Gas Plant Operators
Distribute or process gas for utility companies and others by controlling compressors to maintain specified pressures on main pipelines.
Also Known As:
Compressor Technician (Compressor Tech)
Engine Room Operator
Gas Controller
Gas Dispatcher
Gas Plant Operator
Gas Resource Control Operator
Gas System Operator
Liquefied Natural Gas Technician (LNG Technician)
Liquid Natural Gas Plant Operator (LNG Plant Operator)
Plant Operator
Wages
Annual wages for Gas Plant Operators in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
14,800
-9% Change From 2024
Explore Gas Plant Operators video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Change charts in recording meters.
- Read logsheets to determine product demand and disposition, or to detect malfunctions.
- 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.
- Clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using hand tools, or request that repair and maintenance work be performed.
- Clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using hand tools, or request that repair and maintenance work be performed.
- Monitor equipment functioning, observe temperature, level, and flow gauges, and perform regular unit checks to ensure that all equipment is operating as it should.
- Distribute or process gas for utility companies or industrial plants, using panel boards, control boards, and semi-automatic equipment.
- Determine causes of abnormal pressure variances, and make corrective recommendations, such as installation of pipes to relieve overloading.
- Operate construction equipment to install and maintain gas distribution systems.
- Start and shut down plant equipment.
- Signal or direct workers who tend auxiliary equipment.
- Adjust temperature, pressure, vacuum, level, flow rate, or transfer of gas to maintain processes at required levels or to correct problems.
- Collaborate with other operators to solve unit problems.
- Control fractioning columns, compressors, purifying towers, heat exchangers, and related equipment to extract nitrogen and oxygen from air.
- Contact maintenance crews when necessary.
- Determine causes of abnormal pressure variances, and make corrective recommendations, such as installation of pipes to relieve overloading.
- Monitor equipment functioning, observe temperature, level, and flow gauges, and perform regular unit checks to ensure that all equipment is operating as it should.
- Calculate gas ratios to detect deviations from specifications, using testing apparatus.
- Control operation of compressors, scrubbers, evaporators, and refrigeration equipment to liquefy, compress, or regasify natural gas.
- Monitor transportation and storage of flammable and other potentially dangerous products to ensure that safety guidelines are followed.
- Record, review, and compile operations records, test results, and gauge readings such as temperatures, pressures, concentrations, and flows.
- Control equipment to regulate flow and pressure of gas to feedlines of boilers, furnaces, and related steam-generating or heating equipment.
- Clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using hand tools, or request that repair and maintenance work be performed.
- Signal or direct workers who tend auxiliary equipment.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- 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.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- 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.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")