Analysis
NAICS 213112 is the 2022 national industry for support activities for oil and gas operations, part of 21311 (Support Activities for Mining). Census lists 70 example activities under it in the official index.
County Business Patterns counts 9,627 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 221,161 people at an average annual payroll of $105,315 per employee (87th percentile of national industries). 51% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
By establishments it ranks 1st of the 5 codes at this level within Support Activities for Mining, with 80% of them.
Census lists 8 related activities that belong elsewhere, most often in 213111, 2111, 541360 and 237120. Businesses that do several things are classified by their primary activity, the one that generates the most value, so check those boundaries before settling on this code.
Its index entries, the activities Census uses to assign businesses to this code, include acidizing oil and gas field wells on a contract basis, building oil and gas well foundations on a contract basis, building, erecting, repairing, and dismantling oil and gas… and cementing oil and gas well casings on a contract basis, among 70 in all.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 9% and employment fell 10%. The 2018 count used NAICS 2017, so part of a large move can come from codes being redefined rather than from businesses opening or closing.
Official definition
This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in performing support activities, on a contract or fee basis, for oil and gas operations (except geophysical surveying and mapping, site preparation, construction, and transportation activities). Services included are exploration; excavating slush pits and cellars, well surveying; running, cutting, and pulling casings, tubes, and rods; cementing wells, shooting wells; perforating well casings; acidizing and chemically treating wells; and cleaning out, bailing, and swabbing wells.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Contract drilling for oil and gas | 213111 Drilling Oil and Gas Wells |
| Operating oil and gas field properties on a contract or fee basis | 2111 Oil and Gas Extraction |
| Performing geophysical surveying and mapping services for oil and gas on a contract or fee basis | 541360 Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services |
| Oil and gas pipeline and related structures construction and repair | 237120 Oil and Gas Pipeline and Related Structures Construction |
| Inspecting pipelines (i.e., visual) | 541990 All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services |
| Site preparation and related construction activities on a contract or fee basis | 238910 Site Preparation Contractors |
| Mining machinery and equipment repair and maintenance | 811310 Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance |
| Providing landman services on a contract or fee basis | 531390 Other Activities Related to Real Estate |
Index entries (70)
- Acidizing oil and gas field wells on a contract basis
- Building oil and gas well foundations on a contract basis
- Building, erecting, repairing, and dismantling oil and gas field rigs and derricks on a contract basis
- Cementing oil and gas well casings on a contract basis
- Chemically treating oil and gas wells (e.g., acidizing, bailing, swabbing) on a contract basis
- Cleaning oil and gas field lease tanks on a contract basis
- Cleaning out (e.g., bailing out, steam cleaning, swabbing) wells on a contract basis
- Cleaning wells on a contract basis
- Cleaning, repairing, and dismantling oil and gas field lease tanks on a contract basis
- Contract services (except geophysical surveying and mapping, site preparation, construction, and transportation activities) for oil and gas fields
- Core cutting in oil and gas wells, on a contract basis
- Core drilling, exploration services, oil and gas field
- Cutting cores in oil and gas wells on a contract basis
- Derrick building, repairing, and dismantling at oil and gas fields on a contract basis
- Dismantling of oil well rigs on a contract basis
- Drilling rat holes and mouse holes at oil and gas fields on a contract basis
- Drilling shot holes at oil and gas fields on a contract basis
- Drilling site preparation at oil and gas fields on a contract basis
- Drill-stem testing in oil, gas, dry, and service well drilling on a contract basis
- Excavating mud pits, slush pits, and cellars at oil and gas fields on a contract basis
- Exploration services for oil and gas (except geophysical surveying and mapping) on a contract basis
- Fishing for tools at oil and gas fields on a contract basis
- Gas well rig building, repairing, and dismantling on a contract basis
- Gas, compressing natural, in the field on a contract basis
- Geological exploration (except surveying) for oil and gas on a contract basis
- Geophysical exploration (except surveying) for oil and gas on a contract basis
- Hard banding oil and gas field service on a contract basis
- Hot oil treating of oil field tanks on a contract basis
- Hot shot oil field services (on- and off-road) on a contract basis
- Hydraulic fracturing wells on a contract basis
- Impounding and storing salt water in connection with petroleum production
- Installing production equipment at the oil or gas field on a contract basis
- Lease tank cleaning and repairing on a contract basis
- Logging wells on a contract basis
- Mouse hole and rat hole drilling at oil and gas fields on a contract basis
- Mud service for oil field drilling on a contract basis
- Oil and gas field services on a contract basis (except geophysical surveying and mapping, site preparation, construction, and transportation activities)
- Oil field exploration (except surveying) on a contract basis
- Oil sampling services on a contract basis
- Oil well logging on a contract basis