Recently, ExxonMobil Development Co.’s L.M. Tillman addressed a gathering at the Offshore Technology Conference on the subject of energy industry employment. Tillman, vice president of engineering, said that economic growth in the developing world will drive the demand for energy and with it, the demand for energy workers. Here’s a follow-up Q&A with Mr. Tillman on energy employment, opportunities for younger workers and industry’s efforts to secure the next generation of workers.

Q: Where are the best opportunities to work in the industry, and what kind of skill sets are needed to land jobs and advance rapidly?

A: For the industry to be able to meet the energy challenge, it needs engineers and scientists who can push technology and innovation, analyze problems and develop creative s... more »

A recent post on the White House Blog updates the administration’s effort to see federal agencies make at least $2 billion in energy efficiency upgrades over the next two years. Heather Zichal, deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change, writes that agencies have identified $2.1 billion in projects that will pay for themselves using performance-based contracts. Zichal:

“Of the $2.1 billion in energy upgrade projects identified by agencies, more than $100 million in Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Savings Contracts (UESCs) have been awarded already, and an additional $1.2 billion in projects are in development – demonstrating strong momentum towards meeting the President’s goal.”

Later, Zichal notes that increased energy efficie... more »

The New York Times' Paul Krugman likes solar energy. Lots of folks do. Here's a post from The Times' Green blog about Chevron's Brightfields solar project in California.

Other oil and natural gas companies also are invested in solar, part of $9.1 billion committed to non-hydrocarbon technologies from 2000-2010 - a subset of $71 billion those companies have invested in greenhouse gas-reducing technologies over the past decade.

Back to Krugman. A funny thing happened on his way to touting solar energy: a strange, fact-free attack on energy from natural gas. Apparently, his way of lauding solar.

Unfortunately, it's a false premise too common in the current energy debate, needlessly pitting oil and natural gas against other energy sources in a zero-sum game. Needless, because the reality is Am... more »

That's no typo: U.S. Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson says that in two of the Pennsylvania counties that make up his congressional district hugging the New York state line, the unemployment rate is zero.

The reason? Natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale, which is soaring because of hydraulic fracturing-assisted drilling. "Marcellus shale is something I've been very involved in," Thompson told a public hearing in Corning, N.Y., where he was a guest. The meeting was covered by the Ithaca Journal. "It's an opportunity that comes with responsibility. ... This has been very positive."

Zero unemployment! Can't imagine the stat eluded the congressman's New York listeners, whose state leadership is considering ways to tap parts of the Marcellus.

Other positive impacts from the oil and natural gas... more »

Why not just wait? That's the administration's response to House legislation that would require a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline by Nov. 1. The administration says its Dec. 31 deadline is soon enough. But, considering the project's vast economic and energy benefits, here's a better question: Why wait any longer than necessary?

Why wait on jobs - 20,000 U.S. jobs during the 1,700-mile pipeline's construction phase alone? Why unnecessarily delay, by even a week, a $13 billion project the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) says will help fully utilize Canada's oil sands - projected to support 600,000 new U.S. jobs by 2035 and more than $775 billion (Canadian dollars) in GDP from 2010 to 2035?

At the same time, why wait on bringing more oil from our No. 1 foreign supplier? Why unn... more »