Gas or Petroleum Production Technician
What the work is
Monitors and controls equipment to pump oil and gas from wellheads, and refine and process petroleum products.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Monitors and controls equipment to pump oil and gas from wellheads
- Operates refining and processing equipment to produce petroleum products
- Monitors and adjusts process variables such as temperature, pressure and flow rates
- Collects and analyses samples of oil and gas for testing
- Monitors and controls the quality of petroleum products
- Inspects and conducts routine maintenance on equipment to ensure proper functioning
- Records and maintains production and equipment data
- Responds to alarms and emergencies, taking appropriate action
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the control room of a fictional blending and processing plant running day and night. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A quiet night shift where every reading holds steady and the handover is clean
- You spot a small trend on the screens before it ever becomes an alarm
- A trainee asks a sharp question and you realise they will be good at this
Hard days
- A long shift of watching screens where something small keeps nagging you
- A contractor wants the paperwork signed now, and your checks are not finished
- Nights and weekends that quietly crowd out the rest of your life
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 399132, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.