Senior Petroleum / Production Engineer

Employ Africa Group; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 876,000 - 1,251,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

All-inclusive monthly rate

Annual return flights to home country

Housing allowance or company accommodation

Transport allowance

International medical insurance

Job summary

A global energy technology company is seeking a Senior Petroleum/Production Engineer for a full-time, 2-year assignment based in Nairobi, Kenya. The ideal candidate will drive production optimization and lead artificial lift strategies across all wells in the South Lokichar Basin. Applicants should have a Bachelor's in Petroleum Engineering and at least 15 years of proven experience. This role requires field credibility, analytical skills, and the ability to work in challenging remote environments.

Qualifications

• 15+ years' experience as a Production/Petroleum Engineer at an operating company.
• Proven track record in production optimization.
• Strong working knowledge of flow assurance and water injection strategies.
• Strong working knowledge of flow assurance, SCADA systems, and water injection strategies.
• Demonstrated leadership and mentoring capability in multi-disciplinary teams.
• Comfortable working in remote, field-based environments for extended periods.

Responsibilities

• Own daily production performance and optimization across all wells.
• Lead artificial lift selection and performance monitoring.
• Troubleshoot production bottlenecks and well performance deviations.
• Coordinate well pulls and completions-to-production handovers.
• Interface with facilities engineering to align infrastructure.
• Support SCADA surveillance and reservoir management.
• Provide input into reservoir management and water injection strategies.
• Liaise with regulatory bodies and support compliance and reporting obligations.
• Mentor junior engineers and lead structured capacity building initiatives.

Skills

Production optimization

Artificial lift design and management

Flow assurance

SCADA systems

Leadership and mentoring

Leadership

Remote field work

Education

Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering

Job description

Our client is a global energy technology company. We are sourcing a Senior Petroleum/Production Engineer for a 2-year assignment based full-time in Nairobi, Kenya, supporting production operations at the South Lokichar Basin — one of East Africa's most significant upstream assets, targeting first oil in late 2026. This is a role for a technically exceptional engineer ready to take the lead: owning production performance, driving optimisation across all wells, and building the next generation of Kenyan petroleum engineers.

Based full-time in Nairobi, working regular office hours, you'll be the central interface between drilling, facilities, and field operations. You'll own production performance across all wells in the South Lokichar Basin, lead artificial lift strategy, troubleshoot flow assurance issues, and interface with facilities to keep surface and subsurface aligned. Periodic travel to the Lokichar field site in Turkana will be required.

This is not a passive technical advisory role. It demands sharp analytical thinking, field credibility, and the kind of confident judgement that only comes from 15+ years of actually doing it, during a critical ramp-up to first commercial oil.

What you'll do

• Own daily production performance and optimization across all wells — monitoring, analysing, and acting.
• Lead artificial lift selection, performance monitoring, and lifecycle planning (ESP, gas lift, rod pump).
• Troubleshoot production bottlenecks, flow assurance issues, and well performance deviations.
• Coordinate well pulls, workovers, and completions-to-production handovers.
• Interface with facilities engineering to align surface infrastructure with subsurface requirements.
• Support SCADA and remote monitoring implementation and day-to-day surveillance.
• Provide input into reservoir management and water injection strategies.
• Liaise with regulatory bodies and support compliance and reporting obligations.
• Mentor junior engineers and lead structured capacity building initiatives.

What we're looking for

Essential

• Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• 15+ years' experience as a Production/Petroleum Engineer at an operating company.
• Proven track record in production optimization, artificial lift design and management, and field production planning.
• Strong working knowledge of flow assurance, SCADA systems, and water injection strategies.
• Demonstrated leadership and mentoring capability in multi-disciplinary teams.
• Comfortable working in remote, field-based environments for extended periods.

Desirable

• Prior experience in East Africa or sub-Saharan African upstream environments.
• Familiarity with Kenya's regulatory landscape — EPRA, National Oil Corporation of Kenya.
• Experience on early-stage or ramp-up production assets.

Package highlights

• All-inclusive monthly rate — covers base salary, housing, vehicle/transport, medical, and applicable allowances.
• Annual return flights to country of domicile provided.
• Nairobi-based: housing allowance or company accommodation in expat-standard area (Westlands, Karen, or equivalent).
• Vehicle or transport allowance for Nairobi city use and periodic Turkana field travel.
• International medical insurance (individual cover confirmed; family cover TBC).
• Work permit and visa costs covered for non-Kenyan hires.