Sr. Well Engineer

Cnpc Usa Corporation•Houston, TX

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

CNPC USA is seeking a highly experienced Sr. Well Engineer with deep, hands-on North American unconventional drilling and completion (D&C) experience. This role serves as a subject-matter expert and technical bridge between North American operations and CNPC’s unconventional development teams in China, translating proven North American best practices, workflows, and lessons learned into CNPC’s shale gas and tight oil/gas assets. This role requires extensive experience designing and executing wells across major North American unconventional plays, along with a strong understanding of both how modern drilling and completion (D&C) practices are executed and the technical, operational, and economic drivers behind their continued evolution—from extended-reach laterals and pad/cube development to high-intensity simul-frac completions. Field leadership experience as a company man, drilling superintendent, wellsite supervisor, or driller is strongly preferred, with a detailed understanding of rig and hydraulic fracturing operations and wellsite execution. This combination of technical and field expertise is essential to advising and training colleagues involved in unconventional drilling and completion operations in China and supporting the development of CNPC’s assets in China.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent field experience.
10+ years of North American unconventional drilling and completion experience, with a demonstrated track record of designing and executing wells in one or more major plays.
Proven and demonstrated experience with/in the following:
Evolving North American drilling and completion (D&C) practices, including the technical and operational drivers influencing lateral length, completion intensity, and pad development.
Working knowledge of the full well lifecycle, from well planning and drilling through completion, hydraulic fracturing, and handover to production.
Strong understanding of drilling optimization, geosteering, casing and cementing, MWD/LWD, and multistage hydraulic fracturing operations.
Proven ability to teach, mentor, and clearly explain technical rationale to engineers and field staff at all levels.
Must be willing to travel internationally, including extended assignments in China, and to work effectively with cross-cultural teams.

Nice To Haves

Direct D&C experience in one or more major North American unconventional plays — Permian (Midland/Delaware), Bakken/Three Forks (Williston), Eagle Ford, Marcellus/Utica, Haynesville, or Montney/Duvernay.
Experience with:
Ultra-long laterals (3-mile and longer), U-turn wells, and large-scale pad/cube development.
Simul-frac/trimul-frac, high-intensity slickwater completions, extreme limited entry, and produced-water sourcing and recycling.
Managed pressure drilling, rotary steerable systems, one-run laterals, and real-time operations (RTOC) support.
Field leadership as a company man, drilling superintendent, wellsite supervisor, or driller is strongly preferred, with an in-depth, real-time understanding of rig and hydraulic fracturing operations and wellsite execution.
Transferring technology or best practices across regions or to international assets.
Prior operator (E&P) experience in a D&C engineering or wellsite supervisory role.
Familiarity with deep and HPHT shale gas development (e.g., Haynesville / deep Bossier as an analog for deep Sichuan Basin shale) is a strong plus.
Fluent in Mandarin is a plus.

Responsibilities

Serve as CNPC’s in-house subject-matter expert on North American unconventional D&C, answering detailed technical and operational questions from drilling and completion colleagues developing unconventional assets in China.
Explain the rationale behind evolving North American practices—including lateral length, well spacing, completion intensity, and pad/cube development—to enable informed adaptation rather than simple replication.
Design and plan unconventional wells, including well trajectory and geosteering, casing and cementing programs, mud and hydraulics, BHA/bit selection, AFEs, and detailed drilling and completion procedures.
Translate and adapt NA best practices to Chinese assets (deep shale gas and tight oil/gas), accounting for differences in geology, well depth/temperature, HSE and regulatory frameworks, supply chain, and available equipment and services.
Provide operational guidance across the full well lifecycle: spud-to-TD drilling optimization, casing/liner running, cementing, plug-and-perf and other completion methods, and hydraulic fracturing execution.
Advise on ultra-long lateral drilling (3–4 mile), extended-reach and U-turn well designs, and management of weight transfer, torque, drag, and hole cleaning in long horizontals.
Advise on modern completion designs — simul-frac and trimul-frac, zipper frac, cluster and stage spacing, extreme limited entry, proppant and fluid selection, water sourcing and recycling, and electric frac fleets.
Support real-time operations: review daily drilling and completion reports, join morning calls, and provide remote and on-site guidance on rig-floor and frac-location decisions.
Capture, document, and standardize lessons learned, NPT and root-cause analyses, and “why-it-works” rationale so knowledge is transferable, teachable, and repeatable across CNPC teams.
Mentor and train Chinese D&C engineers and field supervisors through workshops, written procedures, benchmarking reviews, and side-by-side field work.
Develop D&C standards, KPIs, and workflows for CNPC’s unconventional programs, benchmarked against North American analog performance.
Interface with service companies, rig contractors, and technology vendors to evaluate, qualify, and deploy tools and services suited to CNPC’s assets.
Other duties as assigned by management.