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Construction & Extraction · Updated Aug 2026

Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas

Set up or operate a variety of drills to remove underground oil and gas, or remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
52/100
Moderate

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
35/100
Low

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence82/100
Task coverage85%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Push levers and brake pedals to control gasoline, diesel, electric, or steam draw works that lower and raise drill pipes and casings in and out of wells.High
66
Maintain records of footage drilled, location and nature of strata penetrated, materials and tools used, services rendered, and time required.High
65
Count sections of drill rod to determine depths of boreholes.High
65
Connect sections of drill pipe, using hand tools and powered wrenches and tongs.High
64
Train crews, and introduce procedures to make drill work more safe and effective.High
66
Weigh clay, and mix with water and chemicals to make drilling mud.High
66
Direct rig crews in drilling and other activities, such as setting up rigs and completing or servicing wells.High
66
Bolt together pump and engine parts, and connect tanks and flow lines.Medium
66
Position and prepare truck-mounted derricks at drilling areas specified on field maps.Medium
66
Start and examine operation of slush pumps to ensure circulation and consistency of drilling fluid or mud in well.High
29
Observe pressure gauge and move throttles and levers to control the speed of rotary tables, and to regulate pressure of tools at bottoms of boreholes.High
26
Monitor progress of drilling operations, and select and change drill bits according to the nature of strata, using hand tools.High
32
Locate and recover lost or broken bits, casings, and drill pipes from wells, using special tools.High
65
Repair or replace defective parts of machinery, such as rotary drill rigs, water trucks, air compressors, and pumps, using hand tools.High
20
Remove core samples during drilling to determine the nature of the strata being drilled.Medium
28
Line drilled holes with pipes, and install all necessary hardware, to prepare new wells.High
15
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Push levers and brake pedals to control gasoline, diesel, electric, or steam draw works that lower and raise drill pipes and casings in and out of wells.66
  2. Train crews, and introduce procedures to make drill work more safe and effective.66
  3. Weigh clay, and mix with water and chemicals to make drilling mud.66
  4. Direct rig crews in drilling and other activities, such as setting up rigs and completing or servicing wells.66
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Line drilled holes with pipes, and install all necessary hardware, to prepare new wells.01
  2. Repair or replace defective parts of machinery, such as rotary drill rigs, water trucks, air compressors, and pumps, using hand tools.02
  3. Observe pressure gauge and move throttles and levers to control the speed of rotary tables, and to regulate pressure of tools at bottoms of boreholes.03
  4. Push levers and brake pedals to control gasoline, diesel, electric, or steam draw works that lower and raise drill pipes and casings in and out of wells.04
  5. Maintain records of footage drilled, location and nature of strata penetrated, materials and tools used, services rendered, and time required.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

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AI risk 47

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Related work

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency72
Physical dependency77
Adoption pressure33
Labour-market resilience78
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence82/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →