Personnel Note: Jon Barganier leaving Kay Ivey staff to head Alabama Petroleum Council
Governor Kay Ivey‘s Deputy Chief of Staff Jon Barganier is leaving his long-time post in Alabama’s capitol to serve as the Executive Director for the Alabama Petroleum Council. Barganier earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama, majoring in Journalism, then attended Auburn University at Montgomery to earn an M.B.A. while working at the State Department of Finance. He has served in Montgomery since 2006, beginning his career as a state planning analyst and division manager of IT Operations at the Alabama Department of Finance. From there, he served as the Director of the Executive planning Office in the same department. After a brief one-year stint in the private sector he joined former Governor Robert Bentley‘s staff as a legislative liaison working his way through the ranks to become the deputy chief of staff, and finally Bentley’s chief of staff, according to his LinkedIn profile. He’s since served as Ivey’s deputy chief of staff for over a year; his resignation goes into effect August 31. According to Yellowhammer News, “the Alabama Petroleum Council is a division of the American Petroleum Institute and represents upstream (exploration and production) and downstream (refining, supply, marketing and transportation) interests and investments of major integrated oil and natural gas companies.”
New study: 86,400 Alabama jobs supported by natural gas and oil
The Alabama Petroleum Council (APC), a division of the American Petroleum Institute, on Tuesday released a new study showing that in 2015 the U.S. natural gas and oil industry supported 86,400 jobs in the Yellowhammer State, provided nearly $3.9 billion in wages and contributed $8.85 billion to the state’s economy. Conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and commissioned by API, the study also found that all 50 states, whether energy producing or not, continued to benefit from the natural gas and oil industry. “Alabama oil and gas industry jobs offshore and onshore are in high demand because they have paid very well and the companies respect their employees while taking their health and safety very seriously,” said Executive Director Dean Peeler. “Alabama has had a proud 75 year history in oil and gas production, thanks to our dedicated professional employees.” The study also revealed the natural gas and oil industry supported 10.3 million U.S. jobs in 2015. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average wage paid by the natural gas and oil industry in 2016, excluding retail station jobs, was $101,181 which is nearly 90 percent more than the national average. “This study validates the role of the natural gas and oil industry in growing the U.S. economy and supporting more than 10 million workers from coast-to-coast,” added API President and CEO Jack Gerard. “Natural gas and oil touches virtually every facet of our life – from heating our homes and fueling transportation to life-saving medical devices and cosmetics at the drug store. This study is further proof of the positive impact that U.S. resources have on workers and communities across the nation.”
