Paragon GE is looking for a Senior Drilling Engineer for a contract position with an E&P company in the UAE.

The initial contract will be for 12 months and has potential for further extension or could become a staff role.

Candidates must have a minimum of 10 years of experience in drilling, completion and workover operations and engineering, with a minimum of 5 years of offshore experience. Experience should include work in directional and highly deviated drilling (including mudline tiebacks) as well as HPHT environments.

Please note offshore drilling project experience is an absolute requirement and candidates with only onshore drilling experience will not be considered.

Position Title: Senior Drilling Engineer
Staff or Temp: Contract position with potential to go staff
Expected package: Up to USD 1550 per day (Lump sum), flights, medical insurance and life insurance
Location: UAE   
Reports to: Head of Drilling Engineering

Job Purpose
 

• Provide Engineering support for Drilling, Completion and Workover activities related to well design, contracting, materials and services and well operations.
• Ensure that well Engineering and Operations are carried out in accordance with company policies, industry best practices and regulatory requirements. 

Duties & Responsibilities, Performance Standards & Percentage of Time:

Technical: Ensure application of Engineering best practices for the planning and design of exploration, appraisal and development wells.

• Consider well design options based on a review of drilling objectives and recommendations proposed by operations geology or reservoir development teams.
• Provide technical guidance and support in developing a well plan and generating a well design that incorporates the casing, cementing and directional drilling parameters. Solicit and evaluate input from relevant service company providers.
• Evaluate the feasibility of and the risks involved in achieving well objectives.
• Generate cost estimates for the proposed well design, and develop an equipment list and material requirements.
• Review drilling rig and other equipment specifications to ensure adequacy for the proposed well design.
• Prepare a drilling program to meet well objectives.
• Ensure that all well planning and design activities are conducted using workflows that comply with company well engineering and HSE standards, industry best practices and statutory requirements.
• Provide technical input for the preparation and evaluation of tenders.
• Implement and track the company’s AFE review process for the well plan and well design.
• Review existing and new technologies for incorporation into the well design.

Operations: Provide technical support to meet the goals of safety and cost efficiency while meeting well objectives.
 

• Prepare detailed drilling and operating procedures for each succeeding hole interval, taking into account local geology, potential hole problems and drilling hazards.
• Identify, assess and control potential and actual drilling hazards such as abnormal pressures, complex geology or mud loss zones.
• Incorporate safe work practices into the drilling program, specifying as part of the program the use of any equipment provided for health and safety purposes.
• Study bit, bottom hole assembly and mud system performance and recommend ways to optimize the drilling process.
• Evaluate geological and engineering data to determine whether operations are on track with well plan. Recommend implementation of contingency options as needed.
• Monitor well expenditures and contractor and service company performance. Assist in maintaining control of well costs.
• Coordinate the use of existing and new technologies to improve drilling performance and well bore quality.
• Provide on-call support to rig when Drilling Superintendent is not available.
• Lead project review and closeout.

Liaison and coordination.

• Liaise with drilling operations team to identify requirements for equipment, materials and services, and to coordinate scheduling of well operations.
• Review well work program with sponsoring department and propose modifications or amendments where needed.
• Maintain effective and proper working relationships with contractors and service companies to ensure that company requirements are understood and met in terms of expected standards of quality and performance.
• Work with rig site personnel to identify lessons learned during well operations. Conduct weekly meetings to review well progress relative to benchmark targets and to convey the lessons learned during that week. Where problems have occurred, identify root causes and arrive at creative and technically sound solutions.

Reporting: Prepare reports in support of department activities.

• Prepare applications for drilling and workover operations for approval by government agency.
• Provide detailed daily reports of costs versus time and allocated budget, and submit supplementary AFE in case costs exceed budget by 10% or more.
• Prepare analyses of incident and/or equipment failure reports, including recommendations for corrective action.
• Provide reports and presentations to department and company management as required.
• Provide information to relevant authorities in an accurate and timely manner to ensure that all necessary permits for well operations are in place.

Coaching, Training and Mentoring: Actively contribute to the development of staff.

• Support department staff in meeting needs for employee training, development and skill gap closure.
• Coach employees in order to build their knowledge and skills.
• Mentor staff to ensure appropriate succession management.
• Motivate employees by encouraging, recognizing and rewarding superior performance.

Requirement:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Petroleum or Mechanical Engineering          
• Minimum 10 years of experience in drilling, completion and workover operations and engineering, with a minimum of 5 years of offshore experience.
• Experience should include work in directional and highly deviated drilling (including mudline tiebacks) as well as HPHT environments.
• Demonstrated experience working in remote areas and dealing with logistics challenges.