second tower fell. Immediately went to an emergency evacuation meeting and packed a small bag. Tried sleeping with one eye open all night. We did return to the States on 9/21 but those were the longest 10 days of our lives.

[losttechnician]

Originally Posted by ipuck

I am saying the average joe blow fresh out of school with a Chem Eng Degree does not deserve 70k-90k.

I am saying they do, *IF* the situation demands it. If that engineer is living on a platform working a 14/14 schedule, the company will have to pay them that to have them there. Or the fresh engineer that has to fly across the ocean one a one day notice and stay for several weeks. Or the fresh engineer that unexpectedly has to spend several weeks working above the arctic circle instead of the nice warm office. Otherwise that same fresh out of school engineer will take an office job with an easier schedule.

You think an Electrical Eng Degree can command this kind of salary from a public univ in Texas?

Nope. Because they likely will be working a regular schedule, with regular holidays, and weekends off. They don't deserve the higher pay if they don't have to put the same skin in the game as the engineer entering the O&G industry.

I think the top talent deserve the money, but it is not the case with the current pay structure in O&G. My whole point is the industry been way over compensated mainly due to the inflated oil price.

Because the O&G industry is not the average workday schedule. If you have never worked the kind of schedule we are talking about here, you have no idea why the folks are paid like they are. Even paid as well as they are, folks just don't stay because of the schedule. The numbers claimed elsewhere of half the workers quitting are very very true. I work on a 14/14 schedule, most everyone around me is compensated extraordinarily well, yet every single hitch I make, there are some new faces and some familiar ones are gone. Being gone from home over holidays, anniversaries, graduations, and yes even funerals is incredibly tough and as a result even many non-degreed folks will gladly walk away from a 6 figure job simply because it is too tough on them or their family. The industry *MUST* pay that well to retain employees. Frankly even I would return to my former industry if the pay were cut. There is simply no reason to put in that much effort and time away from my family if I the pay was the same as other industries.

[Jack Lance]

"Is US energy independence", obtainable ?

Could 2015 herald a 'new oil order'?

The U.S. might not give up so easily though, according to Citi's commodities research team who said in their 2015 outlook for the commodities markets that there is a "distinctive underlying 'Made in America' quality that looks likely to dominate the commodity complex through 2015."

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by ipuck

The Oil Crash Has Claimed Its First Casualty - Business Insider

Permit cost next to nothing.

Regulators' decision is an LNG milestone for Cheniere - Houston Chronicle

Cheniere's $12 billion Corpus Christi project would comprise three trains, the manufacturing systems capable of liquefying natural gas, as well as a 23-mile-long pipeline to the facility.

The company has inked several 20-year contracts to process and sell natural gas to buyers overseas, most recently with EDP Energias de Portugal. Other contracted buyers include PT Pertamina in Indonesia, Endesa in Spain and Barcelona-based Gas Natural Fenosa LNG.

Judy Hawley, the head of the Corpus Christi port commission, told a congressional committee in April that the facility would provide the foundation for thousands of jobs in the region, going well beyond the estimated 225 workers required to operate it.

This is not just a permit with no buyers...

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

Oil and Gas is a boom bust industry. Thats just the way it is. Being that Houston's economy is greatly tied to the industry, they will feel it more than any other major city though not as much as Midland or North Dakota. Right now, it looks like O&G will go through a little bit of a bust. That doesn't mean things will be the way they were in the 80's, but things will cool off for a bit and people will get laid off.

It's mostly boom, and BTW tech and most other sectors save perhaps agriculture have boom and bust cycles....