Environmental Specialist

Permian Basin Environmental Specialist
The Shale & Tight Environmental Specialist protects company execution by securing approvals, reducing compliance and schedule risk, and converting environmental requirements into clear actions that support safe, responsible operations in the Permian Basin for TX and NM.

Core Deliverables

• Identify constraints, surveys, mitigation needs, and regulatory triggers early.
• Manage permits, agency coordination, APD support, conservation reviews, floodplain approvals, pit registrations, and conditions of approval tracking for pits.
• Address biological, cultural, WOTUS, karst, threatened and endangered habitats, construction, and compliance requirements before field activity.
• Complete Clear-to-Construct reviews, constraint maps, permit conditions, seasonal restrictions, and field guidance.
• Maintain inspections, agency reporting, and environmental commitment verification.

Business Impact

• Protects license to operate by maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Ensures permit conditions, agency commitments, and conservation obligations are executed.
• Converts complex requirements into clear direction for field operations and acquisition.
• Reduces schedule risk, rework, and avoidable cost.
• Strengthens agency credibility through accurate submittals, timely responses, and defensible records.
• Supports responsible operations by protecting resources, reducing unnecessary field exposure, and maintaining controls.

Key Skillsets for Environmental Specialist Role

Regulatory and Permitting Expertise

• Working knowledge of Texas and New Mexico environmental requirements specific to onshore oil and gas planning, drilling, completions, and construction, including the government agencies (BLM, NMOCD, TXRRC), APDs, Conditions of Approval, Environmental Assessments, floodplain permits, pit registrations, conservation agreements, and operational compliance.

• Ability to identify biological, cultural, WOTUS, karst, threatened and endangered habitat, nest, surface-use, and seasonal constraints early and translate risks into clear mitigation actions.

• Experience supporting Clear-to-Construct reviews, field guidance, permit condition verification, and environmental requirements that affect construction, drilling, completions, and operations.

• Ability to coordinate effectively with regulatory agencies, contractors, land, asset teams, engineering, permitting, portfolio development, and field operations while tracking approvals, responses, and commitments.

• Strong discipline in inspections, reporting, audit support, permit condition tracking, and defensible regulatory documentation.

• Ability to scope, coordinate, review, and challenge environmental survey work, technical reports, contractor deliverables, schedules, and quality.

• Ability to prioritize work based on schedule, cost, compliance, agency credibility, and license-to-operate risk.

• Clear, concise communicator who can explain complex requirements in field-ready terms, make recommendations, and escalate risks decisively.

• Diploma in Health, Environment, and Safety related field.

With over 90 years' combined experience, NES Fircroft (NES) is proud to be the world's leading engineering staffing provider spanning the Oil & Gas, Power & Renewables, Chemicals, Construction & Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Mining and Manufacturing sectors worldwide. With more than 80 offices in 45 countries, we are able to provide our clients with the engineering and technical expertise they need, wherever and whenever it is needed. We offer contractors far more than a traditional recruitment service, supporting with everything from securing visas and work permits, to providing market-leading benefits packages and accommodation, ensuring they are safely and compliantly able to support our clients.