The Oil Boom Labor Shortage takes another twist

I've mentioned how crazy the labor shortage in Alberta has become, at least once or twice. Well, it's continued to accelerate. This Bloomberg article highlights the lengths that employers have to go to in order to retain qualified personnel.

Bloomberg: Roughnecks Get Maids as Shell, Exxon Battle Oil Worker Shortage
Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Donnie Lewis says he'd quit the coldest, dirtiest job he's ever known -- drilling in Canada's oil-rich bogs for Suncor Energy Inc. -- if it wasn't for the free private room, maid service and five-course meals.
``I wouldn't do it if I had to share a room with six other fellows, all snoring and making a racket when you're trying to get a few winks,'' says Lewis, 41, who doubled his wages from his last job. ``The oil companies really take care of you and do everything they can to make your time here easy.''
Workers like Lewis have become a precious commodity for energy producers such as Suncor, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. Faced with a worldwide shortage of skilled labor, oil companies are reinventing the work camp. The drafty trailers and communal showers of a decade ago are giving way to resort-style housing that includes private rooms with flat-screen televisions.
The posh accommodations are raising costs for companies already squeezed by higher prices for pipe and drilling rigs, says Peter Tertzakian, who helps manage $1.4 billion at ARC Financial Corp. in Calgary.
Suncor, the second-largest producer in Canada's oil sands region, cited labor costs as one reason for a 48 percent drop in profit in the fourth quarter of last year. Higher crude oil and natural-gas prices are another result, as increased expenses delay projects that could help global energy supplies get ahead of surging demand.

I wonder what the old-timers who first opened up the oil fields in Alberta and Nunavut have to say about what work camps were like in their day?

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