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Gas Plant Operators

Wages
In 2015, the average annual wage in a Alabama was $67,540 with most people making betweeen $46,620 and $83,010
Wages by Industry
  • Natural Gas Distribution $56,900.00
  • Oil and Gas Extraction $57,720.00
  • Basic Chemical Manufacturing $59,130.00
  • Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution $61,260.00
  • Management of Companies and Enterprises $52,150.00
  • Petroleum and Petroleum Products Merchant Wholesalers $51,610.00
Education Required
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Common Majors
  • no information available
About the job

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

What you'll do
    • Calculate gas ratios to detect deviations from specifications, using testing apparatus.
    • Change charts in recording meters.
    • Contact maintenance crews when necessary.
    • Control equipment to regulate flow and pressure of gas to feedlines of boilers, furnaces, and related steam-generating or heating equipment.
    • Control fractioning columns, compressors, purifying towers, heat exchangers, and related equipment to extract nitrogen and oxygen from air.
    • Distribute or process gas for utility companies or industrial plants, using panel boards, control boards, and semi-automatic equipment.
    • Operate construction equipment to install and maintain gas distribution systems.
    • Read logsheets to determine product demand and disposition, or to detect malfunctions.
    • Signal or direct workers who tend auxiliary equipment.
    • 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.
Things you need to know
    • Mechanical – Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • 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.
    • Production and Processing – Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • 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.
    • Computers and Electronics – Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Abilities you'll need to have
    • Operation Monitoring – Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
    • Monitoring – Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
    • Operation and Control – Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
    • Quality Control Analysis – Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
    • Critical Thinking – Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
    • Judgment and Decision Making – Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
    • Complex Problem Solving – Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.