Employment in the petroleum industry and related industries 2014

This report describes the employment in the petroleum sector, i.e. in establishments whose activity is directly related to oil and gas extraction and indirectly involved through the building and fitting of oil platforms and the operation of supply bases. Many of the businesses that supply goods and services to the petroleum sector have not been included as they are part of an establishment that is also a supplier to other sectors, such as seismic exploration, catering services, helicopter transport services and production of safety equipment. The main focus in this report is on the situation in 2012 and 2013, but some figures date back to 2003.

In 2014 there were 83 779 employees in the petroleum and petroleum-related industries combined. Of these, 78 094 were resident in Norway and 5 685 were residents of other countries who only worked in Norway. The shift rotation and long periods of leave in the industry make working offshore conducive to long-distance commuting.

Between 2013 and 2014, employment increased by 1 858, or 2.3 per cent, which was a significantly lower increase than in the periods 2012–2013 and 2011–2012, which saw a 6.5 and 10.9 per cent increase respectively. The number of employed foreign residents increased by 7.5 per cent between 2013 and 2014; down from 15.4 per cent from 2012 to 2013. The weaker growth in employment has resulted in a slightly older workforce. The share of persons below 50 years of age was 71.8 per cent in 2013, which fell by 1.1 percentage point in 2014 to 70.8 per cent.

Although much of the activity in the petroleum industry and the petroleum-related industries is located offshore and in a few municipalities in Western Norway, almost all municipalities in Norway (424 out of 428) have residents who are employed in the sector, albeit only a few in most cases. Sola and Stavanger municipalities have the highest ratio of employees working in the petroleum industries, with 16.6 and 14.9 per cent respectively. Stord municipality had the highest proportion of residents employed in petroleum-related industries, with 17.6 per cent.

A larger proportion of employees in the petroleum and petroleum-related industries have a higher education than in the private sector in general in Norway. These industries also have a lower share of female employees, although this has increased from 16.4 per cent in 2003 to 20.8 per cent in 2014. The increase largely consists of women with a higher education. A total of 60.7 per cent of female employees had a higher education compared to 36.5 per cent of their male counterparts.

A higher percentage of immigrants employed in the petroleum industries have a background from Western Europe compared to immigrants employed in petroleum-related industries and the rest of the private sector in Norway.