Subsector, 211
Oil and Gas Extraction
113,950 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $122,890 a year (BLS, May 2025). What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 74 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 46%
- 15%
- 38%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 25% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 65,526 people in jobs so far, 57% of the industry's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 45 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 13 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 16 million hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 47%
- 11%
- 14%
- 9%
- 19%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 65,526 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself50,642 (77%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts37,516 (57%)
- The hands-on craft12,353 (19%)
- Judgment where errors are severe12,010 (18%)
- The conversations10,070 (15%)
- Running AI inside the business systems6,470 (10%)
- Signing off under your license1,670 (3%)
- Dealing with people outside the organization190 (under 1%)
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this industry's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 15%. Today's estimate: 32%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 38% of the working time of the people in this industry as physical work. For 26% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 13% in a purpose-built cell, 12% in a structured facility, 1% in any setting. 0.41 of 3.
- Not physical 62%
- No robot shown 12%
- In a purpose-built cell 13%
- In a structured facility 12%
- In any setting 1%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 40 largest jobs hold 81% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General and Operations Managers | 6,710 | 45% | 6.3 million | $216K |
| Accountants and Auditors | 5,040 | 45% | 4.7 million | $111K |
| Wellhead Pumpers | 12,190 | 15% | 3.7 million | $76K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 1,880 | 88% | 3.4 million | $59K |
| Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas | 10,010 | 14% | 2.9 million | $65K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers | 4,180 | 32% | 2.8 million | $127K |
| Office Clerks, General | 2,170 | 56% | 2.6 million | $43K |
| Financial Managers | 2,350 | 52% | 2.5 million | $207K |
| Petroleum Engineers | 5,900 | 20% | 2.5 million | $180K |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 1,450 | 59% | 1.8 million | $50K |
| Compliance Officers | 1,360 | 54% | 1.5 million | $95K |
| Industrial Engineers | 1,220 | 60% | 1.5 million | $169K |
People: BLS counts for this industry, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this industry, else its mean, else the national median. 116 smaller jobs (21,610 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 98% of the industry's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole industry, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Monitor control panels during pumping operations to ensure that materials are being pumped at the correct pressure, density, rate, and concentration.Wellhead Pumpers3.7 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.Accountants and Auditors1.4 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Simulate reservoir performance for different recovery techniques, using computer models.Petroleum Engineers1.3 million hours98% of the task within reach
- Design and implement environmental controls on oil and gas operations.Petroleum Engineers1.3 million hours98% of the task within reach
- Develop plans for oil and gas field drilling, and for product recovery and treatment.Petroleum Engineers1.3 million hours98% of the task within reach
- Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes.Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas1.2 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Develop, implement, modify, and document recordkeeping and accounting systems, making use of current computer technology.Accountants and Auditors1.1 million hours80% of the task within reach
- Analyze data to recommend placement of wells and supplementary processes to enhance production.Petroleum Engineers1.1 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Select fishing methods or tools for removing obstacles such as liners, broken casing, screens, or drill pipe.Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas974,205 hours100% of the task within reach
- Estimate material or worker requirements to complete jobs.First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers971,251 hours100% of the task within reach
Scan a typical company in this industry
The industry's largest jobs, in the proportions BLS counts across the whole industry, at the pay it pays, run through the company scan. A starting point before you have a roster, or a benchmark for the one you have. Or choose the whole industry: every occupation BLS publishes for it with task data, at its nationwide headcount, the sector report ($249 for the full report, or included in Pro).
Inside this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this industry; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works
Questions about this industry
- How much of the work in Oil and Gas Extraction is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 32% of the paid hours in Oil and Gas Extraction are within reach of AI models now and 46% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (42% to 46% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in Oil and Gas Extraction carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): General and Operations Managers (6,710 people, 45% of their time, about 6.3 million hours a year); Accountants and Auditors (5,040 people, 45% of their time, about 4.7 million hours a year); and Wellhead Pumpers (12,190 people, 15% of their time, about 3.7 million hours a year).
- Which tasks in Oil and Gas Extraction carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Monitor control panels during pumping operations to ensure that materials are being pumped at the correct pressure, density, rate, and concentration (Wellhead Pumpers, about 3.7 million hours a year); Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards (Accountants and Auditors, about 1.4 million hours a year); and Simulate reservoir performance for different recovery techniques, using computer models (Petroleum Engineers, about 1.3 million hours a year).
- What would people working in Oil and Gas Extraction learn first?
- Among the 65,526 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are reviewing work you did not do yourself (50,642 people); briefing a model and checking its drafts (37,516 people); and the hands-on craft (12,353 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 41% of their working time stays with people, 51% becomes checking a model's work and 7% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in Oil and Gas Extraction (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 98% of its people, and 57% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.