The global oil and gas industry faces growing pressure to deliver projects efficiently and compliantly across borders. As investment flows into both traditional and energy transition ventures, the need for effective Employer of Record (EOR) solutions in oil and gas, especially for international workforce compliance, has never been greater.
The oil and gas industry never stands still. Even as renewables and new technologies reshape the energy conversation, oil and gas remains essential, keeping the world running, driving new investment, and opening up opportunities for people and businesses everywhere.
From startups trialling cleaner fuels to established players rolling out digital tools in the field, the sector is buzzing with activity.
This steady flow of investment doesn’t just spark innovation; it creates jobs for engineers, project managers, site specialists, and thousands of workers behind the scenes, often in places far from home.
This is where a Global Employer of Record model proves valuable. By handling local employment, payroll, and compliance obligations, the EOR approach allows oil and gas companies to respond quickly to project needs, minimise risk, and maintain operational focus, regardless of where the work takes place.
Investment Trends in Oil & Gas Startups: 2024–2025
1. Energy Startup Funding Landscape
- In mid‑2025, the International Energy Agency reported that total venture capital into energy startups reached a new high, reflecting a rebound since the dip in 2022–23.
- Corporate-backed rounds in 2023 were around US $13.3 billion, a modest 6 % decline from 2022’s peak but far above pre‑2020 levels.
2. Big Deals Driving Momentum
- February 2024: US startup Koloma raised US $246 million to develop sub-surface hydrogen reserves, backed by Amazon’s Climate Pledge and United Airlines.
- In the same quarter, UK’s Octopus Energy invested US $200 million in Deep Green (recycling data-centre waste heat), and BP Ventures contributed US $182 million to Canada’s Eavor (geothermal innovation).
3. Focus Areas & Technology Shifts
- Methane monitoring has drawn heavy investment: satellite platforms like MethaneSAT and airborne sensors saw public–private backing, though MethaneSAT lost power post-launch in March 2024.
- Investment is also shifting toward hydrogen: the electrolyser market was US $252 million in 2024, with forecasts reaching US $1.23 billion by 2033.
- Canadian firm SensorUp raised CAD 12 million (approx. US $9 million) in mid‑2023 for its methane emissions SaaS tool (GEMS).
4. VC vs Corporate Venture Trends
- While global VC hit nearly US $314 billion in total funding in 2024 (up 3 % on 2023), energy startups’ share was smaller—yet corporate-backed activity remained comparatively resilient.
- Corporate & CVC deals made up 47 % of total venture value in Q1 2025, even as deal volumes fell, showing continued appetite from strategic investors.
2025 Outlook & Sector Tailwinds
- Oil prices have stabilised, supporting tech budgets at oil majors. Meanwhile, policy support for hydrogen (e.g. US $170 million DOE electrolyser funding) and methane tracking (US $76 million DOE funding) strengthens project pipelines .
- Financial backing for methane detection providers continues: Morgan Stanley invested US $30 million in Insight M’s airborne sensors in early 2025.
Employment Challenges in the Oil and Gas Industry
As investment returns to the oil and gas sector, companies face renewed pressure to secure the right talent, often at speed, and frequently across borders.
But hiring for oil and gas is never straightforward. The industry’s global reach, technical demands, and project-driven timelines bring a set of employment challenges unlike any other sector.
Key issues include:
- Project-Driven Hiring Pressure: Timelines can shift overnight. Project awards, shutdowns, or changes in regulatory requirements can force companies to mobilise or scale down large, multidisciplinary teams with little notice. Traditional recruitment models struggle to keep pace with these cycles.
- Jurisdictional Complexity and Legal Exposure: Oil and gas projects frequently span multiple legal systems, each with their own mandatory employment terms, collective bargaining agreements, statutory benefits, and strict requirements for contracts, termination, and payroll. A single misstep, such as applying the wrong notice period or benefits provision can trigger government audits, worker claims, or contractual disputes, particularly in regions with active labour inspectorates.
- Role and Skills Stratification: The sector’s workforce extends from senior engineers and commercial managers to highly skilled trades, field operators, and logistics staff. Each group comes with distinct regulatory requirements for onboarding, background screening, credential validation, and ongoing compliance, further complicated when workers are sourced internationally.
- Immigration and Nationalisation Requirements: Visa and work permit processes for project-critical staff can be opaque, protracted, and subject to frequent regulatory change. Many jurisdictions impose local content or nationalisation quotas, restricting the use of expatriate labour for specific roles or mandating structured training, reporting, and approval processes.
- Operating Environments and Workforce Protection: Project locations range from established industrial hubs to remote, high-risk, or politically unstable regions. Here, employment structures must factor in heightened health and safety obligations, mandatory insurance cover, crisis response planning, and close government oversight of workforce conditions and compensation.
How a Global Employer of Record Addresses Oil & Gas Workforce Demands
The employment landscape in oil and gas requires practical solutions, especially when rapid project deployment, cross-border compliance, and shifting workforce needs are the norm.
A Global Employer of Record (EOR) model responds to these demands by providing a legal, efficient way to engage talent wherever projects take shape without the need to set up a local entity or navigate unfamiliar regulatory systems alone.
Where the Global EOR Adds Value
- Faster Project Mobilisation: Oil and gas projects can go from greenlight to mobilisation in weeks, not months. EOR solutions enable companies to quickly onboard skilled professionals in-country, with locally compliant contracts and payroll, reducing administrative delays and keeping projects on track.
- Consistent Compliance, Country to Country: Employment law, tax, and social insurance requirements vary dramatically across regions. EOR providers manage these obligations in each jurisdiction, ensuring statutory terms, benefits, and reporting are met for both permanent and project-based staff.
- Full Talent Spectrum Coverage: Whether a project requires ten expatriate engineers or a hundred local welders, the EOR model supports rapid hiring, contract management, and workforce scaling across every function, from office to field.
- Immigration and Local Labour Law Navigation: Securing the right permits and visas, especially for blue-collar and technical roles, can slow project delivery. A Global partner helps coordinate immigration processes and ensure all onboarding documentation, health checks, and certifications are completed per local law.
- Risk Mitigation: Permanent establishment, employee misclassification, and compliance gaps expose oil and gas firms to real penalties and operational risk. The EOR approach delivers clear local employment relationships, reducing the risk of audits, disputes, and unexpected liabilities.
- Challenging and Remote Locations: From city offices to offshore rigs or inland field camps, the EOR model is structured to operate where direct hiring or entity registration is impractical, ensuring all staff, regardless of posting, are employed on fully compliant local terms.
Use Case: Rapid Workforce Mobilisation for Pipeline Construction
A midstream operator needed to assemble a team of 120 skilled welders, pipefitters, and project managers for a cross-border pipeline project in Central Asia.
With tight local content requirements and shifting project deadlines, traditional recruitment channels risked costly delays and compliance breaches. Using a Global Employer of Record model, the company was able to:
- Secure work permits and locally compliant contracts within three weeks.
- Onboard both expatriate and local staff under unified payroll and benefits.
- Mitigate permanent establishment risk and satisfy host-country reporting obligations.
The project was delivered on schedule, and all workforce compliance requirements were met, avoiding fines or disruption.
Global Payroll Calculator for Oil & Gas Industry
Integrated with Global EOR: The calculator works seamlessly with Acumen’s Employer of Record services, supporting fast, compliant workforce deployment wherever your projects take you.
Instant Cost Visibility: Quickly calculate the true cost of employment, including local taxes, benefits, and employer liabilities across 190+ countries. No more guesswork or hidden charges.
Country-to-Country Comparison: Compare payroll scenarios side by side, making it easy to identify the most cost-effective locations for project-based or long-term hires.
Detailed Payroll Breakdown: Access full clarity on gross-to-net and net-to-gross calculations, including employer and employee tax splits, statutory contributions, and mandatory benefits.
Compliance Assurance: Real-time updates and built-in validation ensure every calculation reflects the latest tax rules and employment regulations.
The Future of Global Employment in Oil and Gas
For all the talk of automation and decarbonisation, oil and gas remains fundamentally dependent on people — people willing to work where infrastructure is limited, risk is high, and rules are never static.
The real shift is about control: controlling who gets hired, where they’re deployed, and how regulatory risks are managed when the ground keeps moving.
What’s next? Fewer permanent hires. More project-based, international, and rotational teams, deployed where needed and offboarded just as quickly, all under scrutiny from local authorities and tax agencies looking for any sign of non-compliance.
Employment models will become less about cost-saving, more about operational continuity.
The companies that survive and thrive won’t be the ones with the slickest tech or biggest payroll, but those who understand that global workforce management now sits at the intersection of regulatory risk, supply chain fragility, and reputation.
For oil and gas, employment strategy is no longer a back-office function. It’s now a front-line risk and a source of competitive edge.