1. Energy careers
  2. Operators
  3. Oil and Gas Well Services Operators

Oil and Gas Well Services Operators

NOC #84101

  • Environment Primarily outdoor work
  • Education High school diploma
  • Average salary $65,000 to $129,000

Career profile

Well services operators drive trucks, operate specialized equipment, and are involved in completing and treating wells with chemicals, sand mixtures or gases to stimulate the wells’ productions. This career includes specialized roles such as:

Oil and gas services, Offshore, Carbon capture, utilization and storage, Well site decommissioning, Geothermal

In this occupation, activities may include:

  • Driving well services trucks to well sites
  • Assembling pumping equipment and attaching pumps and hoses to the wellhead
  • Operating hydraulic pumping systems to pump chemicals, gases, sand, cement or other material into the well
  • Reading gauges to monitor pressure, density, rate and concentration and adjusting pumping procedure as required
  • Mixing chemicals and cements

More detailed activities are found under each specialty listed above.

Education

  • A high school diploma is required as well as three- to six-months of formal on-the-job training, college or industry-approved training courses and four or more years of rig experience.

Certifications

  • Standard and emergency first aid
  • Construction Safety Training System (CSTS)
  • Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
  • H2S Alive®
  • Transportation of dangerous goods (TDG)
  • Confined space entry
  • Fall protection and rig rescue
  • Safety management and regulatory awareness for well site supervision
  • Oil well operator (boiler) certificate

Licensing

  • A provincial blaster’s licence is required for well perforation services
  • Valid class 5 driving licence

  • Travel likely required
  • Shiftwork/variable work hours
  • Primarily outdoor work
  • Physical work
  • Safety-sensitive environment
  • Work away from home/in camps
  • Mechanical
  • Mathematics
  • Customer and personal service
  • Engineering and technology
  • Public safety and security
  • Education and training
  • Sales and marketing
  • Chemistry
  • English language
  • Administration and management