Tim Tarpley, EWTC President
At the Energy Workforce & Technology Council’s (EWTC) 2025 Business Optimization Conference in Houston, Texas, leaders spotlighted two urgent priorities for the oilfield services sector—meeting surging global power demand with U.S. LNG and navigating policy and workforce hurdles to sustain growth.
Tim Tarpley, EWTC President, underscored the scale of the challenge ahead. Citing EIA projections, he noted that demand is rising across industrial, transportation, commercial and residential sectors—even as With U.S. LNG positioned as the supply bridge, Tarpley highlighted Secretary Wright’s recent call for 100 gigawatts of firm power capacity within five years—a requirement that renewables alone cannot meet. Natural gas-fired generation, he argued, must play the central role.
efficiency gains slow. “Power demand is going way up,” he said, framing it as a “huge opportunity” for North America, Europe, and Asia alike.
Texas, at the epicenter of both power growth and LNG infrastructure, is facing demand projections “off the charts.” But Tarpley stressed that delays in permitting pose the single greatest obstacle. “It takes over five years, sometimes six, to build a gas pipeline in the United States,” he said. “We can’t meet this demand without permitting reform.”
Policy hurdles: Permitting and tariffs
Tarpley detailed EWTC’s dual policy priorities:
Permitting reform—fixing and narrowing NEPA reviews, limiting judicial challenges, and accelerating approvals for critical infrastructure.
Trade and tariffs—addressing IEEPA tariffs and Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, which he said raise costs for U.S. manufacturers and, ultimately, consumers.
Molly Determan, EWTC President
While both political parties broadly agree on the need for reform, Tarpley cautioned that partisan gridlock and election-year dynamics threaten progress. He noted that industry has only a short window—“really the next three months”—to advance permitting legislation before 2026 campaign pressures set in.
Strength in workforce numbers
EWTC President Molly Determan emphasized that none of these priorities can advance without a strong workforce. She reported that U.S. oilfield services employment stood at 628,000 jobs as of August 2025, but retirements continue to outpace new entrants, keeping skilled technical positions highly competitive.
Determan highlighted several workforce trends:
Workforce stability since 2023, supported by industry capital discipline.
State policy challenges, with restrictive states like California limiting growth potential.
Employer initiatives to improve retention and attraction, including flexible field scheduling, transparent succession planning, and empowering frontline supervisors in decision-making.
She also pointed to EWTC’s committee-led initiatives, from well servicing and stimulation to international trade and supply chain, where members are drafting guidelines and certification programs that “raise the bar” through self-regulation. The council’s international chapters in the Middle East and Latin America are increasingly providing platforms for suppliers to connect directly with E&P operators, strengthening global partnerships.
Bottom line
With AI-driven data center growth driving energy demand, EWTC leaders said natural gas-fired power generation is poised to meet the continuous needs. It’s just a matter of whether the industry can overcome permitting delays, tariff burdens and workforce challenges, and build the necessary energy infrastructure. “Permitting reform and tariffs are our two biggest priorities,” Tarpley concluded, “and the time to act is now.”
