Valve Technician Spotlight

Valve Technicians install, maintain, inspect, test, dismantle, clean and repair the valves that control the flow of oil and gas fluids. This is an essential job in the oil and gas industry because without valves, oil and gas simply wouldn’t flow.

What a typical day looks like:

A Valve Technician’s job will change based on what work is needed that day. They can be found out in the field. One day they’re using precision testing equipment on valves and regulators to look for leaks and accurate temperature and pressure settings. Then, they’re in a shop dismantling and repairing valves. They inspect equipment, structures or materials on specialized test rigs, examine valves or mechanical control device parts for defects, dents or loose attachments, and mark malfunctioning areas of defective units for future repairs.

Valve Technicians work in shifts with flexible hours and are typically employed in the oil and gas services and pipeline sub-sectors of the oil and gas industry. It’s demanding work that happens in a variety of weather conditions and involves sitting or standing for long periods of time.

The kinds of problems Valve Technicians solve at work:

The whole job of being a Valve Technician involves troubleshooting and testing to get to the bottom of valve problems. This could include anything from hauling out dry ice and drilling mud, to freezing a portion of a pipeline so its contents will stay put for further work or investigating a valve’s backstory.

The problem’s cause might be a lack of maintenance, the wrong valve materials for the job or even the wrong valve altogether. But the solution is always the same: a Valve Technician.

Skills used most on the job:

Valve Technicians are investigators, troubleshooters and experts. They need a keen eye coupled with thorough knowledge of every conceivable kind of valve— ball valves, gate valves, check valves, globe valves and butterfly valves, to name just a few.

Oil and gas need valves to flow, and valves need Valve Technicians.