Currently, Canada has the third largest oil reserves in the world and oil sands production stands at about 2.3 million barrels per day. With the International Energy Agency predicting that global demand will grow by 32% by 2040, Canada will need more pipelines and oil transportation in the future. The controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, which was designed to take oil from the tar sands down to the U.S. Gulf Coast, has been halted and so the ways in which oil is transported within Canada has been diversified to include railcar, tanker trucks, and pre-existing pipelines. In fact, there are 3 million barrels of oil transported by pipeline everyday in Canada, and all that volume has to be directed and coordinated by oil dispatchers.
Read on to discover how oil dispatchers ensure that oil arrives at its destination safely and on time.
Pros With Dispatch Training Schedule Deliveries
If you graduate from dispatch school and go on to work in the home heating sector, dispatching deliveries of oil to households on time is imperative to ensure that families can stay warm during the winter months. More than half of Canadian homes are heated with natural gas, meaning that many have a tank near their home that will need to be filled. Sometimes Canada’s cold weather and excessive snow buildup can make delivering oil to homes for heating pretty difficult. As a dispatcher, sometimes it may be necessary to call clients ahead of time to ensure that they have cleared enough snow for the delivery truck to access the oil tank, making scheduling a bit more challenging. Keeping a good calendar, usually on electronic dispatch software used on the job, is important to make sure you stay on top of deliveries and Canadians can stay warm.
Grads of Dispatch School Communicate With Drivers
As a dispatcher, communication skills are one of your greatest assets, and every day you’ll communicate with drivers—some of which might be located all over Canada. Wherever pipelines and trains cannot reach, trucks fill the void with their ability to bridge the gap in cities and rural areas. With oil being shipped all across Canada in larger and larger quantities, being able to manage routes and communicate effectively with drivers is extremely important. In dispatch training, you’ll learn that as a dispatcher it is important to manage and trace all shipments, including gas and oil shipments.
Oil Dispatchers Write Up Reports on Field Activities
As an oil dispatcher, you can take your dispatch knowledge and proceed to work directly in oil fields, where the actual flow of oil, from extraction to destination is controlled by dispatchers. This type of work is rewarding, but is also high pressure due to the value and speed of pipeline flow. Did you know natural gas can move through a pipeline at 40km an hour? That speed requires an organized dispatcher to make sure it’s headed the right direction. Not only that, but 3 million barrels are transported via transmission pipeline in Canada every day. When you begin your career as a dispatcher, make sure that you’re keeping clear and organized logs of everything that has been shipped and when it was received at its destination. Also, you must electronically keep track of computer information that tells you the exact volumes, pressures, contamination content, and gravities of the oil that is leaving the field. Daily reports also need to detail all shipments, their expected arrival time, and the route the shipment is taking.
Each day dispatchers communicate with truckers, keep track of field activities, and schedule drivers in order to make sure that oil and gas products reach their destinations safely and on time.
Want to see how a dispatch course can provide you the skills and tools necessary for a rewarding career in oil dispatching?
Contact an advisor today to find out more.
