Career Profile: Roustabouts, Oil and Gas

Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 37,300 people employed as roustabouts, oil and gas in the United States. The median annual salary is $38,920. Entry level employees earn approximately $29,460 per year and senior employees earn approximately $60,830 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• Keep pipe deck and main deck areas clean and tidy.
• Unscrew or tighten pipes, casing, tubing, and pump rods, using hand and power wrenches and tongs.
• Walk flow lines to locate leaks, using electronic detectors and by making visual inspections, and repair the leaks.
• Move pipes to and from trucks, using truck winches and motorized lifts, or by hand.
• Bolt together pump and engine parts.
• Guide cranes to move loads about decks.
• Supply equipment to rig floors as requested and provide assistance to roughnecks.
• Dismantle and repair oil field machinery, boilers, and steam engine parts, using hand tools and power tools.
• Clean up spilled oil by bailing it into barrels.
• Dig drainage ditches around wells and storage tanks.
• Bolt or nail together wood or steel framework to erect derricks.
• Cut down and remove trees and brush to clear drill sites, to reduce fire hazards, and to make way for roads to sites.
• Dig holes, set forms, and mix and pour concrete into forms to make foundations for wood or steel derricks.

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