Strong salaries for subsea, pipeline and drilling engineers reflect thriving oil and gas industry

Salaries for oil and gas engineering professionals are reflecting an active and increasingly confident industry according to The Oil & Gas Global Salary Guide 2012.

The Guide, which surveyed over 14,000 oil and gas professionals across the globe found that subsea, piping and drilling engineers are commanding the highest salaries of the 24 disciplines surveyed.

Drilling engineers in particular have seen impressive year-on-year salary gains with senior professionals now averaging salaries of $98,000 per annum while manager level staff earn US$142,500 equivalent. Subsea engineers came out on top of all disciplines surveyed and can expect average salaries of US$105,200 and US$146,900 respectively for the same levels of skill and responsibility.

Reservoir and petroleum engineers also commanded impressive salaries with senior level practitioners earning an average pay packet of US$97,800 and manager level professionals at US$123,400.

Matt Underhill, Managing Director of Hays Oil & Gas, who produced the Guide with leading jobsite Oil and Gas Job Search, comments: “It is very encouraging news for engineering professionals as well as the industry itself as it reflects the increasing levels of confidence and activity over the last year and into 2012.”

Underhill adds: “These are figures for average salaries across the world and there will be many highly skilled engineering professionals earning considerably more, particularly those in high paying countries such as Australia, the US and Norway. It is also worth noting that around 40% of engineers are contractors, which shows an industry that is bringing a wealth of new projects online.”

Duncan Freer, Managing Director of Oil and Gas Job Search comments: “There has also been a significant and welcome demand for graduate level engineers which was not the case in recent years. Skills shortages have been a major concern for the continuing health of the industry and this change is a step in the right direction.”

While the general trend for engineering specialisms has been upwards, there have been a few exceptions within the core-engineering disciplines of electrical, process and structural, all being relatively flat compared to last year.

Overall the Guide showed an industry looking forward to strong growth. Employer confidence has seen a large increase with 26.7% extremely positive about the current market, up from just 9.7% in 2011. Three quarters of all employers expect staffing levels to increase in the next 12 months.

Duncan Freer Managing Director of Oil and gas job search comments: “The general picture presented by the research shows an industry with renewed strength and vigour, offering attractive rewards and opportunities to engineering professionals across the globe.”