Eagle Ford Jobs –How will the Price of Oil Effect Our Communities?

By Jose Alcala, EFSCDP

As the natural gas, oil and condensate production in the Eagle Ford continues to decline as the result of the current price for crude oil, the challenges facing community leaders is sustaining the workforce in their counties employed. Colleges and Universities have embraced the idea of 2 year certifications that would apply to industry related jobs such as welding, commercial vehicle licenses, electrical, plumbing, computer technology to name a few. These type of transferable skill jobs will facilitate obtaining jobs outside of the energy industry.

Everyone in the energy sector has taken time to wait and try to understand when the price for the barrel of oil will stabilize, currently as of this article, the price for barrel stands at $51.65, the lowest since April but up from the plummeted $47.46 per barrel. The price has slowed down and those companies that don’t have debt service and adequate cash flow required to run their business will get into a slower mode of doing business. Experts say employment or pay-cuts could mean hundreds of thousands of jobs may be lost during 2015 if the price of oil remains under $55 per barrel or less and that cuts could weigh heavier in areas where oil exploration is most unconventional such as in the Eagle Ford Shale region, where fracking is higher than in other shale plays. The Texas Workforce Commission has indicated an increase in unemployment benefits as the results of energy sector layoffs. But employment in comparison to 2010 is still lower, in 2014 the unemployment rates were the lowest in state history.

Example: Nine County Middle Rio Grande Region: