Skilled oil and gas workers are set to be in a position to pick the best jobs, as Libya aims to return to pre-conflict levels of oil production and export, according to a report from an industry recruiter.
Major European and American oil companies are likely to need more maintenance, inspection and engineering staff as they return to Libya’s oil fields shut down by six months of intense fighting that led to Colonel Gaddafi’s ouster from Tripoli last month.
Oilcareers.com, a jobsite for the oil and gas industry, expects that in light of recent developments in Libya it will not be long before confidence returns to the region and it starts producing once again.
Libya’s National Transitional Council is working with global leaders including the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, to get the economy moving again. With sanctions lifted on oil companies and port authorities, the first people likely to return will be maintenance inspection and other engineers to assess any damage to infrastructure. That said, employers must provide strong security to support them and ensure their safety at all times.
The increase is expected to contrast sharply with a steep decline in activity at the outset of the Arab Spring, when oilcareers.com saw a 75% drop in jobs posted in the region for the first half of 2011, compared to the same time the previous year.
Currently, demand for engineers in the industry is at its highest with 71,347 positions posted on OilCareers.com so far this year. In total, the site has 440,000 candidates specifying engineering as a core capability.
