Envoy: Amid energy boom, North Dakota eyes jobs for Pinoy oil workers

An energy boom in North Dakota may make the United States an attractive destination for Filipino oil workers, the Philippines' ambassador to Washington said Sunday.

Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr. said North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple is "very interested and wants to find out how North Dakota could tap Filipino workers.”

“We are being given the opportunity to be part of this boom and we should take advantage of it by looking into investments in infrastructure and possibly even jobs for Filipino oil workers,” he said, according to a news release by the Philippine embassy in Washington.

He said he will bring this opportunity with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

Cuisia added North Dakota is not only the fastest growing state economy in the US but is now also the second-highest oil producing state "next only to Texas.”

Earlier, Cuisia led a three-day economic diplomacy outreach mission to Bismark and Fargo in North Dakota, upon the invitation of Gov. Jack Dalrymple.

He noted there used be as many as 2,000 Filipinos working in the energy sector in the US, including some in Louisiana.

The Filipinos in Louisiana had helped rehabilitate offshore oil platforms damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Trade mission in February

Cuisia said Philippine companies will have the chance to explore possible business opportunities in North Dakota when a trade and investment mission from the state visits Manila in February.

He said North Dakota presently accounts for 10 percent of the overall daily oil production of the US, producing 800,000 barrels of oil per day in June alone.

It has even overtaken the production of California and Alaska, he added.

Oil boom

The Philippine embassy said North Dakota’s oil boom started in 2008 when oil shale formations in the western part of the state were discovered to have more oil and natural gas than previously thought.

It cited data from the US Department of Commerce showing North Dakota tops the list of the fastest growing states in the US.

North Dakota posted a GDP growth rate of 13.4 percent last year and lowered the unemployment rate to 3 percent due to the energy boom, it added. — LBG, GMA News

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