If you believe the folks at Goldman Sachs, the American oil industry is about to make a big comeback.

We've all seen the crunch here in Acadiana from the painful downturn and lost jobs caused by oversupply. But now as more oil fields come on line, Goldman Sachs says there simply won't be enough people to do the required drilling, well completion and other logistical work.

What?!

Cheap oil wiped out nearly 170,000 oil and gas jobs since 2014 as companies scrambled to cut costs and avoid bankruptcy.

But with the expected ramp-up in drilling activity, the oil and gas industry would need to add 80,000 to 100,000 jobs between now and the end of 2018, Goldman predicted in a recent report.

The estimate is based on their forecast for U.S. oil production to resume growing next year after the recent drop to two-year lows. That growth would require about 700 oil rigs to be added. Each one would support an average of 120 to 150 employees.

Jeff Bush, president of oil and gas recruiting firm CSI Recruiting, agrees that a "worker shortage" is coming.

"When we get back to reasonable level of activity, there's going to be a supply crisis of experienced personnel. I just don't see any way around that," said Bush.

Fingers crossed!

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