Principal Drilling Engineer

The responsibilities of a Principal Drilling Engineer include but are not limited to the following,

• Well and completion planning in accordance with the Well Delivery Process.
• Provide planning schedules for all drilling programs.
• Track schedules and monitor implementation to schedule.
• Provide initial well timelines for planning purposes, drilling time curves, and initial cost estimates. Review with drilling superintendent and Head drilling engineering.
• Acquire planning data from geology, reservoir engineering or geophysics as necessary.
• Carry out offset well data analysis.
• Design drilling/completion and work-over programs.
• Recommend means of avoiding drilling problems, eg wellbore instability, lost circulation, stuck pipe.
• Work with various service vendors to ensure plans are achievable.
• Provide engineering support/advise to the rig on program implementation.
• Generate AFE for programs.
• Actively monitor implementation of programs.
• Ensure provision of End of Well reports.
• Provide proper technical and commercial input to tender documents for services and products.
• Assist in tender evaluations as necessary.
• Provide detailed Scope of Work for drilling services.
• Carry out contracts management related to operations as required.
• Manage drilling and completion database.
• Mentor younger engineers
• Provision of well schedules, job schedules, updates and monitoring of performance.
• Monitoring contract performance, ensuring the technical and commercial conditions are fully met.
• Ensuring proper research of offset data for wells planned is conducted.
• Ensuring all well plans are technically sound, feasible and cost effective, and giving full consideration to all HSE aspects.
• Ensuring well equipment proposed for drilling, completing or work-over of planned wells is available, fit for purpose, and meet the QA/QC standards required for the application.
• Ensuring contribution to application to drill is done timely.
• Ensuring well AFE’s are accurate and provided in time.
• Ensuring timely provision of well programs in accordance with WDP.
• Monitor implementation of well programs and ensure it is in compliance with plans and that all KPI’s and NPT targets are met.
• Ensuring all required reports are accurate and distributed to all who require them.
• Ensuring well performance data such as planned vs actual drilling time and cost curves, cost/ft, etc are tracked daily.
• Ensuring operations are in line with regulations.
• Ensure all statutory approvals for well programs are obtained.
• Ensure drilling and completion database is routinely updated and organized for easy use.

• BS degree in Engineering (minimum)
• Member, Society of Petroleum Engineers. Member IADC. Attended industry courses in well engineering, well operations management, project management.
• Good technical knowledge of well operations. Initiative to proffer solutions to technical problems. Sound knowledge of IADC/API guidelines for well operations.
• Supervise subordinates, rig operations, service companies; make presentations and facilitate meetings
• Well time and cost estimates based on probability models.
• Compliance with Well Delivery Process.
• Detailed risk register with identified risks mitigated.
• Detailed drilling, workover and completion programs signed and issued at least two weeks to commencement of programs.
• Continuous monitor of well plans by means of performance sheets and KPI’s to ensure plans are achieved.
• DWOP/CWOP Sessions on all programs
• Propose process change, tool or equipment utilisation to improve performance or cut cost

• Work Schedule: Resident based job
  Duaration: Initial one year contract renewable depending on performance.
• Reports to Drilling Superintendent
• For this position, preference will be given to Nigerian nationals. In case Expatriate candidate(s) are selected it is a prerequisite he/she is tasked to mentor and train a Nigerian understudy

An independent International Oil and Gas Company operating in West Africa.