Go to the AAPG Web site
Go to AAPG
Home Home DPA Home > GAC > Position: Atlantic OCS Resources
DPABylaws
DPA Committees
OfficersCommittees
SampleContracts
DPA Directory
GovtAffairs
JoinDPA
NewsletterCorrelator
CongressionalTestimonies
AAPG Home
GeoDC
Congressional Testimonies
AAPG Statements on:

Position Statement:

Oil and Gas Workforce Needs in the 21st Century (PDF)

Issue: 

Ensuring secure global oil and gas supplies requires a qualified and well-trained domestic and international oil and gas workforce.  The oil and gas industry is increasingly aware that this workforce will not be available in the future to meet its needs.  Government institutions and agencies dealing with oil and gas issues face a similar shortage of qualified staff.   This will have serious ramifications for U.S. and global energy security.

Background: 

There are two major challenges to maintaining a qualified and trained workforce.  First, the demographics of current workers, as measured by labor statistics, points to a wave of retirements in the next 10 years.  Second, there is a shortage of qualified workers to replace them.  This is reflected in low student enrollments in university geosciences and petroleum engineering programs. Attitudinal surveys suggest low student interest in pursuing a career in oil and gas.  The shortage spans the entire workforce, from geoscientists and engineers to well-site employees and service company personnel.

Statement:

  • AAPG supports federal action to enhance geoscience and engineering training and education, beginning in primary and secondary school and continuing through undergraduate and graduate education. 
  • AAPG supports a strong federal research and development program in energy, science and engineering, which provides essential research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.
  • AAPG supports vocational training and safety programs to ensure safe and reliable delivery of energy to U.S. and world markets. 
  • AAPG supports government immigration policies that enhance the ability of technical professionals and highly skilled workers to move across borders for employment.
  • AAPG encourages industry to create opportunities for retirement-eligible employees to remain in the workforce, and educational programs to increase student awareness and interest in the energy, science and engineering professions.
Legislation under consideration in 110th Congress.

This list does not itemize each bill introduced, but rather bills that have been passed by Congressional Committees and/or the House of Representatives or Senate.  It is important to note that these legislative efforts may be combined and renamed, and many will never be enacted into law, but they do provide a sense for where Congress is focusing its efforts. These links will be updated regularly by GEO-DC.

H.R. 2272:– America COMPETES Act
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.02272:

Creates the Hydrocarbon Systems Science Talent Expansion Program for Institutions of Higher Education to increase the number of graduates with degrees in hydrocarbon systems science, an area of strategic importance to the economic competitiveness and energy security of the United States. Hydrocarbon systems science includes: (a) petroleum or reservoir engineering, (b) environmental geosciences, (c) petrophysics, (d) geophysics, (e) geochemistry, (f) petroleum geology, (g) ocean engineering, (h) environmental engineering, (i) computer science as it relates to one of these disciplines.

Status
Passed by Congress; Signed by President; Public Law 110-69
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ069.110.pdf