wastedyears, you asked, “What are the requirements for a job in the petroleum industry in Texas or North Dakota?”
depends on what type of work you are good at, interested or experienced, or are qualified for; If a college gradaute, obviously geology or any engineering discipline will get you in the door at many companies.
if not a college graduate, the best way to get in the door is to acquire a commercial drivers license (CDL) to drive large trucks. nearly everythng in the land oil patch depends on trucking. alot of jobs put trucked equipment in place for days or weeks at a time that you would operate. Once that job done, you move it to the next job.
many jos are simple trucking jobs, loading and unloading wter, sand, cemetn, pipe, other materails and driving it here to there. these pay surprisingly well too, but no as well as combination trucking and equipement operator jobs
most, but not all drilling or service rig “rough-necking” jobs at times require you haul equipement, so need the CDL.
good diesel mechanics are always in demand, and anyone with machine fabrication and/or welding skills is needed.
msot companies, if you are a good candidate, will hire you and pay you to get the trucker/CDL training.
a combination of good mechanical aptitude (or ability to learn), clean driving record (no DUIs often but not always mandatory), and the CDL opens doors to hundreds of opportunities if you have the willingness to work on hitches with only 2-3 days off a couple to 3 times a month. there are many HS graduate jobs of $60K to $100K a year jobs. above all, you have to be clean and able to pass drug screening.
You're going to need pass a security check and get a TWIC card to work at any facility with a port. For SE Texas this is just about every refinery in the area.
The TWIC card is necessary for all trades/crafts and all levels. Laborers, helpers, craftsmen...everybody.
Pipefitters, boilermakers, carpenters (scaffolding), insulators, mechanics, operators (cranes/forklifts), machinists, radiologists and instrumentation are just some of the petrochemical craft positions available.
Unless there is new construction a lot of the work is seasonal or quarterly when units are shut down for maintenance. Permanent petrochemical jobs are scarce. They usually fall in process operator positions and an Associate degree in process operator is usually required.
Let me know if there is anything else I can help with.