Alberta Oil RoughnecksOil Worker

Job Profile: Well Tester


In this guide we look at the job of a well tester, what well testers do, their salary, and what you need in order to become a well tester.

Salary: $40,000 – $60,000
Education: High School plus basic oilfield safety courses
Progression:In this guide we look at the job of a well tester, what well testers do, their salary, and what you need in order to become a well tester. Assistant Operator, Operator, Crew Supervisor
These are typical wages for a well tester but will vary from company to company.

Well testers or flow testers as they are sometimes called are usually one of the last crews that work on a well before it begins sending oil or gas to the refinery. Well testers do various tests on the wells to get information such as a well’s flow rate, pressure, salinity levels, or anything the oil company wants to know about the well.

A well tester travels from well to well conducting various tests on each well and they usually travel in a crew of 2 or 3 people, a supervisor, an operator, and an assistant operator.

A well testers job can be vary strenuous at times, they are away from home for long periods of time, they work in extreme weather conditions, do a lot of heavy lifting, and there is an element of danger involved with their job.

Well testing is a great entry level job in Alberta’s oil field. Well testers typically earn between $40,000 and $60,000 a year depending on how much work a crew does in a year and what position you hold in the crew and there is plenty of room for advancement into other fields of work.

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