Gas Processing Operator Apprentice

Apply For Class 2

What This Job Is

A 12 month apprenticeship that takes a hand with no plant time and turns him into a gas plant operator.

You learn the whole plant on real equipment at real facilities, with real mentorship. Inlet, compression, treating, dehy, the cryo side and the control room. By the end you are the one walking the units on rounds, taking readings and catching a problem before it trips something.

Midstream Operators has been commissioning, starting up and running natural gas facilities since 2018. Graduates go into a full-time operator job with them or with one of their customers.

The program runs 14 on / 14 off in Lea and Eddy County, New Mexico. Housing is provided while you are on hitch. Your 14 days off are on you, and so is your travel to and from.

How The Pay Works

• Phases 1 to 3A, about 4 months: classroom instruction and field training on the 14 on / 14 off schedule. Training days are unpaid, and your off days are open for outside work.
• Phase 3B, 1 hitch of 2 weeks: your first paid hitch, a supervised field competency evaluation. Day rate plus daily per diem.
• Phase 4, about 8 months: full employment with Midstream Operators. Day rate plus daily per diem, plus mob/demob and mileage. You graduate at the end of it.

Specific rates are confirmed in the employment agreement and are subject to change.

What You'll Learn

• Separation, compression and inlet systems
• Amine treating, plus molecular sieve and TEG dehydration
• Cryogenic NGL recovery and propane refrigeration
• Condensate stabilization and utility systems
• SCADA and DCS operations, metering, and safety compliance: OSHA 10, H2S and LOTO

What You Need

No prior experience required, just a strong work ethic and a willingness to learn.

• Strong attendance and punctuality. Every training day counts.
• Professional conduct in the classroom, on facility tours and at housing.
• Drug and alcohol free. Zero exceptions.
• Full PPE and a safety-first mindset on every field visit.
• Willing to relocate for the 14 on / 14 off training schedule.

Where It Goes

Field Operator, then Senior Operator, then Lead Operator or Foreman, then Operations Supervisor.

Apply

Applications go straight to Midstream Operators.

Class 2 starts January 13, 2027. Can't make January? The same form takes applications for Class 3, expected to start in mid-June 2027.

Apply For Class 2