How To Become A Petroleum Inspector: What It Is and Career Path

What is a petroleum inspector and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A petroleum inspector examines petroleum shipments to make sure that they are in line with contract specifications. You are to check the samples for water or discoloration, withdraw them from the petroleum tanks, and conduct laboratory analysis on them. It is your duty to complete timely reports and documentation.

Petroleum inspectors carry out quantity inspections of tanks and work in collaboration with necessary personnel for the achievement of accurate results. You have to regularly stay in touch with other members of staff regarding the status of a job or associated concerns.

A high school diploma is required for this role. Employees generally prefer applicants with experience in the oil, gas, and chemical sector. You must possess good interpersonal, communication, and analytic skills. Also, you should be able to work independently with little or no supervision. The ability to work effectively under pressure and to meet deadlines is also required. A petroleum inspector makes an average annual salary of $81,873.

ScorePetroleum InspectorUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $48,415

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.74%

Asian 7.74%

Black or African American 13.64%

Hispanic or Latino 24.01%

Unknown 4.25%

White 49.63%

Gender

female 4.29%

male 95.71%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a petroleum inspector

Explore petroleum inspector education requirements

Most common petroleum inspector degrees

Bachelor's

32.0 %

High School Diploma

31.3 %

Associate

24.7 %

Start to develop specific petroleum inspector skills

Skills	Percentages
Regular Communication	17.46%
API	17.43%
Ladders	15.21%
Math	12.04%
Client Procedures	9.40%

Complete relevant petroleum inspector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New petroleum inspectors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a petroleum inspector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real petroleum inspector resumes.

Research petroleum inspector duties and responsibilities

Manage testing of chemicals, including: benzene, diesel, gasoline, crude oil, ethanol, and acetic acid.
Inspect and test measures brakes being produce use ruler calipers and micrometers
Sample petroleum/petrochemical products for API lab analysis.
Check ware for visual defects with gauges at prescribe intervals.

Prepare your petroleum inspector resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your petroleum inspector resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a petroleum inspector resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable petroleum inspector resume templates

Build a professional petroleum inspector resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your petroleum inspector resume.