U.S. independent oil companies hiring-for now

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Unemployment lines across the United States are growing, but demand for workers in the oil patch remains healthy with exploration and production companies still hiring workers in anticipation of the next leg up in oil and gas prices.

Even so, the sector got a surprise last week when ConocoPhillips (COP.N), the third largest U.S. oil company said it planned to cut 4 percent of its workforce, or about 1,300 jobs in a bid to control costs. But smaller peers like Devon Energy Corp (DVN.N) say so far they have no plans to take similar action.

“We have over 150 jobs to fill,” Chip Minty, spokesman for Oklahoma City-based Devon, said. “We are hiring, but we are watching our budget.”

U.S. data showed another 589,000 applications for state jobless benefits for the week ended Jan 17, and the number of people remaining on the U.S. jobless rolls climbed to 4.61 million.

The global credit crisis and steep declines in crude oil and natural gas prices — crude is trading about 70 percent lower than its 2008 high of more than $147 a barrel — have energy companies scrambling curb their spending.

Reuters