Occupational Profiles

This group performs some or all of the following duties:
 

Oil and gas well drillers and well servicers

• Direct rig crew in setting up rigs and drilling, completing or servicing oil and gas exploration and producing wells
• Operate controls of drill or service rig drilling and hoisting machinery
• Train or arrange for training of crew
• Maintain records of drilling and servicing operations
• Ensure safety procedures are followed.

Oil and gas well loggers, testers and related workers

• Drive well service or wireline truck to well site
• Assemble and attach equipment, tools or recorders to drill stem or wireline to conduct required procedures and tests
• Operate or direct the operation of wireline or unit controls to lower, position and retrieve equipment and instruments
• Operate recorders and computers in mobile testing or logging unit to collect data
• May perform limited data interpretation.

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Oil and gas well drillers and well servicers require three to six months of formal on-the-job training, college or petroleum industry-approved training courses and four or more years of work experience in subordinate rig crew positions.
• A college diploma in drilling may be required.
• Offshore work requires several years of experience in an equivalent position on land.
• Certificates in first aid, hydrogen sulphide awareness, blowout prevention, well control, workplace hazardous materials information system (WHMIS), transportation of dangerous goods (TDG) and a special oil well operator (boiler) certificate are required.
• Oil and gas well loggers, testers and related workers require three to six months of formal on-the-job training and several years of experience in subordinate logging and testing positions or on drilling and servicing rigs.
• Completion of a college program in electronics or engineering technology may be required for open hole well logging.
• A provincial blaster's licence, and seismic blaster and oil well blaster certification are required for well perforation services.
• Trade certification for rig technician is compulsory in Alberta and available, but voluntary, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
• Red Seal endorsement is also available to qualified rig technicians upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination.