Number of Oil & Gas Jobs Continue to Rise in Texas

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The Eagle Ford Shale boom is attracting workers in South Texas, and with the price of oil currently hovering around $100 per barrel, growth is expected to continue into the immediate future. In March of 2014, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) said 3,200 oil and gas related jobs were added in January, for a total of 15,800 jobs over the year and an annual growth rate of 5.6%.

With statistics like those, many folks are seeking Eagle Ford jobs to fulfill their dream of a better life, support a family, or simply make a career change, but working in the South Texas oil patch can be challenging. Since the boom began, the landscape of South Texas has changed - housing shortages, overcrowded schools, and increased traffic have become the new reality for many parts of South Texas.

South Texas Housing Options

This isn't the first oil boom the U.S. has ever experienced. As a child, I recall my grandmother telling stories about living in tent cities, as her father worked the rigs across the country during the 1930s. Today, in South Texas, there are a number of lodging options, but where oilfield workers ultimately find a place mostly depends on availability and budget.

As a result of traditional housing shortages, many south Texas oilfield workers have chosen RVs as a temporary form of housing in a slew of South Texas RV parks that have sprung up all across the region in response to the boom. Prices for slips and accommodations can vary from park to park, and generally, prices have either go up or down depending on a park's proximity to a hot area of development in the Eagle Ford. Most oilfield workers see their RVs as a place to get cleaned up, eat, sleep and then get back to work. Since 2009, hundreds of parks all across South Texas have targeted oilfield workers as their primary customer-base.

Concerns for Oilfield Workers

Aside from housing shortages, when school starts again in September, oil patch families can expect overcrowding and possible understaffing in South Texas schools. While some oilfield workers moving to Texas have opted to bring their families with them, others have decided to leave their families at home.

Another concern for workers seeking opportunities in the Eagle Ford Shale are traffic accidents. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), 3,430 fatal and serious injury crashes and 236 traffic fatalities were recorded in the Eagle Ford in 2013. The count represents a 7% increase in fatal and serious injury crashes over the previous year for the region.

1,000 Oilfield Job Openings At Beeville Career Fair Oct. 4

Job hunters in South Texas should head out to Beeville's Bee County Exposition Center for a job fair today. 25 employers will be on hand to fill Eagle Ford Shale related jobs. Those companies have more than 900 oilfield job openings across the area.

Job seekers take note, a major career fair is set to take place Tuesday in Beeville. Two dozen oil and gas companies are looking to fill close to 1,000 positions.

Despite a bad economy and high levels of unemployment, there are plenty of jobs available in South Texas. The job opportunities available at this fair range from entry level to management to CDL drivers.

All of these employment opportunities are the result of the Eagle Ford Shale. Drilling and Fracking for oil and natural gas in South Texas has proven to be extremely profitable over the past couple of years. Experts say the Eagle Ford Shale is one of, if not the biggest discoveries of oil and natural gas ever to be made in North American history. That has oil and gas industry companies looking to hire.

Read the entire news release at kiiitv.com

Rental Property Prices Skyrocket in South Texas Housing Market

The oilfield housing boom has motivated landlords to push out old tenants and bring in higher paid Eagle Ford workers. The owner interviewed in a MySanAntonio article is getting a bump in rent from $550 per month up to $1,250 per week or $5,000 per month if he can get 10 oilfield workers. Who knew Cotulla would have housing costs that rival New York City?! We need homebuilders to enter the rural South Texas market in a big way.

The “For Rent” sign hanging on the fence outside the rundown, four-bedroom house at 505 Thornton St. captures perfectly the new housing dynamic in many of the small communities booming across the Eagle Ford shale.

“Oil Field Guys — Welder — Pipe Liners (Guys Only),” it reads.

And while the old white house with the peeling paint is nothing to look at, its owner hopes it soon will generate thousands of dollars a month from transitory workers looking for little more than a place to flop.

“I'm asking $125 a week per man. It can hold up to eight beds, even 10 or 12, and I pay the utilities,” landlord Gustavo Ayala said in a recent phone conversation.

In comparison, the longtime tenant who was evicted this summer paid $550 a month.

Read the full news release at mysanantonio.com

Floresville Housing Stretched by the Eagle Ford

Eagle Ford Housing demand from oilfield workers is stretching all the way from San Antonio to smaller surrounding towns like Floresville. Neither town sits atop the Eagle Ford, but industry workers have filled beds and made it hard to find a room. RV parks, and hotels are popping up everywhere. I expect we'll get a home building boom in the near future.

The oil boom in South Texas is starting to stretch north -- to an area without any oil or natural gas.

The town of Floresville, located about 40 miles Southeast of San Antonio -- but North of the Eagle Ford oil and gas field -- is starting to feel effects of the boom.

"We have had an influx of oil workers from the area," said Jesse Perez, Floresville's economic director.

Most of those oil field workers are looking for housing. Perez said a new hotel in town has almost been completed and another one is about to start construction.