Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas
Rig derrick equipment and operate pumps to circulate mud or fluid through drill hole.
10,590 people do this job in the US. $58,620 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 7%
- 0%
- 93%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 7%. Today's estimate: 7%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 15 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control the viscosity and weight of the drilling fluid.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 18% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Listen to mud pumps and check regularly for vibration and other problems to ensure that rig pumps and drilling mud systems are working properly.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 14% | 25 min13 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Supervise crew members, and provide assistance in training them.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Weigh clay, and mix with water and chemicals to make drilling mud, using portable mixers.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Prepare mud reports, and instruct crews about the handling of any chemical additives.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Repair pumps, mud tanks, and related equipment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 7% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect derricks for flaws, and clean and oil derricks to maintain proper working conditions.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| String cables through pulleys and blocks.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Steady pipes during connection to or disconnection from drill or casing strings.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Start pumps that circulate mud through drill pipes and boreholes to cool drill bits and flush out drill cuttings.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min8 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Position and align derrick elements, using harnesses and platform climbing devices.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Guide lengths of pipe into and out of elevators.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).