Drilling engineer

Description

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.

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to drilling engineer:

oilfield driller
offshore drilling engineer
drilling and completion engineer
mineral driller
wells engineer
gasfield driller
drilling expert
gas rig driller
rig driller
oil rig driller
drilling technician
earth driller

Minimum qualifications

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as drilling engineer. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

  • the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
  • the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
  • the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Drilling engineer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

Drilling engineer career path

Similar occupations

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to drilling engineer.

mine mechanical engineer
mine health and safety engineer
mine ventilation engineer
quarry engineer
explosives engineer

Long term prospects

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of drilling engineer. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of drilling engineer with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of drilling engineer.

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

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of drilling engineer.

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.
Liaise with specialist contractors for well operations: Establish business relationships with specialist contractors and with suppliers of goods such as cement or drilling fluids.
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.
Design well paths: Design and calculate multilateral and horizontal well paths.
Manage drilling team: Coordinate and supervise the activities of a drilling team.
Troubleshoot: Identify operating problems, decide what to do about it and report accordingly.
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.
Monitor well operations: Monitor the daily progress of well activities.
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.
Analyse drill engineering: Gather relevant data, carry out on-site engineering analysis; make up reports and recommend necessary measures.
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.
Supervise staff: Oversee the selection, training, performance and motivation of staff.
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 costs: Daily monitoring of well costs; compare current well costs with expenditure proposals; develop cost-effective measures and strategies.
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.
Design well-head equipment: Design and select well-head equipment. Take into account local geology, the type of resource and other specific properties of the site as well as costs.
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.
Suggest well maintenance: Ensure appropriate well maintenance is provided after discovering issues or risks on the drilling rig or drilling site.

Optional knowledge and skills

Optional knowledge

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of drilling engineer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Optional skills and competences

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of drilling engineer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Present reports: Display results, statistics and conclusions to an audience in a transparent and straightforward way.

ISCO group and title

2146 – Mining engineers, metallurgists and related professionals

 

 


 

 

References
  1. Drilling engineer – ESCO
Last updated on August 8, 2022