“HOUSTON — Sabrina Burns, a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, had thought she would be launching a lucrative career in the oil and gas industry when she graduated in a few months.
“But the collapse in the demand for oil and gas during the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted her well-laid plans and is forcing her to consider a new path.
“We got a slap in the face, an entirely unforeseen situation that rocked our entire mind-set,” said Ms. Burns, who is studying petroleum engineering. “I have applied for every oil and gas position I’ve seen, like all my classmates, and nothing really has turned up. I’m discouraged.”
“The industry has attracted thousands of young people in recent years with the promise of secure careers as shale drilling took off and made the United States the world’s largest producer of oil. But many students and recent graduates say they are no longer sure that there is a place for them in the industry. Even after the pandemic ends, some of them fear that growing concerns about climate change will lead to the inevitable decline of oil and gas.”

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but you’d have to have had your head in the (oil)sands not to have seen this coming. Dare I say it, these developments ain’t exactly the surprise of the century.

“Even before the pandemic, Ms. Burns said, she had some doubts about her chosen industry. Other students and even an Uber driver ferrying her and others to a petroleum industry banquet in 2018 raised questions about the future of oil and gas and why renewable energy might be a better bet.”

You don’t say! Jeez. Looks like the gravitational pull of heaps of hard cash at any cost was still a stronger pull.

I’ll save my pity for another day.

[Cover photo by Brandon Thibodeaux: Sabrina Burns, a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, studied petroleum engineering.]