According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Monitor pumps and flow lines for gas and fluid leaks. | 91% |
| Gauge oil and gas production. | 89% |
| Start compressor engines and divert oil from storage tanks into compressor units and auxiliary equipment to recover natural gas from oil. | 86% |
| Monitor control panels during pumping operations to ensure that materials are being pumped at the correct pressure, density, rate, and concentration. | 86% |
| Operate engines and pumps to shut off wells according to production schedules, and to switch flow of oil into storage tanks. | 85% |
| Open valves to return compressed gas to bottoms of specified wells to repressurize them and force oil to surface. | 83% |
| Change water filters. | 80% |
| Repair gas and oil meters and gauges. | 79% |
| Prepare trucks and equipment necessary for the type of pumping service required. | 78% |
| Perform routine maintenance on vehicles and equipment. | 76% |
| Attach pumps and hoses to wellheads. | 75% |
| Mix acids, chemicals, or dry cement as required for a specific job. | 75% |
| Unload and assemble pipes and pumping equipment, using hand tools. | 74% |
| Supervise oil pumpers and other workers engaged in producing oil from wells. | 74% |
| Drive trucks to transport high-pressure pumping equipment, and chemicals, fluids, or gases to be pumped into wells. | 68% |
| Control pumping and blending equipment to acidize, cement, or fracture gas or oil wells and permeable rock formations. | 63% |
