AI exposure: Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
Operate or control petroleum refining or processing units. May specialize in controlling manifold and pumping systems, gauging or testing oil in storage tanks, or regulating the flow of oil into pipelines.
Reading this score
computedAt 25.4% of weighted task load, Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers sits at the 48th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 59.5% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 24 tasks it averages 1.90 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Lower thermometers into tanks to obtain temperature readings, at 80.0%. The least is Clamp seals around valves to secure tanks, at 0.0%. A gap of 80.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within production occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 107 roles in the group is 16.1%, and only 8 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 24 tasks, 12 are currently banded exposed, 2 assisted and 10 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 1.74 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.90 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.60 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.84 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.42 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.29 | 0-3 |
Task by task
24 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower thermometers into tanks to obtain temperature readings. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 2.81 | exposed |
| Record and compile operating data, instrument readings, documentation, and results of laboratory analyses. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.95 | exposed |
| Calculate test result values, using standard formulas. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.51 | exposed |
| Prepare calculations for receipts and deliveries of oil and oil products. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.27 | exposed |
| Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of system interconnections and capacities. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.12 | exposed |
| Start pumps and open valves or use automated equipment to regulate the flow of oil in pipelines and into and out of tanks. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.23 | exposed |
| Control or operate manifold and pumping systems to circulate liquids through a petroleum refinery. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.09 | exposed |
| Operate auxiliary equipment and control multiple processing units during distilling or treating operations, moving controls that regulate valves, pumps, compressors, and auxiliary equipment. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.08 | exposed |
| Monitor process indicators, instruments, gauges, and meters to detect and report any possible problems. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.28 | exposed |
| Read automatic gauges at specified intervals to determine the flow rate of oil into or from tanks, and the amount of oil in tanks. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.97 | exposed |
| 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. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.97 | exposed |
| Verify that incoming and outgoing products are moving through the correct meters, and that meters are working properly. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.20 | exposed |
| Synchronize activities with other pumphouses to ensure a continuous flow of products and a minimum of contamination between products. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.96 | assisted |
| Coordinate shutdowns and major projects. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.29 | assisted |
| Maintain and repair equipment, or report malfunctioning equipment to supervisors so that repairs can be scheduled. | 17.0% | 16.3% | 66.7% | 4.29 | untouched |
| 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. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.13 | untouched |
| 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. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 3.95 | untouched |
| Operate control panels to coordinate and regulate process variables such as temperature and pressure, and to direct product flow rate, according to process schedules. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.23 | untouched |
| Inspect pipelines, tightening connections and lubricating valves as necessary. | 7.5% | 5.0% | 87.5% | 3.64 | untouched |
| Signal other workers by telephone or radio to operate pumps, open and close valves, and check temperatures. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.30 | untouched |
| Collect product samples by turning bleeder valves, or by lowering containers into tanks to obtain oil samples. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.06 | untouched |
| Conduct general housekeeping of units, including wiping up oil spills and performing general cleaning duties. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.87 | untouched |
| Clean interiors of processing units by circulating chemicals and solvents within units. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.50 | untouched |
| Clamp seals around valves to secure tanks. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.37 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.