83101 Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers

What this occupation covers

Oil and gas well drillers and well servicers control the operation of drilling and hoisting equipment on drilling and service rigs, and direct the activities of the rig crew under supervision of the rig manager. Oil and gas well loggers, testers and related workers operate specialized mechanical or electronic equipment, tools or instruments to provide services in conjunction with well drilling, completion or servicing. They are employed by drilling and well service contractors, petroleum producing companies and well logging or testing companies.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 10 main duties for this code.

• 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.
• 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.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 10 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 84101 Oil and gas well drilling and related workers and services operators
• 82021 Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services
• 72501 Water well drillers

Excluded from this code

• Oil and gas well drilling and related workers and services operators (See 84101 Oil and gas well drilling and related workers and services operators)
• Rig manager (See 82021 Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services)
• Water well drillers (See 72501 Water well drillers)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

assistant driller - offshore drilling rig · assistant driller - oil and gas well drilling · coring operator - oil field services · directional driller - oil and gas drilling · directional drilling operator · directional drilling operator - oil and gas drilling · downhole tool operator · downhole tool operator - oil and gas drilling · drill stem tester · drill stem tester - oil and gas drilling · driller - offshore drilling rig · driller - oil and gas drilling · electric line operator · electric line operator - oil field services · e-line operator - oil field services · fishing tool operator - oil field services · gas tester - oil field services · gun perforator - oil field services · hydrocarbon mud logger - oil field services · logging and perforating operator · logging and perforating operator - oil field services · offshore driller - oil and gas · oil well perforator · production testing operator - oil and gas well drilling

Employment requirements

• 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.