NOC 84101: Oil and gas well drilling and related workers and services operators

Oil and gas well drilling workers operate drilling and service rig machinery as intermediate members of the rig crew. Oil and gas well services operators drive trucks and operate specialized hydraulic pumping systems to place cement in wells or to treat wells with chemicals, sand mixtures or gases to stimulate production. They are employed by drilling and well service contractors and by petroleum producing companies.

Express Entry eligibility

• Skilled work (TEER 0 to 3): no, TEER 4 does not count for Express Entry.
• Canadian Experience Class: does not count.
• Federal Skilled Worker Program: does not count.
• Federal Skilled Trades Program: not one of the eligible trades.
• High-wage occupation (from November 3, 2026): no. No high-wage add-on, and a job offer in it earns no CRS points.

TEER 4: Occupations that usually need a high school diploma or several weeks of on-the-job training. Every program has other requirements too, such as language test results and, for FSW, a points test.

Category-based draws

NOC 84101 is not on any of IRCC’s occupation category lists. You can still be invited in general, Canadian Experience Class or other program draws if you qualify through other experience.

Category lists checked on canada.ca on 2026-10-17. IRCC category-based selection

CRS points for work in NOC 84101

None. Work in TEER 4 and 5 occupations earns no Canadian work points in the CRS.

See Canadian work points and the median-wage rule.

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

• Oil and gas well drilling workers
• Use specialized equipment, information and maps to determine and document the location of buried pipelines and other utilities in preparation for seismic exploration and drilling activities
• Align and manipulate sections of pipe or drill stem from platform on rig derrick during removal and replacement of strings of pipe, or drill stem and drill bit
• Operate and maintain drilling mud systems and pumps during drilling, and mix mud, chemicals and additives
• Record mud flows and volumes and take samples
• Operate and maintain drilling rig diesel motors, transmissions and other mechanical equipment
• Assist in setting up, taking down and transporting drilling and service rigs
• Supervise floorhands and labourers.
• Oil and gas well services operators
• Drive well services truck to well site
• Assemble pumping equipment and attach pumps and hoses to wellhead
• Operate hydraulic pumping systems to pump chemicals, gases, sand, cement or other material into well
• Read gauges to monitor pressure, density, rate and concentration and adjust pumping procedure as required
• May mix chemicals and cements.

For Express Entry your duties must match the lead statement and most of the main duties above.

Example job titles

• acidizer - oil field services
• blender operator - oil field services
• control room operator - offshore drilling
• derrickhand
• motorhand - oil and gas drilling
• offshore drilling rig technician
• oil well cementer - oil field services
• pumper operator - oil field services

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is required.
• Training of up to three months with an experienced operator is required for oil and gas well services operators.
• Completion of petroleum industry-approved training courses may be required.
• One year of experience as a floorhand, assistant or labourer is usually required.
• Certificates in first aid, hydrogen sulphide awareness, blowout prevention, workplace hazardous materials information system (WHMIS), transportation of dangerous goods (TDG), cryogenic safety or in other safety concerns may be required.
• Rig technician certification for motorhands and derrickhands may be required by some employers.
• Oil and gas well services operators require a driver's license appropriate to the class of vehicle being driven.

Similar jobs with a different code

• 82021Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services
• 85111Oil and gas drilling, servicing and related labourers
• 83101Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers