$300k for folding sheets, the new economics of the global oil boom
Out in West Texas and the Eagle Ford, entry level pay for oil field workers has gotten so high they’re making more than some first year attorneys.
Just handing out water bottles and lugging supplies can earn someone upwards of $80,000 a year. If you have a commercial trucks driver’s license you’re looking at six figures.
But that’s nothing compared to Australia. Bloomberg News reports today that a worker shortage “Down Under” has driven up salaries to the point laundry staff at offshore drilling projects are earning more than $300,000 a year. Not bad for folding sheets.
Oil executives are worried similar patterns are going to develop around the rest of the globe as the shale drilling boom expands, driving up demand for skilled workers.
In Midland, where working on an oil rig is considered a right of passage, that should mean even flusher days ahead.
Follow James Osborne on Twitter at @osborneja.