Pipeline System Planning Engineer (LNG)

Woodside Petroleum Ltd; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Parental leave

Competitive pay

Inclusive culture

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Woodside Energy seeks an experienced engineer to lead the development and operationalization of an integrated LNG feedgas forecasting, flow assurance, and optimization capability supporting Louisiana LNG. The role intersects natural gas transportation, LNG operations, hydraulic modeling, and gas quality management to drive predictive decision-support across the upstream network.

The successful candidate will be responsible for evolving from reactive monitoring to predictive feedgas intelligence,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering is required, preferably Mechanical, Chemical, Petroleum or Civil.
• 8-15+ years of experience in natural gas transmission, LNG operations, gas supply, flow assurance, or system planning.
• Direct experience with interstate or intrastate natural gas transportation systems.
• Experience performing hydraulic modeling and system optimization.
• Experience supporting operational decision making during outages, constraints, and abnormal operating events.

Responsibilities

• Develop hydraulic and flow assurance models for interstate and intrastate natural gas transportation systems.
• Perform steady-state and transient hydraulic simulations under normal and abnormal conditions.
• Analyze impacts of compressor outages, pipeline maintenance, storage withdrawals, and market changes.
• Support short-term and long-term gas supply planning through system modeling and scenario analysis.
• Identify capacity constraints and develop mitigation strategies.
• Analyze impact of feedgas composition, pressure, and flow on LNG facility performance.
• Support LNG operating decisions through forecasting and scenario analysis.
• Collaborate with LNG Operations to optimize facility performance and feedgas management.
• Develop predictive capabilities for gas quality and facility performance forecasting.
• Support nomination, scheduling, and gas supply optimization activities.
• Integrate operational, commercial, SCADA, gas quality, and market data into decision-support workflows.
• Develop automated reports, dashboards, and intelligence tools.
• Communicate findings to Operations, Gas Supply, Commercial, and leadership teams.

Skills

Hydraulic modeling

System optimization

Operational decision-making

Gas supply planning

LNG operations

Interstate pipeline

Project leadership

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

Gregg Engineering

Synergi Gas

Pipeline Studio

SPS

Atmos SIM

BRE ProMax

Job description

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We know great results come from our people feeling valued, getting the support they need to reach their full potential and working in a psychologically and physically safe work environment. We recognise that enduring, meaningful relationships with communities are fundamental to maintaining our licence to operate.

Sustainability performance is fundamental to the long-term success of our business. We use technology to help reduce emissions at our operations. We are also working to improve energy efficiency, offset emissions, reduce emissions intensity and explore options for lower-carbon energy. Woodside led the development of the LNG industry in Australia and is applying this same pioneering spirit to contribute towards future energy challenges globally.

We are seeking an experienced engineer to lead the development and operationalization of an integrated LNG feedgas forecasting, flow assurance, and optimization capability supporting Louisiana LNG.

This role sits at the intersection of natural gas transportation, LNG operations, hydraulic modeling, gas quality management, commercial optimization, and operational decision support. The successful candidate will be responsible for understanding how upstream pipeline, storage, gas quality, and commercial activities influence LNG terminal operations and developing predictive tools, models, and workflows that improve operational reliability and commercial decision making.

This position will serve as the primary technical lead supporting the evolution from reactive feedgas monitoring to predictive feedgas intelligence, enabling earlier visibility of changes in gas quality, pressure, flow, and supply reliability across the upstream transportation network. The capability is intended to support nominations, contingency planning, LNG operating decisions, and feedgas optimization.

Duties and Responsibilities

Feedgas Flow Assurance & System Optimization

• Develop and maintain hydraulic and flow assurance models for interstate and intrastate natural gas transportation systems.
• Perform steady-state and transient hydraulic simulations to evaluate system performance under normal and abnormal operating conditions.
• Analyze the impacts of compressor outages, pipeline maintenance, storage withdrawals, receipt point disruptions, and market changes.
• Support short-term and long-term gas supply planning activities through system modeling and scenario analysis.
• Identify capacity constraints and develop mitigation strategies.

LNG Feedgas & Process Optimization

• Analyze the impact of feedgas composition, pressure, and flow variability on LNG facility performance.
• Evaluate feedgas quality trends, including nitrogen, BTU, Wobbe, CO₂, C6+, and other critical parameters.
• Support LNG operating decisions through forecasting and scenario analysis.
• Collaborate with LNG Operations to optimize facility performance, operating envelopes, and feedgas management strategies.
• Support development of predictive capabilities for gas quality and facility performance forecasting.

Commercial & Gas Supply Planning Support

• Support nomination, scheduling, and gas supply optimization activities.
• Evaluate transportation, storage, and supply alternatives.
• Analyze impacts of market conditions, transportation constraints, and supply interruptions.
• Work closely with commercial teams, schedulers, gas controllers, and supply planners.
• Support month-ahead, week-ahead, day-ahead, and intraday gas supply planning activities.
• Integrate operational, commercial, SCADA, gas quality, and market data into decision-support workflows.
• Analyze forecast versus actual performance to improve predictive accuracy.
• Develop automated reports, dashboards, and operational intelligence tools.
• Identify upstream drivers impacting LNG feedgas reliability and quality.
• Communicate findings to Operations, Gas Supply, Commercial, and leadership teams.

Skills and Experience

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Engineering is required, preferably in Mechanical, Chemical, Petroleum, or Civil Engineering. Candidates with other engineering disciplines will also be considered where they can demonstrate relevant industry experience.

• 8-15+ years of experience in natural gas transmission, LNG operations, gas supply, flow assurance, or system planning.
• Direct experience with interstate or intrastate natural gas transportation systems.
• Experience performing hydraulic modeling and system optimization.
• Experience supporting operational decision making during outages, constraints, and abnormal operating events.

Experience in natural gas transmission systems, compressor stations, gas storage facilities, gas quality analysis, flow assurance, hydraulic simulation, pressure and capacity analysis, and pipeline operations.

Experience with one or more pipeline modeling and simulation tools, such as Gregg Engineering, Synergi Gas, Pipeline Studio, SPS, Atmos SIM, BRE ProMax, or comparable hydraulic modeling platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting LNG export facilities through operations, optimization, gas supply planning, or feedgas delivery activities.
• Understanding of LNG feedgas specifications, nitrogen management, gas quality impacts, LNG process fundamentals, and facility operating constraints.
• Experience in gas scheduling, nominations, or commercial operations.
• Knowledge of FERC-regulated pipeline operations.
• Experience with SCADA, operational data systems, and data analytics platforms.
• Experience supporting transportation agreements, storage optimization, and supply portfolio management.
• Exposure to machine learning, forecasting, or operational decision-support systems.

Recognition and Reward

What you can expect from us:

• Commitment to your ongoing development, including on-the-job opportunities, formal programs and coaching
• Industry-leading 18 weeks paid parental leave for primary carer,andmaintenance ofsuperannuation or retirement benefits at the current rate during any period of unpaid parental leave for up to 24 months(plus secondary carer entitlements)
• Values led culture with afocus on creating a psychologically and physically safe work environment
• Active employee-led working groups driving initiatives to build an inclusive culture.
• A competitive remuneration package featuring performance-based incentives

Please note Woodside Energy will only accept direct candidate applications. We do not accept applications from Recruitment Agencies.

Woodside Energy is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunity, including providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with a disability. Applicants with a physical or mental disability who require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process may contact [e-mail] or [phone].

Woodside Energy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.