Operations Engineering Student (Conventional and Thermal)
About The Position
This 16-month student opportunity begins with a four-month placement at one of our Conventional operations, where you'll relocate to a field location and gain practical experience through relief operating and field engineering assignments. Working alongside Operations and Engineering teams, you'll develop an understanding of facility processes, equipment, production operations, and the day-to-day challenges of running safe and reliable assets. Following the field term, you will transition to our Calgary office where you will spend the remainder of your work term supporting one of our Conventional or Thermal teams in Facilities Engineering, Production Engineering, or Exploitation Engineering. Working alongside experienced engineers and technical professionals, you will contribute to projects focused on facility performance, production optimization, asset development, operational reliability, and continuous improvement initiatives. This unique combination of field and office experience provides valuable insight into the full lifecycle of our operations, allowing you to connect practical field knowledge with engineering principles. You'll develop technical, problem-solving, and communication skills while building meaningful relationships across Operations, Maintenance, and Engineering teams.
Requirements
- Currently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program in Chemical, Mechanical or Petroleum engineering preferred, all other engineering disciplines will be considered
- Positive attitude and eagerness to learn.
- Required to be physically and mentally fit for work.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel
- Responsible attitude towards safety, demonstrate leadership and enjoy problem solving
- Possess a valid Class 5 Alberta driver’s license or an equivalent out of province license
- A pre-employment drug screening test must be successfully completed
- All candidates applying to Canadian Natural must have legal authorization to work in Canada with no restrictions.
Nice To Haves
- Previous field experience is considered an asset
- Experience operating a pickup truck and comfort traveling to field locations in varying road and weather conditions are considered assets.
- experience with Power BI, Spotfire, SQL, or Python is considered an asset.
Responsibilities
- Contribute to a strong safety culture by completing hazard assessments, conducting worksite safety observations, and identifying opportunities to improve safe operations.
- Gain hands-on experience supporting conventional oil and gas operations, including light oil, heavy oil, gas, gas plant, thermal, and battery facilities.
- Monitor, inspect, troubleshoot, and optimize equipment and production systems to support safe, reliable, and efficient operations.
- Develop practical knowledge of production equipment and recovery methods, including water floods, Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), pump jacks, and progressive cavity (PC) pumps.
- Perform well testing, production reporting, and field data collection to support operational performance and engineering decision-making.
- Collaborate with Operations and Engineering teams to identify and implement continuous improvement opportunities that enhance production, reliability, and efficiency.
- Support Production, Exploitation, or Facilities Engineering teams in delivering safe, reliable, and efficient operations.
- Participate in Process Hazard Assessments (PHAs), risk assessments, and other safety reviews to help identify and mitigate operational risks.
- Apply engineering principles to analyze data, solve technical challenges, and develop practical solutions that create business value.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to improve asset performance, enhance reliability, and reduce operating costs through continuous improvement initiatives.
- Participate in Management of Change (MOC) and project gate processes to support the safe and effective execution of operational and capital projects.
- Assist with the planning and execution of production, exploitation, and facilities engineering projects.
- Develop an understanding of facility operations, production optimization, asset development, and engineering best practices within Conventional and Thermal operations.
Benefits
- Competitive salary
- Students may be eligible for relocation assistance pursuant to Canadian Natural’s Student Relocation Policy (Students will be responsible for finding their own accommodations during the work term)
- Safety boot allowance
- Safety training certifications and PPE covered
- Multiple volunteer opportunities within the community
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
