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total), ranking it 13th among all industries. In addition, the oil equipment, services and
distribution sector invested US$1.3 billion. 6 A survey by the Financial Times in 2007
showed that research and development spending by the IOCs had increased. Royal
Dutch/Shell increased its technology and research and development budget by 50 per cent
in 2003-06 to US$1.2 billion. Chevron’s research and development more than doubled
over five years to US$468 million in 2006. ConocoPhilips budgeted US$400 million for
2007, a 50 per cent increase. 7
5.4. Government initiatives to alleviate skills
shortages
190. A shortage of skilled petroleum professionals will not be resolved by the oil industry
alone; governments need to take a leading role. A study by the Interstate Oil and Gas
Compact Commission (IOGCC) in the United States found that joint initiatives by the
Government and the oil industry can increase the number of skilled petroleum workers in
the industry. In 2001, the Blue Ribbon Task Force investigated the shrinking numbers of
petroleum geologists, geophysicists and engineers in the workforce in the United States
and recommended collaboration between federal and state governments, colleges and
universities, the oil and gas industry and other groups to increase the number of skilled
workers. In 2001, the task force noted that enrolments in petroleum-related majors at US
colleges and universities had decreased for many years. However, a report released in 2007
found that the number of bachelor’s degrees in petroleum engineering rose by nearly 20per
cent in 2000-05, although the number of geology degrees fell slightly. The task force
concluded that federal government initiatives are extremely important, especially with
regard to creating internships within federal departments for geosciences graduates and
undergraduates and working with other federal departments and the IOGCC. In addition,
state governments have played a critical role in involving their employment services,
regulatory agencies and education entities in oil and gas training and education. State
governments have also created partnerships with the industry, provided internships and
continuing education for teachers, worked with career counsellors and funded research.
The oil industry has provided summer jobs, reached out to high school and college students
and developed scholarships and grant programmes to enable employees to extend their
education. 8
191. These initiatives have been mutually beneficial to students and oil companies. Internships
not only help fund college expenses, they also provide students with valuable training in
various aspects of their chosen field. They also enable the companies to recruit qualified
people who are familiar with their culture and operations.
6
C. Cookson: “Global competition sparks spending spree”, in Financial Times (London), 30 Oct.
2006.
7
S. McNulty: “Oil groups put faith in R&D as states lock up reserves”, in Financial Times
(London), 21 Aug. 2007.
8 Petroleum Professionals: Blue Ribbon Task Force: A follow-up report, IOGCC, Jan. 2007,
http://iogcc.publishpath.com/websites/iogcc/pdfs/2007-Blue-Ribbon-Task-Force-Update.pdf.
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