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Petroleum Pump System Worker

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AVG. SALARY

$83,850

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EDUCATION

High school preferred +

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JOB OUTLOOK

Increasing

What They Do

Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers Career Video

About This Career

Operates or controls petroleum refining or processing units. May specialize in controlling manifold and pumping systems, gauging or testing oil in storage tanks, or regulating the flow of oil into pipelines.

This career is part of the Energy cluster Production pathway.

A person in this career:

  • Monitors process indicators, instruments, gauges, and meters to detect and report any possible problems.
  • Starts pumps and opens valves or uses automated equipment to regulate the flow of oil in pipelines and into and out of tanks.
  • Controls or operates manifold and pumping systems to circulate liquids through a petroleum refinery.
  • Operates control panels to coordinate and regulate process variables such as temperature and pressure, and to direct product flow rate, according to process schedules.
  • Signals other workers by telephone or radio to operate pumps, open and close valves, and check temperatures.
  • Verifies that incoming and outgoing products are moving through the correct meters, and that meters are working properly.
  • Reads automatic gauges at specified intervals to determine the flow rate of oil into or from tanks, and the amount of oil in tanks.
  • Operates auxiliary equipment and control multiple processing units during distilling or treating operations, moving controls that regulate valves, pumps, compressors, and auxiliary equipment.
  • Plans movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of system interconnections and capacities.
  • Reads and analyzes specifications, schedules, logs, test results, and laboratory recommendations to determine how to set equipment controls to produce the required qualities and quantities of products.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

  • You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
  • Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
  • Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
  • Conditions are very hot (above 90 F) or very cold (under 32 F)
  • Exposed to conditions such as high voltage electricity, combustibles, explosives, and chemicals more than once a month
  • Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
  • Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
  • Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
  • Work in this occupation requires being outside most of the time
  • Work at heights above 8 feet more than once a month on structures such as ladders, poles, scaffolding, and catwalks

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

  • Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
  • Identifying color and seeing differences in color, including shades and brightness
  • Judging how far away an object is, or which of several objects is closer or farther away
  • Seeing clearly at a distance
  • Detecting sounds and hearing the differences between sounds of different pitch and loudness
  • Seeing clearly up close
  • Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
  • Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

  • Rotating shift work

Specialty and Similar Careers

Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:

  • Board Operator
  • Crude Unit Operator
  • Gauger
  • Hydrotreater Operator
  • Outside Operator
  • Pumper
  • Refinery Operator
  • Stillman
  • Unit Operator

Contact

  • Email Support

  • 1-800-GO-TO-XAP (1-800-468-6927)
    From outside the U.S., please call +1 (424) 750-3900

Support


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