Pinoys eye job opportunities in oil sands
JOSE MURILLOS VANCOUVER
Think back a hundred years when Saudi Arabia was
a barren desert being thronged by western
prospectors exploring for oil.
Then fast forward to the time the Americans began
pumping the black gold from the earth, creating a
boom that would lead to another kind of exodus: that
of overseas workers looking for a piece of the action.
Today, that image of the desert kingdom has given
way to the sight of a sparkling western metropolis
and that exodus has created the phenomenon of
the overseas Filipino worker.
It could be history repeating itself half a world away
in the Western Canadian province of Alberta, thanks
to its rich deposits of oil sands, described by Time
Magazine as the country’s greatest energy treasure.
And it could be the next big frontier for OFWs.
Alberta has enough reserves to meet world demand
for petroleum for the next century. The oil boom has
created a shortage of workers in Alberta, fuelling
increases in salaries as companies compete for
available labor.
Oil sands are deposits of bitumen, a viscous oil
that will not flow unless heated or diluted.
Unlike conventional crude oil, which flows naturally
and is easily pumped from the ground, Alberta’s oil
requires some additional upgrading before it can be
refined, diluted with lighter hydrocarbons before it
can flow and transported by pipelines.
It is a labor-intensive process. “Malapot ang oil
sand at hindi basta basta mapapadaloy sa tubo,”
says a Filipino engineer who has worked in an oil
sand operation.
Peter Sutherland, Canada’s ambassador to the
Philippines who recently spoke before Filipino-
Canadians in Toronto, said Western Canada has a
high demand for workers for its oil sands industry.
There are only two biggest oil sands deposits in the
world – Alberta, Canada and Venezuela.
Just how busy workers are in the oil sands is borne
by the fact that in one year alone, a total of 20,000 oil
exploration holes were drilled in Alberta.
Sutherland said Filipinos have a better chance of
landing jobs in places in Canada such as Alberta
because they speak fluent English and have a high
level of education.
He said a recent training program to recruit some
250 Filipinos in Alberta as temporary workers was
launched in Manila.
These people are to be issued work permits and
deployed to many hotels now sprouting in that
Canadian province.
More workers are also needed to fill the vacuum left
by local Canadians who left their jobs in search of
high-paying jobs in the oil sands industry. In one
town of Alberta, restaurants and other service
companies were forced to shut down for lack of
manpower.
Sutherland said that there is now a policy proposal
to allow temporary workers to apply for permanent
residence while they are in Canada.
He said such application will also be processed
faster. And because these temporary workers have
already spent some time in Canada, Sutherland
said they will be given priority over those who are
applying from outside Canada because of their
familiarity with the culture and practices of the
country.
Already, there is an exodus to Western Canada,
notably Alberta.
Multicultural groups from Toronto’s Tamils, Indians,
Filipinos, Europeans and other groupings have
started the trek to the oil sands where some say the
pay averages $18 per hour for ordinary workers.
Future job opportunities are going to grow threefold,
say business forecasters.
Oil production is expected to rise to 4.5 million
barrels per day by the year 2015 from the current 2.5
million and this means it would propel Canada to
the No 4 position among the world’s oil producers
next to Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States.
JOSE MURILLOS VANCOUVER
Think back a hundred years when Saudi Arabia was
a barren desert being thronged by western
prospectors exploring for oil.
Then fast forward to the time the Americans began
pumping the black gold from the earth, creating a
boom that would lead to another kind of exodus: that
of overseas workers looking for a piece of the action.
Today, that image of the desert kingdom has given
way to the sight of a sparkling western metropolis
and that exodus has created the phenomenon of
the overseas Filipino worker.
It could be history repeating itself half a world away
in the Western Canadian province of Alberta, thanks
to its rich deposits of oil sands, described by Time
Magazine as the country’s greatest energy treasure.
And it could be the next big frontier for OFWs.
Alberta has enough reserves to meet world demand
for petroleum for the next century. The oil boom has
created a shortage of workers in Alberta, fuelling
increases in salaries as companies compete for
available labor.
Oil sands are deposits of bitumen, a viscous oil
that will not flow unless heated or diluted.
Unlike conventional crude oil, which flows naturally
and is easily pumped from the ground, Alberta’s oil
requires some additional upgrading before it can be
refined, diluted with lighter hydrocarbons before it
can flow and transported by pipelines.
It is a labor-intensive process. “Malapot ang oil
sand at hindi basta basta mapapadaloy sa tubo,”
says a Filipino engineer who has worked in an oil
sand operation.
Peter Sutherland, Canada’s ambassador to the
Philippines who recently spoke before Filipino-
Canadians in Toronto, said Western Canada has a
high demand for workers for its oil sands industry.
There are only two biggest oil sands deposits in the
world – Alberta, Canada and Venezuela.
Just how busy workers are in the oil sands is borne
by the fact that in one year alone, a total of 20,000 oil
exploration holes were drilled in Alberta.
Sutherland said Filipinos have a better chance of
landing jobs in places in Canada such as Alberta
because they speak fluent English and have a high
level of education.
He said a recent training program to recruit some
250 Filipinos in Alberta as temporary workers was
launched in Manila.
These people are to be issued work permits and
deployed to many hotels now sprouting in that
Canadian province.
More workers are also needed to fill the vacuum left
by local Canadians who left their jobs in search of
high-paying jobs in the oil sands industry. In one
town of Alberta, restaurants and other service
companies were forced to shut down for lack of
manpower.
Sutherland said that there is now a policy proposal
to allow temporary workers to apply for permanent
residence while they are in Canada.
He said such application will also be processed
faster. And because these temporary workers have
already spent some time in Canada, Sutherland
said they will be given priority over those who are
applying from outside Canada because of their
familiarity with the culture and practices of the
country.
Already, there is an exodus to Western Canada,
notably Alberta.
Multicultural groups from Toronto’s Tamils, Indians,
Filipinos, Europeans and other groupings have
started the trek to the oil sands where some say the
pay averages $18 per hour for ordinary workers.
Future job opportunities are going to grow threefold,
say business forecasters.
Oil production is expected to rise to 4.5 million
barrels per day by the year 2015 from the current 2.5
million and this means it would propel Canada to
the No 4 position among the world’s oil producers
next to Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States.
The oil boom has
created a shortage
of workers in
Alberta, fuelling
increases in
salaries as
companies
compete for
available labor.
created a shortage
of workers in
Alberta, fuelling
increases in
salaries as
companies
compete for
available labor.
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