For those looking for entry-level jobs in the oil and gas industry it’s a good idea to focus on the ‘oil production’ sector. In simple terms, oil production is the process of drilling and extracting oil from reservoirs underground. The world’s oil production takes place both onshore and offshore. You’ve probably seen oil rigs off the coast in some states such as California or in the Gulf of Mexico — or elsewhere.
According to BP Global, which compiles and releases reports on oil production, these are the leading oil producing areas worldwide:
*Includes crude, shale oil, oil sands, and natural gas liquids.
Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation are the world’s biggest producers, which is illustrated below.
Top World Oil Supply
(thousand barrels per day)
Rank Country Production
This section of OilJobFinder provides you with an overview of the oil production industry. We walk you through the production process, technology used, types of onshore and offshore drilling techniques, the differences between onshore and offshore drilling, descriptions of oil rig jobs, and a lot more. By the time you’re through reading you should have a thorough understanding of how oil production works and who’s doing the work!
Before we get going, however, you might want to see where the world’s oil rigs are located. Baker Hughes updates their rig count information every month, every year.