Employment in the oil and gas industry dropped in 2015 after several years of strong growth. Since 2018, the number of employees in the petroleum industry has increased again. It is challenging to precisely estimate the number of people employed in the sector, because it is complicated to separate deliveries of petroleum-related goods and services and deliveries to other industries. Furthermore, it is even more complicated to estimate indirect employment. In other words, employment generated in other parts of the economy by demand from the petroleum industry.
A report published by Menon Economics (2025), funded by the Ministry of Energy, shows that there were roughly 210 000 either directly or indirectly employed in the petroleum sector in Norway in 2023. This figure corresponds to about 10 percent of private employment in Norway. The figures are estimated by input-output analysis, and Menon Economics describes this method in the report. Menon Economics (2023) had previously estimated that there were roughly 204 000 either directly or indirectly employed in the petroleum sector in Norway in 2021. The background for the growth in employment compared to the previous report is growth in exports, operations and investments.
Indirect employment is a result of demand from the petroleum industry for goods and services in a variety of sectors, including wholesale and retail, IT equipment and services, employment agencies, renting of machinery and equipment, hotel and restaurant and legal and accounting services. The study includes number of employees who are linked to services and value creation that takes place directly on the Norwegian continental shelf, as well as the effects of exports from the offshore supply industry.
The total employment effects are divided into employment with operators, offshore suppliers, and ripple effects. There are approximately 26 000 employees with the operators. In the offshore supplier industry, there are approximately 95 000 employees. These work with deliveries to oil and gas, both Norwegian and foreign projects. In addition, petroleum activity supports over 90 000 employees in the rest of the value chain.
The illustration below, based on data from National Budget (SSB), illustrates the direct employment in the oil and gas industry since the early 1970's. Employment in companies not fully targeted towards the upstream sector are not included in these figures. This incorporates the majority of the oil service and supply industry and explains the deviation from the employment figures above. From 1972 to 2014 the employment increased from 200 to 67 000. The illustration also captures the first ever drop in employment from 2014 to 2018. Since 2018, the number of employees has increased again and the estimate for direct employees in 2024 was around 65 000.
Number of employees in the Norwegian petroleum sector, 1970-2024
Updated: 14.03.2025
Source: Statistics Norway - Annual national accounts (table 09174)
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Regional employment and local value creation have been long-standing objectives for Norwegian oil and gas policies. This has contributed to making Norway a global front-runner in a number of areas. Regional employment is especially high on in western parts of Norway, particularly in Rogaland and the Stavanger-region. As the shelf has matured and offshore activities have moved north, so has the activities onshore. Currently, world leading oil and gas clusters and a global competitive oil service industry exists in many parts of the country. The report by Menon Economics (2025) also includes an overview of employment effects distributed across counties and municipalities.
Lower activity and weaker demand from the petroleum industry, both in Norway and globally, had major impacts on the oil service and supply industry. Reducing staff costs and number of employees have been necessary to cut costs and adapt to the lower activity level. The greatest impact has been in western and southern Norway, where a higher proportion of total employment is linked to oil and gas activities.
Located throughout Norway, the industry employs a large share of people along the coastline. The petroleum sectors main seat is in the Stavanger region, where companies offering a wide range of goods and services are located. In other parts of the country, companies operating in the same market segment are clustered together based on regional expertise.
In and around Oslo is well-established engineering expertise and a cluster of seismic companies. Trondheim has a strong position in education, research and development, while the Bergen region has become a hub for platform maintenance and subsea equipment. In Buskerud, especially in Kongsberg, is a strong cluster focusing on subsea technology, automation and dynamic positioning equipment. Southern Norway is home to world-leading companies specializing in drilling technology. The Aalesund region has maritime companies who together make up a complete shipbuilding and outfitting cluster.
Bodø Science Park publish an annual report on the petroleum activity in the most northern counties; Nordland, Troms and Finnmark. The report concluded that 144 northern Norwegian companies had deliveries to the petroleum industry in 2023. Combined, these deliveries contributed to 1727 man-years.