Production Operations Engineer - Occidental Petroleum Corporation

Description

Occidental is an international energy company with assets primarily in the United States, Middle East and North Africa. We are one of the largest oil producers in the U.S., including a leading producer in the Permian and DJ basins, and offshore Gulf of Mexico. Our midstream and marketing segment provides flow assurance and maximizes the value of our oil and gas. Our chemical subsidiary OxyChem manufactures the building blocks for life-enhancing products. Our Oxy Low Carbon Ventures subsidiary is advancing leading-edge technologies and business solutions that economically grow our business while reducing emissions. We are committed to using our global leadership in carbon management to advance a lower-carbon world. Visit oxy.com for more information.

Occidental 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. Our greatest asset has been, and will continue to be, our people.

We are looking for an experienced and motivated individual to fill the position of Production Operations Engineer within U.S. Onshore Resources & Carbon Management – Enhanced Oil Recovery (ORCM EOR) Waterflood team located in Houston, Texas.

You will be part of an integrated team of highly qualified reservoir engineers, production engineers, and data scientists striving to put in place all the necessary datasets, tools, multidiscipline workflows, and key performance indicators necessary to monitor and optimize Oxy’s base production domestically and internationally. The candidate should have a keen desire to creatively apply new technologies and workflows to base surveillance production and optimization.

 Roles and Responsibilities:

• Production Surveillance and Optimization: Surveillance and interpretation of existing well production to identify and implement production improvement opportunities.  Monitor base production to optimize artificial lift performance, managing base decline rates, and reducing non-productive downtime.
• Well and Pattern Reviews: Actively participate in well and pattern reviews, particularly those involving Waterflood/CO2 injection processes.
• Workover Opportunities and Procedures: Identify, evaluate, and propose solutions for workover opportunities. These may include maintenance/downhole equipment failures, well enhancements, lift revisions, liner installations, new and existing completions, well stimulations, and more. Also, prepare workover procedures for both existing and new injectors and producers.
• Cost Estimation and Economic Analysis: Prepare well work job cost estimates for capital and opex projects, working closely with supply chain and vendors. Run economic analyses on identified improvement opportunities and monitor costs post-execution to ensure proposed well work remains economical.
• Artificial Lift Equipment Selection: Collaborate with Artificial Lift Specialists to select optimal lift equipment, including ESP, Rod Pumps, Jet Pumps, Gas Lift, etc.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Field Operations, Reservoir, Facilities, Artificial Lift Engineers, geologists, and company experts to optimize well/pattern performance.
• Compliance, Standards, and Regulatory: Ensure all production engineering work aligns with company and industry operations and HSE standards. Collaborate with the Land and Regulatory Department to ensure the Asset remains compliant. This includes identifying, planning, and executing regulatory-related work such as MIT, TA, P&A, etc.
• Reservoir Engineering Support and Business Planning: Assist Reservoir Engineers in identifying and proposing solutions for pattern performance issues in waterflood and CO2 floods, such as out of zone injections and poor injection distribution. Also, provide support during reserves and business plan cycles.
• Chemical Program Support: Support the Asset chemical program by diagnosing, identifying, and proposing solutions for downhole corrosion and scaling issues.

Qualifications

Required Knowledge, Experience, Skills and Competencies:

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering or related field required

Skills & Competencies:

• Minimum of 8 years of oil and gas industry experience including waterflooding and/or CO2 flooding
• Proficiency in production engineering best practices, including artificial lift, well interventions, workovers/recompletions, well surveillance, and field operations
• Ability to interact and work effectively with cross-functional teams and working interest partners.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including presentations
• Knowledge of OFM or DSS to perform base reservoir surveillance and estimate well performance potential
• Experience in performing rig site supervision is a plus
• Knows how to use PEEP to run project economics
• Knowledge of oilfield chemistry as it relates to corrosion scale and paraffin deposition
• Understands how to use enhanced oil recovery as a % of original oil in place versus CO2 injected as a % of hydrocarbon pore volume plots to optimize water and gas (WAG) injection schemes for individual WAG injectors

Relocation:This position is not eligible for relocation.

Recruitment Fraud

It has come to our attention various individuals and/or organizations are contacting people falsely pretending to recruit on behalf of Oxy. Please be aware that these recruiting scams and communications do not originate nor are they associated with our recruitment process.  All Oxy job postings and offers will require a completed application through our company website.

Oxy does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruiting process. We will never: 

• Ask you to pay for applications, interviews, meetings, processing, training or for any other fees
• Use recruiting or placement agencies that charge candidates an advance fee of any kind or
• Request personal information such as passport and bank account details at an early stage of our recruitment process.

We recommend against responding to unsolicited business propositions or offers from people you don't know. Do not disclose your personal or financial details. If you believe you have been the victim of a recruiting scam, please contact your local police department.

Occidental is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, political preference, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.