Some politicians lead task forces by holding hearings and issuing reports that essentially restate the already identified problem. Then there's North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven.
When he was chairman of the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission, Hoeven also led the Petroleum Professionals Blue Ribbon Task Force. The group was formed to address a growing wellhead labor shortage. Its 2003 final report proposed a national effort focused on state governments for public and stakeholder education, the federal government for exploration and production research and national outreach, and the industry for "on the ground" involvement.
These general proposals included a more-specific template for each sector. State governors, for example, were encouraged to use their bully-pulpits to alert public and trade organizations of the problem, to educate teachers and students about oil and gas career and employment opportunities, and to promote links with electric power utility, trucking, and other associations.
"Armed with these templates, the stage is set for governors to keep this issue front-and-center during national energy policy discussions and for the IOGCC staff to continue awareness-building," Hoeven said in October 2003 at his final meeting as IOGCC chairman.
Leading by example
One obvious question is how the governor has addressed the issue in his own state since that time. He apparently has more than stuck with it.
"In North Dakota, the state and the energy industry as a whole and the university system began a partnership about this issue 2 years ago. It has continued to publicize the need for additional energy-sector employees and identified opportunities for employment," said Robert Harms, Hoeven's former counsel, who now is a private energy consultant.
"These included announcements of the urgent need for blue collar employees in the oil industry, which have been a huge success," he continued. "The governor also urged IOGCC to begin working on the blue collar component."
Getting results
When producers told Hoeven in October 2004 that they were having trouble filling job openings in western North Dakota, the governor helped arrange for all the openings to be posted on Job Service, North Dakota's web site, according to Lynn D. Helms, the state's oil and gas director.
"They initially started with over 100 jobs available with starting wages of $12-17/hr," he said. "On Feb. 1, the governor held a press conference to announce that 214 jobs had been filled and 63 openings remained. So the job openings grew from 100 to 277. Each of the jobs pays $50,000[/year] or more, with full benefits. We've had people from as far away as South Carolina move to Kenmare, ND, to take them."
Helms said that Hoeven plans to share North Dakota's experience with other producing states' chief executives when the National Governors Association meets Feb. 26-28 in Washington, DC.
He also would like to have a successor ready to continue leading the IOGCC's efforts to relieve continuing wellhead labor shortages.