Oil and Gas Extraction, Storage and Transport Workers

How to become a Well Servicing Operator

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 井下作业设备操作维修工

Also called: Well Servicing Worker, Workover Rig Operator, Downhole Tools Worker, Special Downhole Equipment Operator, Well Fluids Mixer, Electric Submersible Pump Worker

Uses workover rigs, pulling units, packers and other equipment to do pump changes, injection adjustments, fishing, major workovers and other downhole work on oil, gas and water wells.

Main tasks

Changing pumps, adjusting injection, fishing, doing major workovers and well testing with blowout preventers, power tongs, packers and other tools
Raising and lowering masts with pulling units and workover rigs, lifting pumpjack heads and Christmas trees, and running tubing and sucker rods in and out
Cleaning, inspecting, assembling, pressure testing and repairing downhole and surface tools
Running pump trucks, blenders and other equipment for fracturing, acidising, water shutoff, gas lift and other well stimulation
Mixing and testing fracturing fluid, acid and kill fluid and screening quartz sand
Installing, commissioning and repairing electric submersible pumps and progressing cavity pumps
Filling in production records

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Drilling Technology (420403). Vocational major 420403 Drilling Technology (钻井技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; 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).; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Oil Well Drilling (620403). Vocational major 620403 Oil Well Drilling (石油钻井), 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 Well Servicing Operator?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Drilling Technology (420403); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Oil and Gas Production Technology (420404).

How much does a Well Servicing Operator 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 Well Servicing 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