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
- Design drill programmes
Schedule drilling activities; monitor production flow rate.
- 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.
- Design well paths
Design and calculate multilateral and horizontal well paths.
- Restore natural environment after drilling proofs
Restore drilling site to its natural environmental condition in the event that drilling will not take place.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Monitor well safety
Inspect the safety of an oil well on the drilling rig or drilling site, detect safety issues or potential risks.
- Suggest well maintenance
Ensure appropriate well maintenance is provided after discovering issues or risks on the drilling rig or drilling site.
- Analyse drill engineering
Gather relevant data, carry out on-site engineering analysis; make up reports and recommend necessary measures.
- 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.
- 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.
- Monitor well operations
Monitor the daily progress of well activities.
- 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.
- Plan oil wells
Develop engineering plans and supervise activities necessary to successfully drill a well.
- Liaise with specialist contractors for well operations
Establish business relationships with specialist contractors and with suppliers of goods such as cement or drilling fluids.
- 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.
- Supervise staff
Oversee the selection, training, performance and motivation of staff.
- 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.