Lead Reservoir Engineer

Empire Petroleum Corporation; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full benefits

Job summary

Empire Petroleum Corporation in Texas seeks a Lead Reservoir Engineer to own the development program behind our Fort Trinidad gas asset in Madison County. This hands-on role partners with the SVP of Operations and Board, turning subsurface data into a defensible, drillable plan.

Candidates should have 10–20 years of reservoir experience, HPHT gas expertise, strong economics, and proficiency with Python and AI tools for asset optimization.

Qualifications

• BS in Petroleum Engineering or equivalent technical degree.
• 10–20 years of reservoir engineering experience with ownership of a development program.
• Deep gas experience including HPHT wellbores and high-temperature reservoirs (20,000 ft, 400°F+).
• Independently execute petrophysical work (net pay, porosity, saturation).
• Experience with SEC/PRMS reserves definitions and interfacing with third-party reserve engineers.
• Strong economics fluency (PV10, payout, ROI).
• Proficiency in Python or equivalent for reservoir data work; use of AI tools in engineering.

Responsibilities

• Perform petrophysical evaluation of logs and cores; integrate data into a mapped stratigraphic framework.
• Rank and sequence 100+ wells for recompletion with economics, EUR, and capital planning.
• Own multi-year Texas development plan with locations, sequencing, and gas-volume forecasts.
• Build reservoir data foundation and apply ML/data-driven methods where appropriate.
• Prepare full-cycle economics and support SEC reserve reporting and audits.

Skills

Reservoir engineering

Petrophysics

Economics

AI tooling

Python

Leadership

Education

BS in Petroleum Engineering

Tools

ARIES

PHDWin

Harmony

Petra

Kingdom

Enverus

Job description

Position Overview

Empire Petroleum Corporation (NYSE American: EP) is seeking an experienced Lead Reservoir Engineer to build and own the development program behind our Texas gas asset in the Fort Trinidad field, Madison County. This role is responsible for turning that subsurface data into a ranked, economically defensible, drillable development program.

This is a hands-on ownership role at a small, five-state operator where technical work moves directly to decision-makers — the SVP of Operations, President/CEO, and Board — without layers in between. The ideal candidate combines deep petrophysics and reservoir engineering fundamentals with fluency in economics, reserves reporting, and modern data/AI tooling, and is comfortable working with incomplete legacy data as well as high-temperature, high-pressure deep gas conditions.

Key Responsibilities

Subsurface Characterization

• Perform petrophysical evaluation of the newly logged section, including formation tops, net pay, porosity, water saturation, TOC, and thickness by interval.
• Integrate sidewall core, open-hole log, and VSP data with reprocessed 3D seismic into a mapped, correlatable stratigraphic framework across the acreage.
• Define the landing point and design parameters for the first horizontal lateral off existing vertical wellbores.

Development Programming

• Rank and sequence 100+ existing wellbores for recompletion and deepening, with type curve, EUR, capital, and economics for each candidate.
• Build type curves and production forecasts by interval from analog operator data and internal well results.
• Own the multi-year Texas development plan, including locations, sequencing, capital, and gas volume forecasts tied to compression and takeaway capacity.

Data & AI Workflows

• Build a reservoir data foundation consolidating production, log, core, pressure, and cost data into one queryable, source-traceable system.
• Apply machine learning and data-driven methods where they outperform conventional analysis, including analog well selection, type curve generation, decline/rate-transient workflows, and log property prediction.
• Use AI tooling to accelerate legacy data extraction, well file review, and analysis, while exercising judgment on where model-based outputs break down.

Economics & Reserves

• Prepare full-cycle economics (PV10, ROI, payout, breakeven) on every development candidate prior to AFE.
• Support year-end SEC reserve reporting and the third-party reserve audit, owning the reservoir engineering component of that data package.
• Reconcile forecast to actual production monthly and flag underperformance early.

Execution Support

• Coordinate directly with drilling, completions, and production engineering on well design, completion targeting, and artificial lift.
• Monitor new gas volumes against compression and takeaway constraints to avoid stranded production.
• Provide engineering documentation and analysis suitable for reserve-based lending, investor materials, and Board review.

Qualifications

• BS in Petroleum Engineering or equivalent technical degree.
• 10–20 years of reservoir engineering experience, with demonstrated ownership of a development program (inventory build, economics, and results) rather than participation in one.
• Deep gas experience, including HPHT wellbores and high-temperature reservoirs; comfortable working at depths of 20,000 ft and temperatures of 400°F+.
• Ability to independently execute petrophysical work — log-based net pay, porosity, and saturation analysis.
• Experience with SEC or PRMS reserves definitions and interfacing with third-party reserve engineers.
• Strong economics fluency, including PV10, payout, ROI, sensitivity, and probabilistic analysis.
• Working proficiency with Python or equivalent for reservoir data work, and practical use of AI tools in an engineering context.
• High proficiency in a reserves/economics package (ARIES, PHDWin, or Harmony), a geological mapping package (Petra, Kingdom, or equivalent), Enverus, and Excel.

Preferred

• East Texas Basin experience, particularly Haynesville, Bossier, Cotton Valley, or Travis Peak.
• Recompletion, behind-pipe, and re-entry experience in legacy wellbores with vintage or incomplete data.
• Texas PE license, or eligibility for one.
• Railroad Commission of Texas experience (permitting, field designation, allowables, Statewide Rules).
• Applied machine learning experience in a subsurface setting.
• Experience converting legacy sources (scanned logs, vintage well files, state regulatory records) into usable datasets.
• Small-company operating experience (under 50 employees), working independently without dedicated technical support staff.

Compensation and terms:

Competitive and commensurate with experience, plus full benefits. Houston-based, with regular travel to Madison County and other operating areas. Reports to the SVP of Operations, with visibility to the President/CEO and Board.

About Empire Petroleum Corporation:

Empire Petroleum Corporation (NYSE American: EP) is a Tulsa-based public independent with producing assets in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Montana. Management is focused on organic growth and targeted acquisitions of proved developed assets with synergies to the existing portfolio. Empire Petroleum is an equal opportunity employer.