Refinery Operators

Key Responsibilities

• Lower thermometers into tanks to obtain temperature readings.
• Clamp seals around valves to secure tanks.
• Clean interiors of processing units by circulating chemicals and solvents within units.
• Perform tests to check the qualities and grades of products, such as assessing levels of bottom sediment, water, and foreign materials in oil samples, using centrifugal testers.
• Read automatic gauges at specified intervals to determine the flow rate of oil into or from tanks, and the amount of oil in tanks.
• Control or operate manifold and pumping systems to circulate liquids through a petroleum refinery.
• Operate auxiliary equipment and control multiple processing units during distilling or treating operations, moving controls that regulate valves, pumps, compressors, and auxiliary equipment.
• Signal other workers by telephone or radio to operate pumps, open and close valves, and check temperatures.
• Synchronize activities with other pumphouses to ensure a continuous flow of products and a minimum of contamination between products.
• Maintain and repair equipment, or report malfunctioning equipment to supervisors so that repairs can be scheduled.
• Verify that incoming and outgoing products are moving through the correct meters, and that meters are working properly.
• Coordinate shutdowns and major projects.
• Prepare calculations for receipts and deliveries of oil and oil products.
• Monitor process indicators, instruments, gauges, and meters to detect and report any possible problems.
• Inspect pipelines, tightening connections and lubricating valves as necessary.
• Read and analyze specifications, schedules, logs, test results, and laboratory recommendations to determine how to set equipment controls to produce the required qualities and quantities of products.
• Record and compile operating data, instrument readings, documentation, and results of laboratory analyses.
• Conduct general housekeeping of units, including wiping up oil spills and performing general cleaning duties.
• Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of system interconnections and capacities.
• Calculate test result values, using standard formulas.
• Collect product samples by turning bleeder valves, or by lowering containers into tanks to obtain oil samples.
• Start pumps and open valves or use automated equipment to regulate the flow of oil in pipelines and into and out of tanks.
• Operate control panels to coordinate and regulate process variables such as temperature and pressure, and to direct product flow rate, according to process schedules.
• Patrol units to monitor the amount of oil in storage tanks, and to verify that activities and operations are safe, efficient, and in compliance with regulations.