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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Oil & Gas Engineer

💰 $ - $

EngineeringOil & GasPetroleumEnergy

🎯 Role Definition

An Oil & Gas Engineer is responsible for designing, evaluating and optimizing upstream and midstream hydrocarbon assets including wells, reservoirs, subsea systems, pipelines and surface facilities. This role blends technical engineering (well design, reservoir simulation, production optimization), project delivery (budgeting, contract management, vendor oversight), operational support (well testing, production surveillance, HSE compliance) and cross-functional stakeholder engagement to maximize value across field development plans and production lifecycles. The position requires technical mastery of petroleum engineering principles, practical experience with industry software and standards, and strong communication and leadership skills to coordinate multi-discipline teams onshore and offshore.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Graduate Petroleum Engineer / Junior Reservoir or Production Engineer
  • Field Engineer / Wellsite Supervisor (drilling or completions)
  • Process or Mechanical Engineer with oil & gas internship experience

Advancement To:

  • Senior Reservoir / Production Engineer
  • Subsurface Team Lead or Well Engineering Lead
  • Field Development Manager / Asset Manager
  • Technical Authority (e.g., Senior Specialist — Completions, Subsea, or Facilities)

Lateral Moves:

  • Drilling Engineering
  • Completions / Well Intervention
  • Facilities & Pipeline Engineering
  • HSE / Operations Management

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead technical evaluation and design of well trajectories, casing and tubing programs, completions and stimulation plans to maximize hydrocarbon recovery while minimizing risk, cost and non-productive time.
  • Perform reservoir engineering analyses including material balance, decline curve analysis, production forecasting and reserves estimation to support field development plans and corporate reserve reporting.
  • Develop and run reservoir simulation models (black-oil, compositional) to evaluate drainage strategies, EOR opportunities and production optimization scenarios; validate models against well test and production data.
  • Design and optimize artificial lift systems (ESP, gas lift, rod pump) and surface production systems to maintain target flow rates and improve recovery efficiency across well portfolios.
  • Plan, execute and interpret well testing, production logging and nodal analysis to characterize inflow performance relationships, wellbore restrictions and reservoir connectivity.
  • Provide well engineering support during drilling and completion operations including technical scope preparation, RFP evaluation, contractor oversight, and resolution of real-time drilling/completion issues.
  • Lead completions design including perforation strategy, zonal isolation, fracturing/stimulation program design and completion equipment selection for both onshore and offshore wells.
  • Prepare technical feasibility studies, concept selection, front-end engineering (FEED) input and cost estimates for subsea systems, platforms, pipelines and surface facilities projects.
  • Coordinate and review HAZOP, LOPA, HAZID and other safety and risk assessments; ensure designs comply with industry HSE standards, local regulations and company policies.
  • Manage well integrity programs: develop cementing, corrosion control, pressure testing and well intervention strategies to preserve long-term asset value and mitigate environmental risk.
  • Interface with geoscience, drilling, facilities and production teams to integrate subsurface models with surface constraints, ensuring deliverable alignment for field development and brownfield optimization.
  • Oversee vendor and contractor technical scopes, evaluate bids, negotiate commercial terms, and manage supplier performance to ensure delivery of equipment and services that meet technical and schedule requirements.
  • Generate and present technical reports, economic evaluations, capital and operating cost forecasts, and decision-gate documentation to stakeholders and executive leadership.
  • Implement and maintain production surveillance and data analytics programs (SCADA, historian, production dashboards) to identify underperforming wells and drive remedial action and optimization plans.
  • Design and support pipeline, flow assurance and facilities engineering studies (slugging, hydrate and wax management, pigging, pressure drop) to ensure reliable crude and gas transport to sales points.
  • Evaluate and recommend enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods (waterflood, gas injection, chemical EOR) including pilot design, monitoring strategy and scale-up for incremental recovery.
  • Lead change management for production operations: plan and approve workovers, well interventions and incremental projects with minimal production downtime and cost impact.
  • Ensure compliance with regulatory reporting, permits, environmental plans and local content requirements; support stakeholder and community engagement as required by projects.
  • Mentor junior engineers, provide technical coaching, run knowledge-transfer sessions and establish best-practice engineering standards across the asset or region.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives: implement lessons learned, standardize engineering workflows, and adopt new tools and digital solutions (e.g., reservoir optimization algorithms, ML-based surveillance) to improve decision velocity.
  • Support commissioning, start-up and ramp-up activities for new wells, facilities and subsea tie-ins including pre-startup safety reviews and performance verification.
  • Conduct risk-based integrity assessments and develop mitigation plans for aging infrastructure, production decline management and decommissioning planning.

Secondary Functions

  • Contribute to multi-disciplinary project teams to support FEED, detailed design and execution phases for brownfield redevelopment and greenfield projects.
  • Support budgeting and forecasting cycles by providing reliable technical input into capex and opex estimates and schedule risk assessments.
  • Participate in incident investigations and root-cause analyses; implement corrective actions and maintain lessons-learned repositories.
  • Liaise with regulatory authorities, joint venture partners and third-party licensors to secure approvals and ensure contractual compliance.
  • Assist in developing and maintaining technical standards, procedures and templates to increase consistency and quality in engineering deliverables.
  • Support ad-hoc technical reviews, peer reviews and audits of engineering deliverables, ensuring alignment with company technical expectations and industry codes.
  • Help evaluate and pilot new technologies (digital twins, remote monitoring, advanced sensors) to enhance field performance and lower operating costs.
  • Prepare and present technical training modules for operations teams and provide field support during complex interventions or startup phases.
  • Coordinate logistics and mobilization planning for offshore/upstream operations to optimize resource allocation and minimize non-productive time.
  • Provide backup on-call support for operational incidents and emergency response, collaborating closely with operations and HSE teams.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Reservoir engineering and simulation (history matching, reserves estimation, decline curve analysis, black oil and compositional models)
  • Well engineering: directional drilling, casing/tubing design, completions, stimulation and well integrity management
  • Production optimization and artificial lift design (ESP, gas lift, sucker rod, plunger lift)
  • Subsea and topside system design basics: subsea trees, manifolds, flowlines, umbilicals and tie-back engineering
  • Pipeline and flow assurance engineering: slugging, hydrate mitigation, wax control, thermal insulation and pigging strategies
  • Petroleum production and facilities engineering: separators, treaters, gas processing, metering and utilities
  • Software proficiency: Petrel, Eclipse, CMG, OFM, Prosper/MBAL, Pipesim, WellTest, Q4, Palantir/SCADA tools; proficiency in Excel and technical modelling tools
  • Well test design and interpretation, production logging and nodal analysis
  • Strong understanding of HSE regulations, API standards, ISO, local regulatory frameworks and permit processes
  • Project management fundamentals: FEED, tendering, contractor management, CAPEX/OPEX budgeting and schedule control
  • Data analysis and scripting (Python, MATLAB, SQL) for production surveillance, decline curve automation and basic ML/analytics workflows
  • Technical report writing, economic evaluations and decision-gate documentation

Soft Skills

  • Clear, persuasive communication tailored to technical and non-technical stakeholders (reports, presentations)
  • Strong problem-solving and analytical mindset with attention to detail and technical rigor
  • Leadership and team development: mentoring junior staff and leading multi-disciplinary teams
  • Stakeholder management and negotiation skills across JV partners, vendors and regulators
  • Time management and prioritization across multiple projects and operational demands
  • Adaptability and resilience in offshore/onshore and field operations environments
  • Collaborative approach with strong interpersonal skills and cross-cultural awareness
  • Decision-making under uncertainty with balanced commercial and technical judgment
  • Continuous learning orientation and openness to new technologies and methods
  • Safety-first mindset with demonstrated commitment to HSE culture and risk mitigation

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or Geosciences.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree in Petroleum Engineering, Reservoir Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
  • Professional certifications (PE/Chartered Engineer) and industry training (IWCF/Well Control, NEBOSH, API certification) preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Applied Geosciences / Geology
  • Process Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–12 years depending on role level (Engineer to Senior Engineer/Lead).

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of progressive experience in upstream oil & gas (onshore/offshore), with demonstrable experience in well engineering, reservoir simulation, production optimization or facilities engineering.
  • Experience with multi-discipline projects (FEED to execution), offshore platform or subsea developments, and vendor/contractor management.
  • Prior exposure to field operations, well testing campaigns, well intervention planning and startup/commissioning activities.
  • International and/or regional regulatory experience preferred for assignments in Africa, North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Middle East or SE Asia.
  • Proven track record of implementing optimization initiatives that improved production, reduced costs or extended asset life.
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