Devon Harrison was drawn to his job servicing oil rigs in part because of curiosity about how all the machinery worked. Best of all, there was the pay - $17.50 an hour for the 19-year-old high school graduate, plus a shot at a dollar-an-hour safety bonus.

"I just want to save up money for college," said Harrison, who wants to study design and engineering. "I could do this. I actually like this job … but right now I'm set on going to college."

Oil industry officials and Gov. John Hoeven say western North Dakota needs thousands of workers like Harrison, now and in the future, and they hope good wages and the chance for some adventure will help draw them.

A new study, commissioned by state agencies, Williston State College and the North Dakota Petroleum Council, concluded the industry must recruit almost 2,000 new employees in the next three years to continue its growth.

The number of needed workers rises to 12,000 over four years when companies also count the employees needed to replace those who will be retiring or leaving the business, said Ron Ness, the petroleum council's president.

Hoeven held a news conference Monday to publicize the study and underline what he said was the attractiveness of employment in the oil patch.

"We're going to need several thousand more workers in the oil and gas industry," he said. "This is the whole gamut of positions, from individuals who work on the rigs, truckers and all the support services, all the way up through geologists and petroleum engineers."

Listings on Job Service North Dakota's Web site on Monday showed openings ranging from $15 an hour for laborers, $16 an hour for truck drivers and $31 hourly for equipment operators.

Oil production in North Dakota increased 14 percent in 2006, to 40 million barrels. Forty-one drilling rigs are currently operating in the state, compared with 16 in 2005. Each new well drilled means about 120 direct and secondary jobs, Ness said.

Al Anderson, manager of Tesoro Corp.'s Mandan refinery, said the new demand for workers was not surprising.

"We have three times the number of rigs running that we had just two years ago, and those all generate new opportunities," he said. "It's a very exciting time."

Some industry workers, including Harrison; Tressy Heinle, a landman for Paladin Resources Inc., of Minot; and Jeff Iverson, a Tesoro refinery process operator, were invited to speak about the benefits of their own jobs.

Heinle, who is a former Tioga economic development director, scours property records in courthouses to determine landowners' mineral interests. Companies use her work in offering to lease oil production rights, and to determine how property owners share in the revenues.

Tracing property records is often fascinating, Heinle said.

"You go back to the homesteading of the property, and the history of it, it's very interesting," she said. "You get an opportunity to work in a number of courthouses, and the work environment is great."