US oil industry facing challenges of depleted workforce, idled rigs

Houston

TWO years ago, Reg MacDonald's 20-day drilling classes were packed to capacity, with nearly 40 students eager to land lucrative jobs in the booming oil and gas industry. Now he is lucky if he gets half a dozen to enroll.

The latest rout in oil prices has been the last straw for many workers just getting back on their feet after the last downturn in 2008, said Mr MacDonald, president of Maritime Drilling Schools Ltd in Nova Scotia, Canada, which trains both entry-level and experienced workers for oilfield jobs all over the world. "It's not stable. It's too cyclical. You get ahead and you lose," said Mr MacDonald, who has been in the industry since the mid-1970s.

Supply outages brought oil prices close to US$50 a barrel that many US shale producers say they need to lift output, and drilling has picked up in some…