Operate equipment to increase oil flow from producing wells or to remove stuck pipe, casing, tools, or other obstructions from drilling wells. May also perform similar services in mining exploration operations. Includes fishing-tool technicians.
U.S. Workers
44,120
Median Salary
$57,980
10-Year Growth
+0.4%
Annual Openings
4,100
Typical entry: No formal educational credential
19 of 19 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions.
AI: Fully automatable - ML-based acoustic and vibration monitoring systems can reliably detect many faulty operations and unusual well conditions from engine/chain sounds and sensors.
Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes.
AI: Fully automatable - Generating billing reports from service logs, tool use, and time records can be fully automated by AI and workflow software.
Operate pumps that circulate water, oil, or other fluids through wells to remove sand or other materials obstructing the free flow of oil.
AI: Fully automatable - Pump operation and fluid-circulation controls are commonly automated and managed via SCADA/PLC systems and can be fully automated and monitored remotely.
Interpret instrument readings to ascertain the depth of obstruction.
AI: Fully automatable - Interpreting instrument readings to determine obstruction depth is a data-interpretation task that AI/software can perform accurately given the sensor inputs.
Monitor sound wave generating or detecting mechanisms to determine well fluid levels.
AI: Fully automatable - Monitoring acoustic generation/detection to infer fluid levels is a sensor analytics task already automatable with AI/ML systems that can continuously process signals and report levels.
Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools.
AI: Partial - Computer-vision and sensor systems can automate routine inspection tasks, but many safety inspections require hands-on checks and human judgment.
Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs.
AI: Partial - Remote and automated control systems can assist with raising and leveling, but complex, safety-critical rig operations still typically require trained human operators.
Install pressure-control devices onto wellheads.
AI: Partial - Installing pressure-control devices requires precise manual handling, heavy tooling, and adherence to safety procedures that limit full automation today.
Direct drilling crews performing activities such as assembling and connecting pipe, applying weights to drill pipes, or drilling around lodged obstacles.
AI: Partial - Directing drilling crews requires real‑time social coordination and on-site judgment; AI can provide instructions, sequencing, and optimization, but cannot fully replace human supervisors.
Confer with others to gather information regarding pipe or tool sizes or borehole conditions in wells.
AI: Partial - AI can aggregate and summarize specifications and sensor data to support discussions, but real-time coordination and field judgment still rely on human collaboration.
Drive truck-mounted units to well sites.
AI: Partial - Autonomous long-haul trucking exists, but driving truck-mounted units to specific, complex well sites (last-mile navigation, setup, regulatory/safety constraints) is not fully automated yet.
Thread cables through derrick pulleys, using hand tools.
AI: Partial - Threading cables is a fine manual, on-site physical task that AI can advise or remotely assist with robotic manipulators but cannot fully perform autonomously at scale in 2025.
Select fishing methods or tools for removing obstacles such as liners, broken casing, screens, or drill pipe.
AI: Partial - Selecting fishing methods is primarily a diagnostic and planning task AI can recommend from historical and sensor data, but the physical retrieval still requires human crews or specialized equipment.
Apply green technologies or techniques such as the use of coiled tubing, slim-hole drilling, horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, or gas lift systems.
AI: Partial - Applying advanced/green drilling techniques can be designed and optimized by AI, but field implementation and hands‑on adjustments during operations remain human‑led as of 2025.
Operate specialized equipment to remove obstructions by backing-off or severing pipes by chemical or explosive action.
AI: Partial - Operating specialized cutting or severing equipment (chemical or explosive) is hazardous and subject to strict human oversight; AI can assist or remotely control tools but not fully autonomously perform these tasks safely today.
Close and seal wells no longer in use.
AI: Partial - Well abandonment involves complex, regulated, hands-on operations (cementing, barriers) where AI can plan and control subsystems but cannot fully execute end-to-end without human oversight in 2025.
Perforate well casings or sidewalls of boreholes with explosive charges.
AI: Partial - Perforating with explosive charges is highly regulated and hazardous—AI can design perforation plans and assist remote firing systems, but fully autonomous explosives handling is not acceptable/common in 2025.
Examine unserviceable wells to determine actions to be taken to improve well conditions.
AI: Partial - Examining unserviceable wells is largely diagnostic and AI can analyze logs and sensor data to recommend remediation, but final assessments and many inspections require human expertise.
Insert detection instruments into wells with obstructions.
AI: Partial - Inserting detection instruments into obstructed wells is a complex manipulation task where AI can guide or remotely operate tools, but fully autonomous insertion in varied obstruction scenarios is not generally achievable in 2025.