Big Oil is offshoring its prized engineering jobs to India

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Wall Street Journal or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Major oil companies including Chevron and BP (see sustainability performance) are increasingly offshoring high-skilled engineering roles to India, where labor costs are significantly lower
• These moves involve transferring thousands of white-collar jobs, including geologists and engineers, to Indian hubs — where professionals earn roughly a third to a quarter of what their U.S. counterparts are paid

🔭 The context: This shift comes amid sustained cost-cutting pressures within the oil and gas industry, especially following recent oil price volatility and long-term strategic pivots toward leaner operations
• Companies have already downsized considerably in Western markets, with many previously impacted by recession fears and market disruptions triggered by geopolitical developments and trade policies

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: As Big Oil restructures its workforce, the trend highlights how energy companies are reallocating resources to maintain profitability during the energy transition
• However, offshoring key technical roles may raise concerns about oversight, environmental accountability, and consistency in safety standards — especially in complex, high-risk operations like fossil fuel extraction and carbon management

⏭️ What's next: Expect increased scrutiny from regulators, labor unions, and sustainability advocates in Western markets
• The move could also accelerate the bifurcation of technical innovation hubs, as India’s role in global energy operations expands 
• U.S.-based roles may increasingly shift toward project oversight, compliance, and transition planning rather than traditional engineering functions

💬 One quote: “We’re optimizing our workforce globally to better align with our strategic goals and market realities,” — a spokesperson for Chevron

📈 One stat: Indian engineers in the oil and gas sector earn approximately 25% to 33% of the average salary of their U.S. counterparts, according to industry analysts

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance of Chevron, BP and its peers Shell, ExxonMobil, and TotalEnergies

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