Petroleum Refining Workers

How to become a Crude Oil Distillation Operator

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 原油蒸馏工

Also called: Light Hydrocarbon Recovery Unit Operator, Atmospheric and Vacuum Distillation Unit Operator

Separates crude oil into naphtha, kerosene, diesel, gas oil, residue and other fractions.

Main tasks

Desalting and dewatering crude oil with electrostatic desalters and other equipment
Heating or cooling material with furnaces, heat exchangers and other equipment
Separating intermediate products with prefractionators, atmospheric and vacuum columns, absorber strippers, stabilisers, compressors and other equipment
Recovering heat with waste heat and low grade heat recovery equipment and steam generators
Starting up and shutting down units with instruments and control systems, diagnosing and responding to incidents and keeping production safe, clean and continuous

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Petroleum Refining Technology (470202). Vocational major 470202 Petroleum Refining Technology (石油炼制技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Chemical Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Analysis.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥85,000 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥58,100 to CN¥127,900. One in ten earn less than CN¥44,300 and one in ten more than CN¥174,700.
This is the figure for the mid group Petroleum Processing, Coking and Coal Chemical Workers, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Petroleum Processing, Coking and Coal Chemical Workers holds 0.05% of everyone employed in China; 18.8% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
35% are under 35, 56.5% are 35 to 54 and 8.5% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 40 to 44.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Crude Oil Distillation Operator?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Petroleum Refining Technology (470202).

How much does a Crude Oil Distillation Operator earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥85,000 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Petroleum Processing, Coking and Coal Chemical Workers.

Will AI change the work of a Crude Oil Distillation Operator?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026