My only gator encounter at a refinery was at the bayou that ran alongside it. I had to go to some remote infrastructure stuff that was across the bayou from the refinery. Three of us loaded into a jonboat, crossed and did our work.
Returning to the boat a “log” was length wise against the boat. We realized when we got close that it was a gator pretty near the length of the boat. We started chunking wood at the gator until it swam off then got into the boat.
A friend of mine was doing some work at remote gas pipeline pump stations across the western US. He was hiking a mountain trail in Wyoming and heard a rumble of noise that kept getting louder. He got off the trail and back into the trees. A herd of elk came trotting down the trail.
Those are great stories, but you should hear a few from folks working in Alaska. I thought grizzly were dangerous (and they are)...but one is far more likely to run into moose. They are not as cuddly as they look.