Gas Plant Operators
Distribute or process gas for utility companies and others by controlling compressors to maintain specified pressures on main pipelines.
18,030 people do this job in the US. $87,820 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 16%
- 3%
- 81%
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, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 13%. Today's estimate: 14%.
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 . 19 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distribute or process gas for utility companies or industrial plants, using panel boards, control boards, and semi-automatic equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 19% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Control operation of compressors, scrubbers, evaporators, and refrigeration equipment to liquefy, compress, or regasify natural gas.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Monitor equipment functioning, observe temperature, level, and flow gauges, and perform regular unit checks to ensure that all equipment is operating as it should.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Record, review, and compile operations records, test results, and gauge readings such as temperatures, pressures, concentrations, and flows.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Control fractioning columns, compressors, purifying towers, heat exchangers, and related equipment to extract nitrogen and oxygen from air.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Control equipment to regulate flow and pressure of gas to feedlines of boilers, furnaces, and related steam-generating or heating equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Determine causes of abnormal pressure variances, and make corrective recommendations, such as installation of pipes to relieve overloading.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now | |
| Monitor transportation and storage of flammable and other potentially dangerous products to ensure that safety guidelines are followed.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Start and shut down plant equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Adjust temperature, pressure, vacuum, level, flow rate, or transfer of gas to maintain processes at required levels or to correct problems.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Collaborate with other operators to solve unit problems.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using hand tools, or request that repair and maintenance work be performed.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 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.
- Power Plant Operators41% now, 45% by 2028
- Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers42% now, 47% by 2028
- Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators45% now, 45% by 2028
- Biomass Plant Technicians6% now, 7% by 2028
- Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators13% now, 22% by 2028
- Chemical Plant and System Operators22% now, 22% by 2028
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).