Canada is oil rich. With the world’s third largest reserves of petroleum behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, jobs in oil and gas exploration are plentiful in Canada and especially in Western Canada. There is also a significant number of offshore oil jobs in the Hibernia oil fields, which are located in Eastern Canada, specifically, off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Some of Canada’s highest demand jobs are required in the petroleum sector. These include Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics, Welders, Truck Drivers and Related Machine Operator Jobs. Related supervisors are also in demand to work in the Oil and Gas Drilling industry and include safety and security experts.

Engineering positions account for several employment categories listed on the Canadian Government’s Eligibility Criteria for Federal Skilled Worker Applications as of May 4, 2013. These include engineering managers, geoscientists, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, chemical engineers, petroleum engineers, geological engineers, land surveyors, industrial instrument technicians and mechanics, inspectors in public and environmental health and occupational health and safety.

Oil jobs in petroleum exploration and production employs numerous people and is centred in the province of Alberta. It also extends into the provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Employment Opportunities In Canada’s Petroleum, Gas and Oil Fields

Petroleum is Alberta’s largest industry and its largest employer. Because of this, there is a high concentration of jobs in this sector throughout the province. Nearly 1/6 or 17% of all jobs in Alberta work in the petroleum industry. That is 17% of more than 3,000,000 individuals or 551,066 persons. The province receives a substantial amount its revenues from this sector as well. Thirty-two percent of Alberta’s revenues come directly from the production of crude oil. Oil Sands production was responsible for over $14 billion. Conventional drilling methods were responsible for over $27 billion. Needless to say, there is a significant amount of job potential in Alberta’s petroleum, oil and gas sectors.

Alberta’s oil sands operations are among the most active areas to focus your job search on if you are looking positions in Alberta and Canada’s gas and oil fields. Jobs of this type are sometimes held by foreign workers. Nearly half of those that work in oil sands are not natives of Alberta. Because of the high demand for skilled and qualified employees, employers are often known to be more receptive to hiring qualified foreign workers who are able to obtain working visas. Jobs in this area are expected to increase as explorations uncover more sources of oil and production increases. Many international oil companies have interests in the oil sands and Canada’s petroleum resources in general. Royal Dutch Shell, Conoco Phillips and Exxon Mobil are amongst those actively engaged in the exploration and production of Canadian oil reserves.

The petroleum industry requires a great number of feeder or support industries that supply goods and services such as parts, engineering, consulting, catering and transportation services. Most of these are based in and around major centres such as the cities of Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary and Fort McMurray.

If you work in Canada’s oilfields, you may find yourself either travelling to oilfield sites daily or staying at hotels or work camps if the oilfields are located in more remote areas requiring travel over longer distances to reach, as most are. Typically, if you are employed in a work camp environment, your work schedule will require you to be at the camp and work daily for 2 or 3 weeks in a row, then return home for a week off work before repeating the cycle again. These schedules are often referred to as “2 weeks on, 1 week off”. These oilfield sites can be located hundreds of kilometers from the nearest major centre. Work camp jobs can allow you to more easily same money because lodging and meals are normally supplied free of cost and there is little to spend money on in these areas.

Offshore Drilling Job Prospects in Canada

A substantial number of people are also employed in offshore drilling operations in Newfoundland’s Hibernia oilfield and other locations in Canada’s north. Hibernia has been in oil production since 1997. Based in the North Atlantic Ocean, many jobs here involve offshore drilling. This requires that individual be away form home for a various lengths of time. Typically 3 weeks on, 3 weeks off. So typically you would work half the days in a given year. Individuals considering offshore drilling must keep this in mind. An employee minimal or no family responsibilities may not feel as much family-related stress as other may with this schedule. It is advisable to assess your situation when determining your suitability to this kind of schedule and if it may be a good fit for you.

Offshore Drilling Jobs: Examples

There are a variety of jobs which need to be filled in offshore drilling operations. Below, is short listing of some of those jobs. Please note, this is not a comprehensive listing.

• Offshore Installation Manager
• Operations Coordinator
• Operations Team Leader
• Dynamic Positioning Operator
• Ballast Control Operator
• Scaffolders
• Helicopter Pilot
• Crane Operators
• Maintenance
• Drill Crew
• Geologist
• Roughnecks
• Mud Engineer
• Well Services Supervisor

(Offshore Jobs)

These are just a few occupations for those considering work in offshore oil drilling.

In Summary

If you are interested in obtaining a job in the Canadian oil industry, you may want to consider starting your job search in Albert’s oil sands and oilfields or Canada’s offshore drilling. Both can offer the opportunity to obtain employment which is both rewarding and challenging. To get started, visit our Oil Jobs, Alberta Jobs or Newfoundland Jobs pages. British Columbia, Saskatchewan and, to a lesser degree, Manitoba also each have oilfields with many of their operations integrated with Alberta operations or based in Alberta.

Sources:

Canada’s Oil Reserves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves_in_Canada

Canada Oil Sands

http://www.jobmonkey.com/oilindustry/html/canadian_oil_sands.html

Offshore Jobs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_platform#Essential_per Hibernia Offshore Oilfield Jobs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernia_oil_field