By Tim Bradner
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Activity and employment in Alaska's oil and gas sector — mostly on the North Slope — is at a level not seen in years.

In March, total industry employment reached 11,000, according to preliminary estimates by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. That's up 17 percent from 9,400 employed in the industry during March 2006, according to the department.

The uptick in activity has put a premium on the available skilled work force, and equipment as well. Mike O'Connor, president of Peak Oilfield Services, said his company is lucky in being able to retain its core of skilled employees. However, certain specialties, such as crane operators, welders and the highly skilled operators of vehicles that move heavy drill rig units, are greatly in demand.

The skilled labor pinch on the Slope wasn't so much a problem until activity got hot in Lower 48 oil and gas basins like Wyoming, Colorado, and North and South Dakota, areas that compete for the pool of skilled talent, O'Connor said.

The shortage isn't just in the blue-collar craft areas, either. “Labor is a challenge for all of us, but what is as difficult is finding experienced managers,” said Jack Laasch, general manager of UIC Oilfield Services. Many current managers in the service industry got their start on the Slope with the trans-Alaska oil pipeline construction in the 1970s. Many of those managers are now retiring or approaching retirement.

Laasch said much of what UIC Oilfield Services does is civil-work related, and the company is experiencing no problems for now. Challenges could come, however, as the company grows, he said.

O'Connor said the arrival of independent companies on the Slope is adding to demand for skilled people across a wide range of professions. “These are people who arrive here with an idea, a lease and a telephone,” and as they staff up their operations, they are luring away experienced supervisors from contractors, he said.

The most intense activity is in the central North Slope area, where BP Exploration Alaska Inc. has major oil field pipeline replacement and repair projects underway. Part of the project is being done this winter, with the second stage planned for next year.

In the same area, Pioneer Natural Resources Inc. has initiated its construction of the new Oooguruk project, a new offshore field in shallow water north of the Kuparuk River field. Activity this winter and spring involves installation of oil and gas process modules and pipelines to serve a gravel offshore production island.

Several hundred workers are employed on these projects, and bed space is at a premium in camps on the Slope. In some camps, workers on day and night shifts share the same bunk.

It has also been a busy winter exploration season. ConocoPhillips drilled an exploratory well in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska south of Barrow, which required construction of ice roads from Barrow and logistics support from that community. FEX also drilled test wells in NPR-A south of Cape Simpson, about 50 miles east of Barrow.

In the central Slope area, Eni Petroleum drilled test wells in an area south of the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk producing fields, and Anadarko Petroleum drilled a test well in an area southeast of Prudhoe. Brooks Range Petroleum, operating for itself and a group of independent companies, drilled wells in untested areas near the large Prudhoe field and encountered oil in one of them.

Tim Bradner can be reached at

tim.bradner@alaskajournal.com.