In January the industry witnessed the biggest price spike in oil in three years. Peaking at 70$ a barrel, large oil companies have gained enough confidence in the market to begin large scale investments. According to DNV, a technical adviser to energy industry sector, 66 percent of the 813 senior oil and gas professionals surveyed said their company would maintain or increase capital spending this year, compared to 39 percent last year.

So oil companies are investing and the market is recovering, but what should companies invest in? According to a research by Deloitte, technological innovation is where the oil and gas industry could really gain an advantage. As it will ultimately lower costs, increase efficiency and productivity. However, lets not forget that it still takes a workforce to extract this precious commodity and that we’re still working with real people from the industry. Therefore we continue to highlight the importance of human capital, knowledge and know-how.

The fact that oil companies are ready to invest heavily in this market again proves the growth of the market. Hopefully companies will acknowledge the importance of a well balanced workforce and be willing to invest in their people and simultaneously continue to keep their technological edge.