Skills & competences

Description

Petroleum and natural gas refining plant operators operate and monitor plants and adjust and maintain processing units and equipment which refine, distil and treat petroleum, petroleum-based products and by-products, or natural gas.
Tasks include -
(a) operating electronic or computerized control panels from a central control room to monitor and optimize physical and chemical processes for several processing units;
(b) adjusting equipment, valves, pumps, controls and process equipment;
(c) controlling process start-up and shut-down, troubleshooting and monitoring outside process equipment;
(d) verifying equipment for malfunctions, testing well pipes for leaks and fractures and arranging for maintenance;
(e) analysing sample products, performing tests, recording data and writing production logs.
Examples of the occupations classified here:
- Blender operator (petroleum and natural gas refining )
- Gas plant operator
- Paraffin plant operator
- Petroleum process operator
- Refinery process technician
- Still operator (petroleum and natural gas refining)
Some related occupations classified elsewhere:
- Chemical processing plant controller - 3133
- Chemical products plant and machine operator - 8131