The Brownsville oil refinery is expected to create 500 permanent jobs and 1,500 temporary ones.

The question is whether Rio Grande Valley workers can meet the requirements or if the new refinery will bring in workers from out of the area.

An Edinburg native working out of Port Arthur spoke to Channel 5 News to share his insight.

"I am currently married, I have three kids, two daughters and one son," Obed Preciado said.

Preciado is a construction worker at an oil refinery site on the border with Louisiana. He's about 90 miles east of Houston.

"Most of the jobsites that are here, most of the people are from the Valley," Preciado said.

Preciado says people he works with from the Valley go to those oil refineries for the higher pay. He says the only job for him in the Valley is construction.

"Would it be paying enough? I'm not sure," Preciado said.

With the recent news of a new multi-billion dollar oil refinery at the Port of Brownsville, local trade schools, like South Texas College, offer training in manufacturing and construction.

"These skills and competencies are going to be very much applicable to the forthcoming refinery," STC Dean for the Center for Advanced Training Carlos Margo said.

STC would have to create new courses fitting the needs of running the refinery.

"I'm assuming employers will start integrating some artificial intelligence into their operations and automation. Now we're looking at individuals that have that skill," Margo said.

According to STC, refinery operators usually have a base salary of $60,000 a year. People with a specialized associate and bachelor's degrees could earn over $100,000 a year.

Preciado knows getting paid even more will mean getting more training.

"I would like to, especially, to be there in the Valley, locally, but that does require training. That does require going to school for operators," Preciado said.

His goal is to come back to the Valley with his skillset.

Watch the video above for the full story.