Will AI replace Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
17/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 29% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 5% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 31% of the work
What the job involves
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.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(1)
- Record and compile operating data, instrument readings, documentation, and results of laboratory analyses.
Within reach(7)
- Maintain and repair equipment, or report malfunctioning equipment to supervisors so that repairs can be scheduled.
- Signal other workers by telephone or radio to operate pumps, open and close valves, and check temperatures.
- Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of system interconnections and capacities.
- 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.
- Calculate test result values, using standard formulas.
and 2 more
Out of reach(16)
- Monitor process indicators, instruments, gauges, and meters to detect and report any possible problems.
- Start pumps and open valves or use automated equipment to regulate the flow of oil in pipelines and into and out of tanks.
- Verify that incoming and outgoing products are moving through the correct meters, and that meters are working properly.
- Conduct general housekeeping of units, including wiping up oil spills and performing general cleaning duties.
- Collect product samples by turning bleeder valves, or by lowering containers into tanks to obtain oil samples.
and 11 more
Also called
Pumper · Refinery Operator · Control Board Operator · Control Operator · Hydrotreater Operator · Absorption Plant Operator · Dock Operator · Field Gauger
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics