Process Control Technicians

How to become a petroleum or Natural gas refining plant operator

Official title: Petroleum/Natural gas refining plant operator

Also called: Asphalt blender, Gas and chemical central control and process operator, Gas processing plant control room operator, Liquefaction plant operator (liquefied gases), Natural gas refining plant operator, Paraffin plant operator, Petroleum desulphurisation treater, Petroleum refining blender, Petroleum refining compounder, Petroleum refining control man, Petroleum refining desulphurisation treater, Petroleum refining distiller

Petroleum/Natural gas refining plant operator operates and monitors plants, and adjusts and maintains processing units and equipment which refine, distil and treat petroleum, petroleum-based products and by-products, or natural gas.

Main tasks

Operating electronic or computerised control panels from a central control room to monitor and optimise physical and chemical processes for several processing units
Adjusting equipment, valves, pumps, controls and process equipment
Controlling process start-up and shut-down, troubleshooting and monitoring outside process equipment
Verifying equipment for malfunctions, testing well pipes for leaks and fractures and arranging for maintenance
Analysing sample products, performing tests, recording data and writing production logs

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

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

Questions people ask

Will AI change the work of a petroleum or Natural gas refining plant operator?

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

Sources

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

Updated 4 October 2026