Energy
The CTE Energy Cluster Introduces Students to the Oil and Gas Industry and Petroleum Engineering Jobs
Oil Rig and Oil Refinery Work in the Energy Industry and Power Plants
The Energy Career Cluster prepares high school CTE students for careers in designing, planning, maintaining, generating, and distributing energy.
Energy jobs in Texas include oil rig jobs, oilfield jobs, and offshore jobs.
Some of the most popular energy jobs include drilling, roughneck, oil rig manager, gas plant operator, chemical engineer, well tester, petroleum geologist, and petroleum engineer.
A job offshore typically involves working on an oil platform that extracts natural resources from beneath the ocean floor. These self-contained mini-cities offer a wide range of jobs from highly skilled engineering and supervising positions, to manual labor jobs such as roustabout and roughneck. (Chronicle)
Petroleum Engineering
Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
The CTE Oil and Gas Exploration and Production program of study focuses on processing, refining, and distributing petroleum and gas. It introduces CTE students to managing pipelines, controlling pumping systems, and operating machinery to generate electric power.
Energy Exploration with Esri and ArcGIS
ArcGIS is a comprehensive GIS (geographic information system) for gas utilities. It contains all the elements needed to meet utility challenges and maintains key information for natural gas distribution mapping and analysis. (ArcGIS Online)
GIS for oil and gas enables advanced mapping and spatial analytics. With GIS, oil and gas operators can capture data about potential drill sites, map pipelines, manage field teams, and analyze exploratory wells. (Unearth Labs)
Drill operators
Drill operators supervise a team during rigging and drilling operations. They monitor well activity and take measures in case of emergencies. (123 Test)
Extraction workers
Oil Refining and Chemical Processes
MSSC Certified Production Technician (CPT)
The Certified Production Technician (CPT) ® 4.0 certification program recognizes individuals who demonstrate mastery of the core competencies of advanced manufacturing production at the entry-level. The goal of the CPT 4.0 certification program is to raise the level of performance of production technicians to help employers ensure their workforce increases the company’s productivity and competitiveness. (MSSC) High school CTE students can work toward earning a CPT certification while in some CTE programs.
Gas Plant Operators and Power Plant Operators
A Gas Plant Operator distributes gas for utility companies by controlling compressors to maintain specified pressures on main pipelines. (BLS)
A Power Plant Operator or distributor controls power plants and the flow of electricity from plants to substations, which then distribute electricity to businesses, homes, and factories. (BLS)
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers control the operation of petroleum refining and processing units.
Petroleum Pump Operators monitor and operate energy equipment and pumps to ensure proper functioning. (Career One Stop)
A refinery operator monitors and controls specialized equipment that processes raw material into products. This can include turning natural gas or petroleum into specified products. (Indeed)
A gauger is one who gauges and tests the amount of oil in storage tanks and regulates the flow of oil and other petroleum products into pipelines at wells, tank farms, refineries, and marine and rail terminals.(Career Match)
