Sr. Reservoir Engineer - Reservoir Characterization

Job Description

Job Description

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Reservoir Engineer to join our Reservoir Characterization team, located in Denver or Houston. The Reservoir Engineer assumes a Senior technical leadership role on the Reservoir Characterization team. The engineer has experience over several play types and an understanding of the differentiating factors among varied reservoirs. This person pairs strong, broad fundamental reservoir engineering expertise with a technology-forward mindset—staying current with AI/ML, and emerging software tools to sharpen analysis and speed up decision-making. The engineer should be striving for continual improvement in existing assets as well as new areas by providing detailed technical/economic analyses and recommendations on development and exploration projects. This position operates in a senior technical capacity while handling reservoir assignments independently on a broad scope and complex difficulty. Mentoring less experienced engineers on fundamentals and advising technical work within and across teams is a requirement of this role.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES:

• Develop processes and refine workflows to increase asset & exploration value while reducing costs and uncertainty
• Initiate, manage and carryout reservoir studies (including numerical simulations) of existing assets to determine completion and spacing improvements
• Incorporates advanced production analysis into the workflow for well evaluation and forecasting purposes
• Ability to analytically model production data and forecast when required
• Analyze datasets with a holistic tool kit including rate or pressure transient analysis, volumetrics, analytical or numerical modeling and decline curve analysis
• Provide estimations of resource volumes and recoverable hydrocarbons using both probabilistic and deterministic volumetrics, EURs and recovery factors
• Conduct necessary preparation to justify development drilling, recompletions, workover opportunities, diagnostic tests, or other expenditures
• Ability to comprehend and utilize field data such as fiber optics, downhole pressure, geochemistry, tracers, etc. 
• Collaborating with asset teams on joint studies of well spacing, targeting, completion design, and production strategies.
• Ability to compile and analyze data from various internal systems and external data from other operators, Enverus, and/or other publicly available sources.
• Leverages AI/ML and other emerging software technologies to streamline workflows, automate analysis, and surface innovative solutions, while maintaining a strong grounding in core reservoir engineering fundamentals.
• Ensure reserves are technically justified with advanced techniques where required
• Train and guide others in developing correlations between geological and completion variables and well performance
• Works with multidisciplinary teams—including geologists, petrophysicists, geomechanics engineers, data scientists, and asset engineers to build the best possible static descriptions of the subsurface, providing engineering input to geologic, geomechanical and petrophysical studies.
• Conduct business with the highest ethical standards; demonstrate decision-making skills that ensure the safety of all persons associated with SM facilities
• Ability to communicate results in a clear and concise manner to upper management and executives.
• Willingness to mentor other engineers and contribute to technical knowledge sharing across teams.

COMPUTER/SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS: 

• Advanced level of skill in Microsoft Office, including Excel. 
• Advanced Spotfire user to increase analytical speed and efficiency. 
• Knowledge of Aries or other economic evaluation software programs. 
• Advanced knowledge of production data analysis tools. 
• Advanced working knowledge of analytical models in RTA. 
• Advanced understanding of numerical modeling applications, inputs, limitations and expectations. 
• Evaluates or initiates new tools that increase reservoir analytics, well evaluation, and asset development. 
• Experience with generally accepted industry/company software including Crystal Ball, CMG, Gohfer, ResFrac, Whitson, Aries, etc.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES: 

• Experience with a variety of conventional/unconventional resource plays. 
• Advanced understanding of reservoir engineering disciplines including decline curve analysis (DCA), rate transient analysis (RTA), volumetrics, recoveries, fluid behavior, analytical history matching, and flow regime identification. 
• Advanced understanding of reservoir phase behavior and its relation to operating condition and forecasting purposes. 
• Up to date on the leading technical advancements and techniques to characterize unconventional reservoir behavior and well evaluation. 
• Initiates reservoir projects that apply technical advancements (re-fracs, unconventional enhanced oil recovery) to increase asset value and recovery.
• Advanced understanding of probabilistic modeling and its role in defining uncertainty. 
• Can easily identify limitations in data sets and range of uncertainty of results. 
• Advanced understanding of flow in porous media including capillary pressure, wettability, Darcy's law, and relative permeability. 
• Has experience leveraging geologic cores and understands the core-log petrophysical process. 
• Solid knowledge/experience relating to relating to geochemistry, operations, geological interpretation, well data integration, petrophysics and seismic attributes.

EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION:

• BS degree in Engineering is required MS degree in Petroleum Engineering is beneficial.
• Minimum of 15 years of applicable experience.

SM Energy offers competitive compensation and benefits programs which include, but are not limited to, variable pay, health care coverage, retirement plan, protection coverage, time off and leave programs, training and development opportunities and a range of allowances connected to specific work situations. Details are available at Careers :: SM Energy Company (SM) (sm-energy.com).

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.