Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools.
• Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes.
• Interpret instrument readings to ascertain the depth of obstruction.
• Close and seal wells no longer in use.
• Operate pumps that circulate water, oil, or other fluids through wells to remove sand or other materials obstructing the free flow of oil.
• Install pressure-control devices onto wellheads.
• Drive truck-mounted units to well sites.
• Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools.
• Apply green technologies or techniques, such as the use of coiled tubing, slim-hole drilling, horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, or gas lift systems.
• Confer with others to gather information regarding pipe or tool sizes or borehole conditions in wells.
• Perforate well casings or sidewalls of boreholes with explosive charges.
• Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions.
• Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs.
• Operate specialized equipment to remove obstructions by backing off or severing pipes by chemical or explosive action.
• Select fishing methods or tools for removing obstacles such as liners, broken casing, screens, or drill pipe.
• Direct drilling crews performing activities such as assembling and connecting pipe, applying weights to drill pipes, or drilling around lodged obstacles.
• Thread cables through derrick pulleys, using hand tools.
• Monitor sound wave-generating or detecting mechanisms to determine well fluid levels.
• Insert detection instruments into wells with obstructions.
• Examine unserviceable wells to determine actions to be taken to improve well conditions.

Skills

• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.

Abilities

• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.

Knowledge

• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Education

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

U.S. Annual Salary

57980/yr

U.S. Hourly Wage

27.88/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

49,700

Yearly Projected Openings

4900

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Dependability
• Initiative
• Leadership
• Attention to Detail
• Persistence
• Self Control

Tools

• Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
• Adjustable wrenches
• Cement pumping units
• Claw hammer
• Completion hydraulic pumps
• Depth indicators
• Derricks
• Desktop computers
• Diesel engines
• Downhole fishing poles
• Electric downhole pumps
• Goggles
• Hex keys
• Hoists
• Levels
• Locking pliers
• Mallets
• Microcontrollers
• Mud pumps
• Notebook computers
• Personal computers
• Pipe handling equipment
• Pipe wrenches
• Plaster or mortar mixers
• Portable data input terminals
• Power drills
• Pressure controllers
• Pressure indicators
• Protective gloves
• Ratchets
• Rod pumps
• Screwdrivers
• Slickline chemical cutters
• Slickline jet cutters
• Slickline severing tools
• Sonars
• Strain gauges
• Tape measures
• Through tubing perforation guns
• Utility knives
• Well testing downhole tools
• Wellhead beam pumps
• Wire cutters

Technology

• Analytical or scientific software
• Cloud-based data access and sharing software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Facilities management software
• Industrial control software
• Inventory management software
• Office suite software
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet software
• Time accounting software
• Word processing software