Occupation Summary

Gas Plant Operators

O*NET 51-8092.00

Description:

Distribute or process gas for utility companies and others by controlling compressors to maintain specified pressures on main pipelines.

Annual Wages:
$82,474.00
Employment Rate:
Employment is expected to increase by 1.56%.
Education Level:
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED). According to O*Net, the majority of people employed in this occupation have this level of education.
Endorsement:
Business and Industry

  1. Monitor transportation and storage of flammable and other potentially dangerous products to ensure that safety guidelines are followed.
  2. Monitor equipment functioning, observe temperature, level, and flow gauges, and perform regular unit checks to ensure that all equipment is operating as it should.
  3. Control operation of compressors, scrubbers, evaporators, and refrigeration equipment to liquefy, compress, or regasify natural gas.
  4. Start and shut down plant equipment.
  5. Record, review, and compile operations records, test results, and gauge readings such as temperatures, pressures, concentrations, and flows.
  6. Adjust temperature, pressure, vacuum, level, flow rate, or transfer of gas to maintain processes at required levels or to correct problems.
  7. Clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using hand tools, or request that repair and maintenance work be performed.
  8. Collaborate with other operators to solve unit problems.
  9. Determine causes of abnormal pressure variances, and make corrective recommendations, such as installation of pipes to relieve overloading.
  10. Read logsheets to determine product demand and disposition, or to detect malfunctions.
  11. Test gas, chemicals, and air during processing to assess factors such as purity and moisture content, and to detect quality problems or gas or chemical leaks.
  12. Contact maintenance crews when necessary.
  13. Change charts in recording meters.
  14. Distribute or process gas for utility companies or industrial plants, using panel boards, control boards, and semi-automatic equipment.
  15. Control equipment to regulate flow and pressure of gas to feedlines of boilers, furnaces, and related steam-generating or heating equipment.
  16. Control fractioning columns, compressors, purifying towers, heat exchangers, and related equipment to extract nitrogen and oxygen from air.
  17. Calculate gas ratios to detect deviations from specifications, using testing apparatus.
  18. Signal or direct workers who tend auxiliary equipment.
  19. Operate construction equipment to install and maintain gas distribution systems.


National Industry Employment Patterns


Industry % of Gas Plant Operators employed Annual Growth Rate
Natural gas distribution 43.2 -1.68
Pipeline transportation of natural gas 23.5 -0.59
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution 5 -1.53


Labor Market Information


2024 Statewide average hourly wage $39.65
2024 National average hourly wage $41.09
2022 National employment 14,800
2022 Texas employment 2,375
Texas projected employment by 2032 2,412
Texas projected annual employment and Turnover openings through 2032 220




TEXAS COUNTY MAP BY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AREA
* Due to confidentiality rules, not all regions may have the data displayed. The sum of all the regions may not be equal to the state total.


Top 10 Relevant Knowledge Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Public Safety and Security
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
78.80%
Mechanical
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
75.00%
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
71.80%
Computers and Electronics
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
68.00%
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
63.40%
Engineering and Technology
Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
62.80%
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
62.60%
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
60.80%
Administrative
Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
60.20%
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
56.80%


Top 10 Relevant Skill Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
82.40%
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
75.00%
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
72.40%
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
70.00%
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
65.00%
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
65.00%
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
62.40%
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
60.00%
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
60.00%
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
60.00%


Top 10 Relevant Abilities Relevant Importance Levels
Perceptual Speed
The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
77.60%
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
75.00%
Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
72.40%
Auditory Attention
The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
70.00%
Selective Attention
The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
67.60%
Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
65.00%
Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
65.00%
Flexibility of Closure
The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
65.00%
Far Vision
The ability to see details at a distance.
65.00%
Reaction Time
The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
62.40%


  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
    -- Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    -- Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    -- Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Getting Information
    -- Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
    -- Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Other Activities


  • Independence
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
  • Support
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.



Tools

Adjustable wrenches: Adjustable hand wrenches;

Calipers: Digital calipers;

Centrifugal pumps: Centrifugal pumps;

Compressor control panels: Reciprocating natural gas compressors; Gas compressor systems;

Control valves: Gas distribution control valves;

Cryogenic or liquid nitrogen freezers: Cryogenic plant;

Dehydrators: Mole-sieve dehyrdation systems; Triethylene glycol TEG dehydrators;

Electric boilers: Electric boilers;

Electrical control panels for generators: Power generation engines;

Flowmeters: Gas measurement equipment;

Forklifts: Forklift trucks;

Fuel pumps: Gas pumps;

Gas chromatographs: Gas chromatographs GC;

Gas compressors: Acid gas compressors;

Gas or vapour concentration measuring instruments: Gas sampling equipment;

Gas power plants: Glycol dehydration systems;

Gas recovery machinery: Sulfur recovery units; Sulfur units; Nitrogen rejection units;

Gas turbine control panels: Gas-powered turbines;

Hacksaw: Mini hacksaws;

Heat exchangers: Reboilers; Heat exchangers;

Hoists: Chain hoists;

Laboratory scrubbers: Laboratory scrubbers;

Laboratory separators: Fluid separation equipment;

Ladders: Stepladders;

Microcontrollers: Programmable logic controllers PLC;

Micrometers: Digital micrometers;

Motor compressors: Refrigeration compressors;

Multimeters: Digital multimeters;

Personal computers: Personal computers;

Positive displacement pumps: Positive displacement PD pumps;

Power drills: Cordless power drills;

Punches or nail sets or drifts: Punch sets;

Screwdrivers: Multipurpose screwdrivers;

Sockets: Socket sets;

Steel holding tank: Tank farms;

Titration equipment: Titrators;

Water purification equipment: Condensate stabilizer equipment;

Wet scrubbers: Amine treating plant;


Technology

Analytical or scientific software: AspenTech HYSYS;

Calendar and scheduling software: Work scheduling software;

Data base user interface and query software: Operating log software; Quorum PGAS;

Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook;

Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software;

Industrial control software: Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software;

Office suite software: Microsoft Office software;

Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint;

Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel;

Word processing software: Microsoft Word;


Related O*NET occupational titles for Gas Plant Operators include:
  • 51-8013.03 Biomass Plant Technicians
  • 51-8091.00 Chemical Plant and System Operators
  • 53-7071.00 Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators
  • 51-8013.04 Hydroelectric Plant Technicians
  • 51-8093.00 Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
  • 51-8012.00 Power Distributors and Dispatchers
  • 51-8013.00 Power Plant Operators
  • 53-7072.00 Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers
  • 51-8021.00 Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
  • 53-7073.00 Wellhead Pumpers


No sources of additional information found.

Contact Texas Workforce Commission
Labor Market and Career Information  |  101 E. 15th Street, Annex Room 0252  |  Austin, Texas 78778
Official Website  |  1-800-822-PLAN (7526)  |  512.936.3200

** The information in this report may be derived from many sources like O*NET, BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), OOH (Occupational Outlook Handbook), and Career One Stop.