Oil and Gas Extraction, Storage and Transport Workers

How to become a Petroleum Exploration Field Worker

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 石油勘探工

Also called: Seismic Field Worker, Exploration Surveyor, Vibrator Operator, Marine Seismic Source Operator, Gravity, Magnetic and Electrical Survey Worker

Operates exploration equipment to search for oil and gas using geophysical methods, and does support work.

Main tasks

Carrying out seismic surveys with drill rigs, blasters, recording units, geophones and seismic cables
Providing positions and geographic information for surveys with surveying instruments
Operating vibrator trucks to send regular vibrations into the ground
Firing compressed air guns as the seismic source on survey ships
Surveying with gravity, magnetic and electrical instruments
Testing, repairing and calibrating cables, geophones, recording units and other equipment
Filling in production records

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Oil and Gas Production Technology (420404). Vocational major 420404 Intelligent Oil and Gas Production Technology (油气智能开采技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥81,700 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥53,100 to CN¥125,200. One in ten earn less than CN¥38,100 and one in ten more than CN¥178,000.
This is the figure for the mid group Mining 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 Mining Workers holds 0.45% of everyone employed in China; 10.2% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
23.1% are under 35, 67.8% are 35 to 54 and 9% 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 Petroleum Exploration Field Worker?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Oil and Gas Production Technology (420404).

How much does a Petroleum Exploration Field Worker earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥81,700 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 Mining Workers.

Will AI change the work of a Petroleum Exploration Field Worker?

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

Sources

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
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
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