Sr Well Design Engineer Advisor

Oxy•The Woodlands, TX

11d

About The Position

Oxy produces, markets and transports oil and natural gas to maximize value and provide resources fundamental to life. The company leverages its global leadership in carbon management to advance lower-carbon technologies and products. Headquartered in Houston, Oxy primarily operates in the United States, Middle East and North Africa. Oxy strives to attract and retain talented employees by investing in their professional development and providing rewarding opportunities for personal growth. Our goal is to meet the highest employer standards by ensuring the health and safety of our employees, protecting the environment and positively impacting our communities where we do business. Oxy has bold ambitions to achieve net zero and help others do the same. To get there, we’ll need great minds ready to unleash big ideas, strong leaders ready to inspire and team players ready to make it happen. Oxy produces energy and essential products to sustain and improve life on our planet. Our experienced teams, located in the United States, Middle East and Africa, are committed to safe and efficient operations and products, and to reducing our carbon footprint and helping others do the same. We are busy developing the big ideas and broad solutions we will need to achieve net zero. Every day, we get closer. And we won’t stop until we’re there.

Requirements

Minimum of fifteen (15) years of total experience in a technology group or operations team responsible for PPFG prediction and well design and ideally have working experience in using wellbore strengthening to minimize drilling issues in faulted or pressure depleted reservoirs.
Master’s degree in Rock Mechanics, Geoscience, or Petroleum Engineering.

Nice To Haves

Significant experience using Interactive Petrophysics software for PPFG prediction and rock mechanics modelling.

Responsibilities

Predicts well pore pressure, overburden, fracture pressure, and shear failure (PPFG) based on well data and seismic.
Ability to recognize shallow drilling hazards and recommend methods to avoid costly NPT incidents while drilling through complex unconsolidated sediments.
Effectively monitor PPFG while drilling, identify potential drilling issues, alter original casing/ drilling plans as unforeseen issues arise, advise drilling and operations daily while drilling.
Responsible for designing and executing wellbore strengthening programs designed to minimize catastrophic mud losses in pressure depleted reservoirs and faults, reduce NPT, and assure well safety.
Establish thorough understanding of commercial products for LCM and stress cage, and ability to execute programs with drilling and wellsite operations.
Ability to work in complex deep water depositional basins influenced by rapid/episodic clastic sedimentation, dynamic structural development associated with MTCs, salt tectonics, faulting, compaction, & diagenesis; and how these factors influence overpressure, fracture gradient, overburden, pressure regressions and local stress field variations.
Interpret and model FIT and dynamic MPD tests to fine-tune fracture gradient and shear failure predictions while drilling.
Develop new techniques to improve PPFG workflows and prediction, improve wellbore stability, cementing operations, and well operations.
Contribute to rock mechanics studies to assess long term production limitations, waterflooding operations, well completions, and drilling.
Coach and mentor less experienced staff geologists, operations personnel, drilling staff, petrophysicists (approximately 10% of work time).
Ability to improve technology in wellbore stability, PPFG, MPD, well cementing, and minimizing NPT.
Must have a proven record for assuring well safety and the environment.
Collaborates with asset team geoscientists, petrophysicists, drilling engineers, and well operations staff to effectively design safe and cost-effective drilling mud programs, casing design, and formation evaluation.
Collaborates with multidiscipline development, exploration, and operations teams across the GOA.
Collaborates as needed with partners and industry leaders on well plans and advances in PPFG prediction.