Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Drilling Consultant

💰 $ - $

Oil & GasEnergyEngineeringDrillingConsultancy

🎯 Role Definition

A Drilling Consultant provides technical leadership and specialist drilling engineering expertise to plan, execute and optimize onshore and offshore well campaigns. This role partners with operations, projects and HSE teams to design safe, efficient well programs, troubleshoot complex downhole problems, validate vendor proposals, and improve drilling performance and cost efficiency. The ideal candidate brings deep practical experience in well planning, drilling engineering design, directional drilling, well control, and contractor management across conventional, unconventional, and deepwater environments.

Keywords: drilling consultant, well planning, drilling engineering, drilling operations, directional drilling, BHA design, well control, well delivery, cost management, HSE.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Drilling Engineer (field or office)
  • Wellsite Supervisor / Toolpusher
  • Petroleum Engineer with drilling exposure

Advancement To:

  • Senior Drilling Consultant / Technical Authority
  • Drilling Manager / Well Delivery Manager
  • Global Drilling Advisor / Chief Drilling Engineer
  • Asset Manager or VP Drilling & Completions

Lateral Moves:

  • Completions Engineer
  • Drilling Project Manager
  • Reservoir/Production Technical Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead the development of comprehensive well programs, including objectives, casing and cementing designs, BHA selection, mud programs and contingency plans to deliver wells safely, on schedule and within budget.
  • Prepare and review detailed well construction programs and technical specifications for onshore and offshore wells, ensuring regulatory and company standards are met and documented in drilling programme packs.
  • Conduct drilling risk assessments (HAZID / HAZOP / HIRA) and well-specific risk mitigation plans, integrating well control contingencies, kick tolerance calculations and escape/evacuation procedures.
  • Design casing and cementing programs that account for anticipated formation pressures, temperature, corrosion, and zonal isolation requirements; review vendor cementing designs and supervise lab testing where required.
  • Perform hydraulic modelling (removable barite, equivalent circulating density (ECD), surge/swab analysis) and optimize mud systems to control wellbore stability, manage cuttings removal and minimize non-productive time.
  • Design and specify Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA), drill string components and drill bit selection for directional and vertical wells, optimizing for ROP, steerability and hole quality.
  • Provide directional drilling design and supervision, including kickoff, tangent, and curve planning, dogleg severity control, and tools selection for precise wellbore placement in target reservoirs.
  • Execute torque & drag and wellbore mechanical analyses to prevent stuck pipe, differential sticking and to design effective fishing and workover strategies when required.
  • Lead fit-for-purpose contractor selection and tender evaluations for drilling contractors, directional services, mud companies and other drilling vendors; negotiate scopes and technical commercial terms.
  • Serve as the primary technical advisor during rig operations—monitor daily drilling activity, analyze drilling parameters and instrumentation, and provide real-time recommendations to mitigate drilling problems.
  • Oversee well control preparedness: review BOP stacks, pressure control equipment, annular / ram configurations, and verify competency of well control teams and training records.
  • Conduct drilling performance reviews and daily/weekly KPI reporting (ROP, NPT, cost per meter), identify root causes for performance shortfalls and implement continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Review and approve drilling-related procurement specifications (tubulars, BOP components, wellhead equipment) and participate in equipment acceptance testing and pre-spud checks.
  • Lead post-well technical reviews and lessons-learned workshops, delivering technical papers, well reports and recommendations to improve future well designs and reduce repeat incidents.
  • Support well integrity reviews and life-of-field well construction strategies to ensure long-term production and abandonment planning are aligned with drilling designs.
  • Conduct geomechanics and wellbore stability studies in collaboration with geology and reservoir teams to define stable drilling windows, mud weights and casing points.
  • Provide technical oversight and troubleshooting for downhole problems including lost circulation, hole cleaning, wellbore instability, packer/set-shearing incidents and unusual pressure regimes.
  • Mentor and train junior drilling engineers, field personnel and contractor teams on company drilling practices, technical standards, well control procedures and risk-based decision making.
  • Review, validate and improve well delivery cost estimates and schedules; identify cost-saving opportunities through design optimization, vendor consolidation and operational improvements.
  • Ensure strict compliance with HSE policies, regulatory requirements and industry standards throughout well planning and execution; participate in incident investigations and corrective action planning.
  • Coordinate with multi-discipline teams (reservoir, completions, production, HSE) to integrate well objectives into field development plans and ensure operability and intervention readiness.
  • Implement digital tools and data-driven solutions (real-time drilling analytics, MWD/LWD telemetry, automated reporting) to enhance situational awareness and decision-making.
  • Prepare, review and present technical deliverables to stakeholders and clients, including pre-spud reviews, readiness matrices, and regulatory submissions.
  • Provide expert input and due diligence for M&A activities, asset handovers and drilling-fit studies, highlighting risks, deferred liabilities and technical remediation recommendations.

Secondary Functions

  • Support the development of corporate drilling standards, best practice guidelines and competency matrices.
  • Contribute to vendor performance evaluations and continuous improvement programs focused on delivery quality and cost efficiency.
  • Participate in cross-functional projects such as well abandonment strategy teams and lifecycle well integrity initiatives.
  • Facilitate training sessions, simulations and tabletop exercises for emergency response and well control escalation.
  • Support business development activities by providing technical proposals, estimates and specialist input for tenders and client engagements.
  • Maintain and curate a library of well files, technical documentation and lessons-learned databases for knowledge transfer.
  • Provide ad-hoc technical reviews for drilling-related change requests during brownfield activities and late-life production interventions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Well planning and construction design (casing, cementing, mud programs)
  • Directional drilling and BHA design expertise
  • Well control and BOP configuration knowledge (API/ISO standards)
  • Drilling hydraulics, ECD, surge & swab and lost circulation management
  • Torque & drag analysis, drillstring mechanics and stuck pipe mitigation
  • Geomechanics and wellbore stability assessments
  • Drilling performance optimization and KPI analysis (ROP, NPT)
  • Vendor tendering, scope evaluation and contract technical specification
  • Familiarity with industry software: Landmark (WellPlan/OpenWorks), Schlumberger Techlog, StressCheck, WellCat, Pason, Merlin, OFM, Spotfire
  • Competency with real-time data systems, MWD/LWD telemetry and drilling data analytics
  • Proficiency in industry standards and regulations (API, ISO, local jurisdictional standards)
  • Technical report writing, HAZID/HAZOP facilitation and post-well reports
  • Basic scripting/data analysis (Excel advanced, VBA, Python or R) for performance analytics

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and decision-making under operational pressure
  • Clear communicator with experience presenting to technical and executive audiences
  • Proven mentoring and coaching skills for multidisciplinary teams
  • Excellent problem-solving mindset and root-cause analysis capability
  • Collaborative team player with stakeholder management and negotiation skills
  • Adaptable to multicultural and remote offshore/onshore environments
  • Detail-oriented, organized and focused on delivering actionable recommendations
  • High ethical standards with a safety-first attitude and proactive HSE advocacy

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Drilling Engineering or other relevant engineering discipline.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree in Petroleum/Drilling Engineering, Well Engineering, or Geomechanics; or relevant professional certification (IADC WellCAP, IWCF, API).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Geosciences (Geology/Geophysics)
  • Well Engineering / Drilling Technology

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 7–15+ years of drilling engineering and well delivery experience (mix of rigsite and office roles), with demonstrated operational leadership in both onshore and offshore environments.

Preferred:

  • 10+ years with international drilling experience and multi-basin exposure, including deepwater, HPHT or unconventional wells.
  • Proven track record in delivering complex wells, reducing NPT, and implementing technical best practices.
  • Certifications: IWCF/IADC well control, recognized HSE and project management training (e.g., PMP, NEBOSH) are advantageous.
Explore More Careers