Halliburton is set to hire 200 oilfield hands in the Permian Basin region. The move follows a recent increase in crude oil prices.
Halliburton spokeswoman Emily Mir said there will be job opportunities in various parts of the basin, FuelFix reported. The oil services company predicted that 200 new jobs will be created in a report published in the Current-Argus. Mir stated jobs will be available in several areas of operation.
“The Permian Basin is an important area for Halliburton and we’ll continue to make adjustments to our workforce based on business demand as needed,” Mir said in a statement published by the USA Today affiliate.
The new jobs were attributed to increased support of the industry expected from the Trump Administration, according to Shannon Carr, development coordinator with the Department of Development. Carr also attributed the growth to new deals made with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
“Our incoming president is pro-energy and pro-gas, which is great,” Carr told the Current-Argus reporter. “The industry is very complicated and hard to predict, but the prices are right and the companies are looking to expand.”
The move is expected to have a positive impact on the economy of southeastern New Mexico, according to Carr. “Because there has been such a strong industry here, we do have a lot of businesses and will need to expand our services in that area,” she stated.
West Texas Intermediate crude closed out 2016 at $53.72/barrel yielding the largest gain since 2009, Reuters reported on Friday. The price is expected to cap at about $60/barrel during 2017.
Carr said she is hopeful the new oil price increases will lead to growth in secondary support sectors including hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets. Housing opportunities could also expand.
Oilfield analysts who spoke with Breitbart Texas over the holiday weekend attributed the job expansion to a combination of vast fields containing unfinished wells and cheap labor costs compared to the pre-2014 slump. Experts cautioned that the positive news is not a signal of a new boom on the horizon, however.
Halliburton’s attempted merger with Baker Hughes fell apart earlier in 2016, Breitbart Texas reported in May. The merger came apart after Halliburton moved to delay the release of their first quarter earnings report until after the merger’s expected closing date of April 30. Failure to complete the merger by that date led to the cancellation of the agreement forcing Halliburton to have to pay Baker Hughes $2.5 billion under terms of the contract. The U.S. Department of Justice also was not shy in raising anti-trust concerns about the deal, as well.
Halliburton laid off thousands in 2016, Breitbart Texas reported. Other oilfield giants, like Schlumberger, posted similar payroll reductions.
The staffing move follows recent federal reports indicating that the Permian Basin now is home to the “largest” oil and natural gas formation in the United States, Breitbart Texas reported in November 2016.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
Logan Churchwell contributed to this report.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.