Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Upstream Engineer

🎯 Role Definition

The Upstream Engineer is a technical specialist responsible for planning, designing, optimizing and supporting upstream oil & gas activities across exploration, appraisal, development, and production phases. This role blends reservoir understanding, well engineering, production optimization and operational support to maximize hydrocarbon recovery while ensuring safe, compliant and cost-effective field operations. The ideal Upstream Engineer drives technical decisions, collaborates with geoscience and operations teams, and applies analytics, simulation and engineering judgement to improve reservoir performance and asset value.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Production/Production Operations Engineer
Drilling or Completions Field Engineer
Reservoir/Production Analyst or Graduate Petroleum Engineer

Advancement To:

Senior Upstream Engineer / Lead Upstream Engineer
Reservoir Engineer or Production Manager
Asset/Field Development Manager or Engineering Manager

Lateral Moves:

Subsurface Integration Engineer (geoscience + petroleum)
Project/Facilities Engineer (topsides & surface facilities)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead well planning and design activities for drilling and completion programs, including casing/tubing design, cementing programs, well trajectory planning, and risk mitigation to ensure safe, cost-effective well delivery.
Perform nodal analysis and well performance modeling (WellFlo, Prosper or equivalent) to size surface facilities, assess inflow/outflow performance and recommend production optimization measures that maximize recovery and uptime.
Develop and validate reservoir-targeted development plans by integrating reservoir simulation, production data history-matching, decline curve analysis and reserves estimation to support field development and investment decisions.
Design and specify completion strategies (including perforation, stimulation, hydraulic fracturing, gravel pack and intelligent completions) to optimize near-wellbore productivity and long-term well deliverability.
Manage well integrity and lifecycle integrity programs—define inspection regimes, oversee pressure testing, tubular assessment and corrosion monitoring to maintain safe and compliant operations.
Provide technical leadership during drilling, completion and intervention operations: support rig teams, approve technical procedures, review daily drilling reports and resolve downhole issues in real time.
Conduct production optimization initiatives such as artificial lift selection and optimization (ESP, gas lift, rod lift), flowline and choke management, and well intervention planning to increase production and reduce operating costs.
Monitor and analyze reservoir and production surveillance data (rate, pressure, temperature, PVT) and apply statistical and machine-learning tools to detect anomalies, diagnose underperformance and recommend remedial actions.
Lead integrated asset studies (field development planning, production forecasting, optimization studies) by coordinating multidisciplinary inputs (geology, reservoir, facilities, HSE, commercial) and delivering executable plans.
Prepare and review technical deliverables including well programs, completion designs, P&A plans, TD deferrals, engineering standards, and HAZOP/HAZID documentation ensuring regulatory and corporate compliance.
Support choke and flow assurance modeling to manage multiphase flow, hydrate blockage, wax deposition and scale control, including recommendations for chemical treatments and thermal/mechanical mitigation.
Oversee vendor and contractor technical scope: evaluate vendor proposals, select downhole tools and completion components, and ensure quality control during procurement and delivery.
Lead troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for well performance issues (e.g., water/gas breakthrough, sand production, skin) and design rehabilitation plans including acidizing, stimulation or recompletion.
Provide expert input to well abandonment and P&A strategy, estimating scope, cost and environmental risk and ensuring safe, regulatory-compliant plugging programs.
Establish and maintain production and reservoir data management practices (SCADA, PI, WITSML) to ensure high-quality datasets for modeling, analytics and decision-making.
Drive digitalization and automation initiatives for upstream operations: implement analytics, predictive maintenance, digital twins and optimization algorithms to improve reliability and reduce downtime.
Conduct economic evaluations and sensitivity analyses for development options, well interventions and capex/opex trade-offs to support commercial decision-making and portfolio prioritization.
Represent the upstream engineering function in cross-functional governance forums, field technical reviews, and stakeholder briefings—communicating technical rationale, risks and recommendations clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
Ensure all upstream engineering work complies with HSE standards, industry regulations and company policies; proactively participate in safety reviews and promote a culture of safe operations.
Mentor junior engineers and cross-train multidisciplinary teams on upstream best practices, well performance diagnostics, and engineering tools to build organizational capability.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of upstream technologies, reservoir engineering techniques, drilling and completion innovations and apply new methods to increase recovery and reduce cost.
Coordinate with surface facilities and process engineers to ensure produced fluids are managed effectively from wellhead to processing, including separation, dehydration and export constraints.
Prepare and present technical reports, production forecasts and reserves updates for internal stakeholders, regulators and joint-venture partners with clear, auditable assumptions.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Well design and drilling engineering: trajectory, casing/tubing design, cementing and pressure control.
Completions engineering: hydraulic fracturing, stimulation, gravel packs, intelligent completions and zonal isolation techniques.
Reservoir engineering and simulation: reservoir modeling, history matching, decline curve analysis, reserves estimation and reservoir surveillance.
Production engineering: nodal analysis, artificial lift design and optimization (ESP, gas lift, rod lift), flow assurance and multiphase flow modeling.
Well integrity and P&A engineering: barrier design, tubular integrity assessment, and plug-and-abandonment planning.
Reservoir and production software proficiency: Petrel, Eclipse, CMG, OFM, Proxy-based tools, Prosper, WellFlo, PanSystem, or equivalents.
Data analytics & scripting: Python, R, MATLAB, SQL for data manipulation, automated analysis, and production optimization algorithms.
SCADA/remote monitoring and historian systems: PI, OSIsoft, WITS, MQTT; familiarity with OT/ICS integration.
Subsurface data interpretation: petrophysics, pressure transient analysis, well logs and core analysis integration.
Project management and economic evaluation: cost estimating, risk analysis, NPV and sensitivity analysis for development and intervention projects.
Field operations support: real-time wellsite support, rig/vessel coordination, operational risk assessment, and HSE compliance.
Industry standards and regulations: API, ISO, local regulatory frameworks and environmental regulations applicable to upstream operations.
Hands-on experience with digital tools: digital twins, optimization platforms, machine-learning model deployment and automated workflows.

Soft Skills

Strong cross-functional communication: translate complex technical concepts to commercial, operations and executive audiences.
Stakeholder management and influence: align multiple disciplines, JV partners and vendors around technical solutions.
Problem-solving and analytical thinking: diagnose underperformance under uncertainty and prescribe pragmatic engineering solutions.
Leadership and mentorship: coach junior engineers, lead technical reviews and promote continuous improvement.
Decision-making under pressure: support operations with timely, risk-aware technical recommendations.
Attention to detail: produce auditable engineering deliverables, safe procedures and well-documented assumptions.
Adaptability and continuous learning: assimilate new technologies, regulatory changes and evolving subsurface data.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

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

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering, Reservoir Engineering, Drilling & Completions or related discipline.
Certifications in project management (PMP), well control (IWCF/WellCAP), or specialized reservoir/completions courses are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Petroleum Engineering
Reservoir Engineering / Subsurface Engineering
Mechanical or Chemical Engineering
Geoscience (Geology, Geophysics)
Data Science / Applied Math (for digital/analytics-focused roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–12+ years in upstream oil & gas engineering roles, depending on seniority.

Preferred: 5+ years of hands-on experience in well planning, completions or production engineering with proven track record in drilling/completions support, production optimization, reservoir integration, and delivering cost-effective field solutions. Experience in offshore operations, unconventional resources (shale), and multi-disciplinary asset teams is a plus.