Senior Unconventional Drilling Engineer

Cnpc USA; Houston, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

CNPC USA seeks a Sr. Well Engineer with deep North American unconventional drilling and completion experience to lead technical guidance for CNPC’s assets.

You will bridge North American practices with CNPC’s teams in China, shaping design, execution, and training across shale and tight oil/gas programs. The role requires designing and optimizing wells, managing lateral lengths, pad development, high‑intensity completions, and real‑time operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum, Chemical, Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• 10+ years of North American unconventional drilling and completion experience.
• Strong understanding of full well lifecycle from planning to handover to production.
• Ability to mentor and clearly explain technical rationale to engineers and field staff.

Responsibilities

• Serve as CNPC’s in‑house subject‑matter expert on North American unconventional D&C.
• Explain the rationale behind evolving North American practices to enable informed adaptation.
• Design and plan unconventional wells, including trajectories, casings, cementing, mud, BHA/bit, and AFEs.
• Translate NA best practices to CNPC’s assets accounting for geology, depth, HSE, and regulatory differences.
• Provide operational guidance across spud‑to‑TD drilling optimization and hydraulic fracturing execution.
• Mentor CNPC engineers and field staff through workshops and field work.
• Develop D&C standards, KPIs, and workflows for CNPC’s unconventional programs.

Skills

D&C experience

Geosteering

Drilling optimization

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's in Petroleum/ Chemical/ Mechanical Eng

Tools

MWD/LWD

Rotary steerable systems

Job description

CNPC USA seeks a Sr. Well Engineer with deep North American unconventional drilling and completion experience to lead technical guidance for CNPC’s assets.

You will bridge North American practices with CNPC’s teams in China, shaping design, execution, and training across shale and tight oil/gas programs. The role requires designing and optimizing wells, managing lateral lengths, pad development, high‑intensity completions, and real‑time operations.