Reservoir Engineer

• The Beginning
• My Work at ConocoPhillips
• Career Development
• The Future

The Beginning

I graduated from Strathclyde University in Glasgow with a degree in mechanical engineering. I was born in Aberdeen, which gave me a valuable insight into the petroleum industry from a young age. During my time at university, I completed a number of industry-based internships at a range of both service companies and operators. Through these opportunities I learned more about the industry and became particularly interested in the discipline of reservoir engineering. To further my knowledge in this area I applied for a place on an MSc course in petroleum engineering at Imperial College London.

While completing the course at Imperial College, I interviewed for many oil and gas operators. ConocoPhillips stood out as a company that seemed the most flexible and the most willing to give recent graduates real responsibility from day one. This opportunity convinced me to accept an offer from them to join the company as a reservoir engineer in November 2008.

My work at ConocoPhillips

My first role as a graduate reservoir engineer was working on two recently commissioned subsea fields in the central North Sea. This was a fantastic first role as the position allowed me to put into practice the skills acquired during my MSc. I worked with two experienced reservoir engineers who mentored me and allowed me to take accountability for history matching a gas condensate development. I developed a suite of history-matched simulation models and worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team to evaluate a potential infill well.

For my next developmental role I moved to subsea oil field development to give me exposure to a different fluid type. In this role I was responsible for daily production optimisation of a subsea development along with progressing the subsurface understanding of a single well subsea development in preparation for project sanction. This was a very interesting and challenging role where no two days were the same. I learned valuable new skills in upstream project development and short-term reservoir management.

I have recently moved into a new team to gain experience in a high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) gas condensate field. Here I will be responsible for updating a complex simulation model and evaluating several potential development opportunities in the surrounding area.

Career Development

ConocoPhillips has given me the opportunity to attend a broad range of internal and external technical and personal development courses. This included a two-week advanced reservoir engineering training school in Houston, Texas. The course was a great opportunity to develop my professional network in the corporation to a global scale. The course was also beneficial in that it allowed me to learn from experienced industry professionals which analysis techniques to use and how they should be applied in the real engineering world.

I have also attended several industry courses taught by external companies. ConocoPhillips has also been supportive of developing my soft skills encouraging me to attend courses on presentation skills and career development.

The Future