Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
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.
33,160 people do this job in the US. $96,710 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 47%
- 0%
- 53%
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, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 41%. Today's estimate: 42%.
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 . 24 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of system interconnections and capacities.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Monitor process indicators, instruments, gauges, and meters to detect and report any possible problems.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Operate auxiliary equipment and control multiple processing units during distilling or treating operations, moving controls that regulate valves, pumps, compressors, and auxiliary equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Patrol units to monitor the amount of oil in storage tanks, and to verify that activities and operations are safe, efficient, and in compliance with regulations.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Operate control panels to coordinate and regulate process variables such as temperature and pressure, and to direct product flow rate, according to process schedules.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min13 min to 1.7 h | 98%Half by now | |
| Maintain and repair equipment, or report malfunctioning equipment to supervisors so that repairs can be scheduled.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Coordinate shutdowns and major projects.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | 15%Half by Jun 2027 | |
| Control or operate manifold and pumping systems to circulate liquids through a petroleum refinery.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 29 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Record and compile operating data, instrument readings, documentation, and results of laboratory analyses.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Inspect pipelines, tightening connections and lubricating valves as necessary.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Verify that incoming and outgoing products are moving through the correct meters, and that meters are working properly.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| 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.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 33 min17 min to 1.1 h | 100%Half by now |
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).