Will roustabouts be replaced by AI?
Updated
Roustabouts score 6 of 100 for AI exposure. All of their task time still needs a person.
- 100% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 100% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 13 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can't do any of them end to end yet. It speeds up 0 and leaves 13 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Dismantle and repair oil field machinery, boilers, and steam engine parts, using hand tools and power tools. Repair of machinery needs hands on parts; AI only advises. | 10% Needs a person |
| Supply equipment to rig floors as requested and provide assistance to roughnecks. Mostly physical help; supply request paperwork can use AI. | 8% Needs a person |
| Walk flow lines to locate leaks, using electronic detectors and by making visual inspections, and repair the leaks. Leak walks and repairs are physical; detectors only assist. | 7% Needs a person |
| Bolt together pump and engine parts. Bolting parts together is manual assembly needing hands. | 6% Needs a person |
| Unscrew or tighten pipes, casing, tubing, and pump rods, using hand and power wrenches and tongs. Restated the negated AI clause as work people perform. | 5% Needs a person |
| Guide cranes to move loads about decks. Crane signaling needs live line of sight on deck. | 4% Needs a person |
| Lay gas and oil pipelines. Pipeline laying is outdoor heavy construction work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Move pipes to and from trucks, using truck winches and motorized lifts, or by hand. Moving pipe with winches and lifts is physical handling. | 3% Needs a person |
| Dig holes, set forms, and mix and pour concrete into forms to make foundations for wood or steel derricks. Digging, forming and pouring concrete is manual site labor. | 3% Needs a person |
| Cut down and remove trees and brush to clear drill sites, to reduce fire hazards, and to make way for roads to sites. Clearing trees and brush is outdoor physical labor on site. | 3% Needs a person |
Show the other 3 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Clean trucks used in the fields. Truck cleaning is manual washing outdoors in the field. | 2% Needs a person |
| Clean up spilled oil by bailing it into barrels. Replaced 'manually' with 'with hands'. | 2% Needs a person |
| Dig drainage ditches around wells and storage tanks. Digging ditches with machinery and tools is outdoor manual work. | 2% Needs a person |
How roustabouts compare
All occupations (923)
Construction and extraction (61)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $46,960 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 44,970 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +3.6% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Log machinery repairs in maintenance record software
- Track spare parts in inventory management systems
- Run rig floor supply requests in SAP software
- Build supply and repair logs in Microsoft Excel
- Torque pipe and casing with hand and power tongs
- Dismantle and repair pump and engine parts with hand tools
Questions about roustabouts and AI
Will AI replace roustabouts?
Unlikely. About 0 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do. The two most exposed tasks, repairing machinery and supplying rig floors, still need a person with hand tools on the equipment and on the deck.
Which roustabout tasks is AI taking over?
Very little of the job is moving to AI yet. The most exposed task, dismantling and repairing machinery, scores 10, but AI only advises on it. The clearest piece software can already handle is the paperwork for supply requests to rig floors, which scores 8 for the whole supply task.
Which roustabout tasks stay human?
Hands-on work stays with people. Bolting pump and engine parts together scores 6, tightening pipe and casing with power tongs scores 5, and guiding cranes on deck scores 4. Each needs hands on the equipment or a live line of sight on the deck, and digging ditches scores 2.
How can roustabouts stay valuable?
Learn the record keeping tools that sit beside the physical work. Log repairs in maintenance record software, track parts in inventory systems and SAP, and build supply reports in Excel. Keep strong hand tool and torque skills on the rig floor, since those hands-on tasks are the hardest to automate.
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