Petroleum and natural gas refining plant operators

Definition

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