25% of Petroleum Geologists in U.S. Are Out of Work

One of every four petroleum geologists in the United States is unemployed because of the oil bust, a figure that is worse than that recorded in the “cruelest year” of the Depression, according to a geologists’ association.

“Not only is the oil patch suffering in human terms, but this country is quickly losing its energy independence and its ability to regain it,” said Bernold Hanson, president of the American Assn. of Petroleum Geologists.

Petroleum geologists are the vanguard of oil and gas exploration.

But jobs have been diminishing this year, as domestic drilling activity has dropped to modern record lows amid a decline in oil prices brought on by a worldwide glut of oil.

Since late last November, when a 42-gallon barrel cost about $32, prices dropped to as low as $7 a barrel for some grades, before recovering to current levels between $14 and $16.

Meanwhile, U.S. dependence on foreign sources has soared. In August, the United States relied on imports for 41.2% of its petroleum needs, compared with 28.7% in the same month a year earlier, according to the American Petroleum Institute.