Profession drilling engineer

Drilling engineers develop and supervise the drilling of gas and oil wells. They assist in the designing, testing and creation of wells and are employed on land or offshore platforms. Drilling engineers work with other mining professionals and oversee the drilling progress and safety of the site.

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Personality Type

  • Investigative / Realistic

Knowledge

  • Geology

    Solid earth, rock types, structures and the processes by which they are altered.

Skills

  • Manage drilling contracts

    Establish and manage drilling contracts between well operators and drilling contractors, which specify the nature, duration, fees and other characteristics of the cooperation between the organisations.

  • Monitor well safety

    Inspect the safety of an oil well on the drilling rig or drilling site, detect safety issues or potential risks.

  • Restore natural environment after drilling proofs

    Restore drilling site to its natural environmental condition in the event that drilling will not take place.

  • Troubleshoot

    Identify operating problems, decide what to do about it and report accordingly.

  • Manage service contracts in the drilling industry

    Establish and manage service contracts for people working in a drilling company, which includes the nature, duration, fee and other characteristics of the cooperation between the organisation and the person.

  • Design drill programmes

    Schedule drilling activities; monitor production flow rate.

  • Prepare well data sheets

    Prepare data sheets, listing all relevant information on a well, including location, geological properties of the well, type of resources, temperatures and various analyses plotted against the depth.

  • Prepare technical reports

    Prepare technical reports that describe results and processes of scientific or technical research, or assess its progress. These reports help researchers to keep up to date with recent findings.

  • Monitor well operations

    Monitor the daily progress of well activities.

  • Address problems critically

    Identify the strengths and weaknesses of various abstract, rational concepts, such as issues, opinions, and approaches related to a specific problematic situation in order to formulate solutions and alternative methods of tackling the situation.

  • Plan oil wells

    Develop engineering plans and supervise activities necessary to successfully drill a well.

  • Suggest well maintenance

    Ensure appropriate well maintenance is provided after discovering issues or risks on the drilling rig or drilling site.

  • Supervise staff

    Oversee the selection, training, performance and motivation of staff.

  • Manage drilling team

    Coordinate and supervise the activities of a drilling team.

  • Monitor well costs

    Daily monitoring of well costs; compare current well costs with expenditure proposals; develop cost-effective measures and strategies.

  • Design well paths

    Design and calculate multilateral and horizontal well paths.

  • Ensure compliance with environmental legislation

    Monitor activities and perform tasks ensuring compliance with standards involving environmental protection and sustainability, and amend activities in the case of changes in environmental legislation. Ensure that the processes are compliant with environment regulations and best practices.

  • Follow environmental protection standards

    Know and adhere to environmental protection standards, in some cases through direct discussion with local governments to ensure compliance with legislative requirements.

  • Design well-head equipment

    Design and select well-head equipment. Take into local geology, type of resource and other specific properties of the site as well as costs.

  • Liaise with specialist contractors for well operations

    Establish business relationships with specialist contractors and with suppliers of goods such as cement or drilling fluids.

  • Analyse drill engineering

    Gather relevant data, carry out on-site engineering analysis; make up reports and recommend necessary measures.

  • Use a computer

    Utilise computer equipment or digital devices to facilitate quality control, data management, and communication. Follow instructions given by a computer programme, create computer files or documents.

Optional knowledge and skills

present reports

Common job titles

  • Principle drilling engineer
  • Field drilling engineer
  • Petroleum engineer
  • Well site leader
  • Sr staff drilling engineer
  • Drilling engineer
  • Senior drilling supervisor
  • Well work engineer
  • Engineer
  • Basin engineer