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How exposed to AI is a Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Ga?

Of the 22 tasks O*NET lists for rotary drill operators, oil and gas, 0 could be done in half the time with a chat window today. 21 cannot be sped up at all. Here is which.

Exposure means published research judged an AI could halve the time a task takes, at the same quality. It does not mean the task stops needing a person. How to read this

Also called
Daylight DrillerDrill OperatorDrillerDrilling Rig OperatorMotor ManOil Rig DrillerOil Well DrillerRelief DrillerTool Pusher
Reachable today Needs software built first Cannot be sped up
22
tasks rated for this occupation
9%
hold a degree, from a survey of 23
11k
people do this job in the US
32 of 61
least protected in construction

Every task, and what AI can do with it

These are O*NET's task statements for this occupation, exactly as written, sorted into the three bands by the ratings behind this report. Nothing has been reworded.

Only with software built on top

1
  • Maintain records of footage drilled, location and nature of strata penetrated, materials and tools used, services rendered, and time required

Cannot be sped up

21
  • Train crews, and introduce procedures to make drill work more safe and effective
  • Observe pressure gauge and move throttles and levers to control the speed of rotary tables, and to regulate pressure of tools at bottoms of boreholes
  • Count sections of drill rod to determine depths of boreholes
  • Push levers and brake pedals to control gasoline, diesel, electric, or steam draw works that lower and raise drill pipes and casings in and out of wells
  • Connect sections of drill pipe, using hand tools and powered wrenches and tongs
  • Maintain and adjust machinery to ensure proper performance
  • Start and examine operation of slush pumps to ensure circulation and consistency of drilling fluid or mud in well
  • Locate and recover lost or broken bits, casings, and drill pipes from wells, using special tools
  • Weigh clay, and mix with water and chemicals to make drilling mud
  • Direct rig crews in drilling and other activities, such as setting up rigs and completing or servicing wells
  • Monitor progress of drilling operations, and select and change drill bits according to the nature of strata, using hand tools
  • Repair or replace defective parts of machinery, such as rotary drill rigs, water trucks, air compressors, and pumps, using hand tools
  • Clean and oil pulleys, blocks, and cables
  • Bolt together pump and engine parts, and connect tanks and flow lines
  • Remove core samples during drilling to determine the nature of the strata being drilled
  • Cap wells with packers, or turn valves, to regulate outflow of oil from wells
  • Line drilled holes with pipes, and install all necessary hardware, to prepare new wells
  • Position and prepare truck-mounted derricks at drilling areas specified on field maps
  • Plug observation wells, and restore sites
  • Lower and explode charges in boreholes to start flow of oil from wells
  • Dig holes, set forms, and mix and pour concrete, for foundations of steel or wooden derricks
What this does not say

This is not a prediction about your job

Nobody surveyed an employer. Tasks are counted equally, so a percentage here is a share of the list rather than a share of your week. And the ratings were made in 2023, which makes every figure a floor rather than a ceiling.

It must never be used to select anyone for redundancy. The full limits are here.

Where to go next

This is the standard task list for the title. The useful next question is which of the tasks you actually do should go near AI, and which should not.

Sort your own tasks Read the full report

Exposure ratings from Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs, Science 384, 1306–1308, 2024, used under the MIT licence. This page includes information from the O*NET Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. People Team AI has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Employment figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.