Oil and Gas Workers

Summary

Oil and gas workers operate the controls on oil rigs.

Quick Facts: Oil and Gas Workers
2010 Median Pay	$37,640 per year $18.09 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Less than high school
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	See How to Become One
Number of Jobs, 2010	134,800
Job Outlook, 2010-20	8% (Slower than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	11,200

What Oil and Gas Workers Do

Oil and gas workers carry out the plans for drilling that petroleum engineers have designed. They operate the equipment that digs the well and that removes the oil or gas.

Work Environment

Oil and gas workers often work in remote locations outdoors and around heavy machinery, so they must follow precautions. Most work full time, and they often work overtime.

How to Become an Oil and Gas Worker

Workers in oil and gas occupations usually must be at least 18 years old, be in good physical condition, and pass a drug test. A high school diploma is not necessarily required but is preferred by some employers.

Pay

The median annual wage of oil and gas workers was $37,640 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of oil and gas workers is expected to increase by 8 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. Demand for oil and gas workers will depend on the demand for the products and services of two industries in particular: oil and gas extraction and support for mining activities.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of oil and gas workers with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about oil and gas workers by contacting these additional resources.

What Oil and Gas Workers Do About this section

Oil and gas workers repair oil field machinery.

Oil and gas workers carry out the plans for drilling that petroleum engineers have designed. Drilling workers operate the equipment that drills the well through the soil and rock formation, and they prepare the well for use. Service workers then finish preparing the well and assemble the equipment that removes the oil or gas from the well.

Duties

Oil and gas workers include roustabouts, derrick operators, service unit operators, and rotary drill operators.

Roustabouts typically do the following:

• Clean equipment and keep the work area orderly and free of debris
• Use electronic detectors and make visual inspections in flow lines to locate leaks
• Use truck winches and motorized lifts to move pipes to and from trucks or move the pipes by hand
• Dismantle and repair oil field machinery, boilers, and steam engine parts
• Guide cranes that move loads
• Attach lifting slings to loads moved by cranes or by other special equipment, such as gin-pole trucks

Derrick operators typically do the following:

• Inspect derricks, or order their inspection, before they are raised or lowered
• Make sure the drilling fluid continues to flow correctly
• Repair pumps and other equipment related to the drilling fluid system
• Ensure that rig pumps and other drilling systems are working properly
• Use harnesses and platform climbing devices to position and align derrick elements
• Supervise crew members and help train them
• Guide lengths of pipe into and out of elevators
• Help maintain other rig equipment

Service unit operators typically do the following:

• Maintain wells by removing tubes or rods from the hole that is drilled into the ground
• Observe load variations on gauges, pumps, and pressure indicators
• Inspect engines, rotary chains, and other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual equipment conditions
• Drive truck-mounted units to well sites
• Install pressure-control devices onto wellheads
• Thread cables through derrick pulleys
• Operate pumps that circulate water, oil, or other fluids through wells to remove sand or other materials obstructing the free flow of oil
• Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs

Rotary drill operators, also known as drillers, typically do the following:

• Oversee maintenance of the drill rig and implementation of the well plan
• Train crews and introduce procedures to make operations safe and effective
• Observe pressure gauges and move throttles and levers, both to control the speed of rotary tables and to regulate the pressure of tools at the bottoms of drill holes
• Observe gauges that monitor well flow to prevent an overflow
• Keep records of footage drilled, locations and the nature of layers drilled, materials and drilling tools used, services performed, and time required
• Start and examine pump operations to ensure circulation and consistency of drilling fluids or mud in wells
• Use special tools to locate and recover lost or broken bits, casings, and drill pipes from wells

Rotary drilling crews do most of the work in oil fields. Most workers involved in gas processing are known as operators.

Additional occupations on drilling crews are as follows:

Engine operators are in charge of engines that provide the power for well site operations. They also do general maintenance of the engines and keep the rig equipment lubricated.

Pumpers operate and maintain the equipment that regulates the flow of oil out of the well.

Gas treaters oversee automatic treating units that remove water and other impurities from natural gas.

Gas-pumping-station operators tend compressors that raise the pressure of gas to send it through pipelines.

Gas-compressor operators often assist gas treaters and gas-pumping-station operators.

Work Environment About this section

Oil and gas workers are employed mainly in oil and gas extraction and in firms offering support for mining.

Oil and gas workers held about 134,800 jobs in 2010. Oil and gas sites generally operate year round regardless of weather conditions.

Oil and gas workers are employed mainly in oil and gas extraction and in firms offering support for mining. Oil and gas sites can be on land, in inland waters, or at sea (offshore). During hazardous weather, such as a hurricane, coastal land rigs and offshore production and drilling facilities may have to be evacuated.

The industries employing the largest numbers of oil and gas workers in 2010 were the following:

Injuries

Derrick operators and rotary drill operators experience higher-than-average rates of nonfatal injuries. Constant care must be taken to minimize incidents and maximize safety in a work environment where secure footing is often a concern. Proper use of personal protective equipment, such as hard hats, minimizes risks on job sites. An additional danger is the constant, loud noise from the drilling machinery. This noise makes communication difficult, so it is important for workers to follow safety instructions from supervisors and other experienced co-workers.  

Work Schedules

Most oil and gas workers work full time, but they often have to work overtime. Oil and gas drilling rigs usually operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Workers on land drilling rigs typically work 8- or 12-hour shifts. While some land drilling rig personnel work 7 days a week without days off until the well is complete, most work 7 or 14 days on and then equal days off. The remote location of offshore oil rigs requires some workers to live onsite for weeks at a time, frequently working 12-hour shifts, followed by an extended leave period onshore. As a result, part-time opportunities are rare.

How to Become an Oil and Gas Worker About this section

Oil and gas workers carry out the plans for drilling that petroleum engineers have designed.

Workers in oil and gas occupations usually must be at least 18 years old, be in good physical condition, and pass a drug test. A high school diploma is not necessarily required but is preferred by some employers.

Education

The typical level of education required for entry into oil and gas occupations is less than a high school diploma. However, some employers prefer to hire graduates of high school vocational programs in which students learn such skills as basic mechanics, welding, and heavy equipment operations.

Important Qualities

Depth perception. The skill required to move large and heavy pieces of equipment or machinery also requires depth perception. The safety of other workers may depend on it as well.

Detail oriented. Oil and gas workers use equipment that must be carefully watched. Engineers need the information collected by monitoring gauges to judge the effectiveness of drilling operations.

Eye-hand coordination. These workers need an ability to move large pieces of machinery or equipment into exact placement.

Interpersonal skills. These workers operate in teams, so listening to and interacting with other team members and to supervisors is important.

Physical strength. Oil and gas workers must have the strength to move heavy equipment, materials, and machinery.

Training

There are few formal education requirements for oil and gas workers. However, they need a lot of job training and experience before they can do most tasks or advance to more skilled positions.

Most workers start as helpers to experienced workers and learn skills on the job. However, formal training is becoming more important as more technologically advanced machinery and methods are increasingly used.

Advancement

As workers gain more experience, they can move up to higher paying jobs that require greater skill. For example, a roustabout may become a rotary helper and advance to derrick operator and then driller. A similar progression is available to service workers as well.  

Because of the extreme environment and critical nature of the work, offshore oil crews generally are more experienced than land crews. For work on an offshore rig, many companies hire only workers who are already experienced in oilfield operations. As a result, workers who have gained experience as part of a land crew might advance to offshore operations. Positions are usually filled on the basis of seniority and ability.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of oil and gas workers was $37,640 in May 2010.  The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,440, and the top 10 percent earned more than $64,260.

The median wages for oil and gas worker occupations in May 2010 were the following:

• $51,980 for rotary drill operators
• $43,470 for derrick operators
• $38,920 for service unit operators
• $31,770 for roustabouts

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of oil and gas workers is expected to increase by 8 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. Demand for oil and gas workers will depend on the demand for the products and services of two industries in particular: oil and gas extraction and support for mining activities.

Because of higher prices for resources, oil and gas companies are more likely to drill in deeper waters and harsher environments than in the past. These complex operations require more workers. Higher prices will also encourage oil and gas companies to return to existing wells to try new extraction methods, thereby increasing demand for oil and gas workers. Also, changes in policy could expand exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas in currently protected areas, potentially boosting employment.

However, new production technologies are expected to dampen overall demand for oil and gas workers. New drilling and extraction techniques allow more efficient production from a reduced number of drill sites, and that may reduce employment growth in these occupations.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about oil and gas workers, visit

International Association of Drilling Contractors  

Association of Energy Service Companies  

American Petroleum Institute