Louisiana Oil & Gas Jobs

Louisiana is one of the prime states to consider moving to if you're interested in an oil and gas job. In any given year there are over 300,000 positions open either directly related to the petroleum industry or supported by the industry.

Over the next several years, experts expect this trend to continue and the job market in the gas and oil field is even expected to grow thanks to new drilling techniques that make it easy for companies to be successful in areas that were previously not economically viable for drilling.

Louisiana's Claim to Fame: The Haynesville Shale Play

Most of the jobs in Louisiana are related to the Haynesville Shale play, located in the northwestern part of the state and also extending into Texas and Arkansas. Several companies have been exploring in this region, with many wells already producing gas. This shale play covers over three million acres, with jobs available across this large area.

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Why is the Haynesville Shale play making headlines worldwide? Well, in the past, the gas in this area was inaccessible, or at least, it was too time-consuming and expensive to drill in this area. Today's modern hydraulic fracturing (fracking) techniques have changed that and companies can drill in a few months a well that used to take several months to complete.

Other Louisiana Shale Plays and Oil Fields

North of the Haynesville Shale play, you'll find the Smackover Brown Dense Formation, an oil and gas field that could produce billions of barrels. The jobs in this area are just now starting to become available, but more will likely be created over the course of several years or perhaps even decades.

You can also get a job in Southern Louisiana, working on the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale play. This play extends into Mississippi and features extremely brittle shale, which makes fracking even more effective. Companies are excited about the opportunities in this area and are hiring for a large number of jobs in this part of the state.

The new shale plays in Louisiana may be getting the most press, but don't forget that oil fields have been producing in this state for over a hundred years. The Mid-Continent oil province is home to thousands of wells and historical drill sites, and even though some of these wells were first drilled in the early 1900s, there are still an estimated 428 million barrels to collect in this area...so finding a job in this part of Louisiana is definitely possible!

Keep in mind that Louisiana is also home to thousands of miles of oil and gas pipeline, as well as active refining facilities. And the coastal area, on the Gulf, is a jumping off point for offshore drilling operations.

Want more information about the companies hiring in this state, the jobs you can consider doing, and other states that have oil and gas opportunities? Check out the members section of OilJobFinder for all of this and more.