How do they match: Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers

  • Process Operator

  • Operate or control 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.

  • Clean interiors of processing units by circulating chemicals and solvents within units.
  • Collect product samples by turning bleeder valves, or by lowering containers into tanks to obtain oil samples.
  • Monitor process indicators, instruments, gauges, and meters to detect and report any possible problems.
  • Operate auxiliary equipment and control multiple processing units during distilling or treating operations, moving controls that regulate valves, pumps, compressors, and auxiliary equipment.
  • Operate control panels to coordinate and regulate process variables such as temperature and pressure, and to direct product flow rate, according to process schedules.
  • Perform tests to check the qualities and grades of products, such as assessing levels of bottom sediment, water, and foreign materials in oil samples, using centrifugal testers.
  • Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of system interconnections and capacities.
  • Prepare calculations for receipts and deliveries of oil and oil products.
  • Read and analyze specifications, schedules, logs, test results, and laboratory recommendations to determine how to set equipment controls to produce the required qualities and quantities of products.
  • Synchronize activities with other pumphouses to ensure a continuous flow of products and a minimum of contamination between products.
  • Verify that incoming and outgoing products are moving through the correct meters, and that meters are working properly.

  • Clean production equipment.
  • Collect samples of materials or products for testing.
  • Direct operational or production activities.
  • Inspect production equipment.
  • Lubricate production equipment.
  • Maintain production or processing equipment.
  • Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.
  • Record operational or production data.
  • Repair production equipment or tools.
  • Test chemical or physical characteristics of materials or products.