Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Upstream Analyst

🎯 Role Definition

An Upstream Analyst in oil & gas (E&P) provides technical and commercial analysis of upstream assets to support field development, production optimization, reserves booking and portfolio decision-making. The role integrates subsurface and surface data, builds production forecasts and economic cases, supports joint venture and regulatory reporting, and partners with asset teams to maximize recovery and value. Strong technical capability in reservoir and production analysis, plus proficiency in data analytics and commercial evaluation, are essential.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Graduate Reservoir Engineer or Production Engineer
Subsurface or Petrophysics Analyst
Data Analyst with oil & gas exposure

Advancement To:

Senior Reservoir/Production Engineer
Asset Manager or Field Development Lead
Upstream Portfolio Manager or Commercial Lead

Lateral Moves:

Production Engineer
Subsurface Data Scientist / Analytics Lead
Petroleum Economics or Reserves Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and maintain robust production forecasts (P90/P50/P10) for fields and individual wells using decline curve analysis, reservoir simulation outputs, and probabilistic methods to support budgeting, business planning and reserves reporting.
Perform reservoir performance analysis by integrating well tests, pressure transient analysis, production logs and formation evaluation data to quantify deliverability and identify opportunities for improved recovery.
Build and run reservoir simulation models and sensitivity cases (history matching and forecasting) using tools such as ECLIPSE, CMG or equivalent to support field development planning (FDP) and optimization.
Prepare technical and commercial evaluations for new wells, recompletions and workovers that include NPV, IRR, payback, and scenario analysis to support investment and AFE decisions.
Lead reserves and resources evaluations in accordance with SPE-PRMS guidelines, prepare reserves submissions and support internal and external reserve audit processes.
Analyze production data (SCADA, DCS) and perform data quality control (QC) to ensure reliable inputs for forecasting, reporting and operational decision-making.
Conduct nodal analysis and well performance optimization to recommend choke settings, artificial lift strategies, and completion upgrades to maximize well productivity and economic recovery.
Evaluate well and field decline trends, identify underperforming wells, and prioritize interventions including stimulation, recompletions and workovers based on technical and economic case.
Support appraisal and exploration evaluations by screening prospects, running volumetric calculations, and developing low/median/high case estimates to feed portfolio decision-making.
Develop and maintain economic models and cash flow forecasts for assets, including sensitivity and risk analysis, commodity price scenarios and fiscal/regulatory impacts.
Prepare and present concise technical reports, asset presentations and investment recommendations for asset teams, senior management and joint venture partners.
Coordinate with geoscience, drilling, production operations and commercial teams to align subsurface interpretation, development plans and operational execution.
Support preparation and review of Annual Financial Elements (AFE), capital expenditure requests and budget submissions, ensuring assumptions are consistent with reservoir and production forecasts.
Perform integrated material balance and reservoir volumetrics to update original oil in place (OOIP) or gas in place (GIIP) and adjust recovery factors based on new data.
Run probabilistic Monte Carlo simulations for reserves and production forecasting to quantify uncertainty and support risk-informed decision-making.
Maintain and enhance upstream technical databases (well logs, production history, PVT data, completion and intervention records) with strong metadata and version control.
Support joint venture (JV) reporting and partner technical review meetings by preparing JV packs, reconciliations and variance analyses.
Contribute to operational surveillance programs (daily/weekly/monthly) to identify performance deviations, operational constraints and recommend remedial actions.
Lead or contribute to field development plan (FDP) and redevelopment concept studies, including well placement, spacing, facilities constraints and phased development strategies.
Conduct sensitivity and scenario analyses for various recovery schemes (waterflood, gas injection, EOR pilots), estimating incremental recovery and cost-benefit trade-offs.
Implement and validate production uplift initiatives (enhanced completions, artificial lift changes, flowline modifications), tracking KPI improvements and documenting lessons learned.
Ensure technical work and reporting comply with relevant regulatory requirements and internal governance, including HSE considerations within development and abandonment planning.
Mentor junior engineers/analysts, review technical deliverables, and promote best practices in modelling, data management and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Use scripting and automation (Python, MATLAB, Excel VBA) to streamline repetitive workflows, improve model reproducibility and accelerate analytical throughput.
Prepare inputs and responses for regulatory filings, statistical government reports and unitization or allocation reconciliations when required.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Assist with vendor evaluations, software procurement and the selection of subsurface tools and analytics platforms.
Support cross-functional pilots for digitalization (real-time dashboards, machine learning models) to improve forecasting and decision support.
Provide technical input to HSE risk assessments related to well operations and field interventions.
Help document standard operating procedures (SOPs) and modeling protocols for reservoir and production analyses.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Reservoir engineering and production forecasting (decline curve analysis, volumetrics, material balance).
Proficient with reservoir simulation and modelling tools (ECLIPSE, CMG, Nexus or equivalent).
Well test and pressure transient analysis; familiarity with MBAL or similar tools.
Nodal analysis and well performance modelling (e.g., Prosper, OFM).
Advanced Excel modelling, including VBA for automation and template development.
Programming and data analysis: Python (pandas, numpy), R, MATLAB for scripting, analysis and automation.
SQL and experience querying production and well databases; familiarity with data warehousing best practices.
Data visualization and dashboarding (Power BI, Tableau, Spotfire) to present technical and commercial outputs.
Economic evaluation and fiscal modelling (NPV, IRR, sensitivity analysis, price decks).
Familiarity with SPE-PRMS reserves classification, reserves booking and regulatory reporting processes.
Experience handling SCADA/DCS datasets and time-series production analysis.
Experience with petrophysical interpretation and integration of log-derived properties (porosity, saturation).
Competence with uncertainty analysis and Monte Carlo simulation tools (Crystal Ball, @Risk or Python libraries).
Knowledge of drilling/completion methods, artificial lift systems and surface facility constraints as they affect production.
Version control and reproducibility practices for models and datasets (Git, document versioning).

Soft Skills

Strong written and verbal communication for technical reporting and stakeholder presentations.
Effective stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration with geoscience, operations and commercial teams.
Analytical problem-solving with attention to detail and ability to prioritize high-impact work.
Commercial awareness and the ability to translate technical outputs into business implications.
Time management and ability to deliver under tight deadlines in a dynamic upstream environment.
Mentoring and coaching skills to develop junior staff and elevate team capability.
Adaptability and continuous learning mindset to adopt new tools, methods and digital workflows.
Clear, persuasive presentation skills for executive briefings and JV partner engagement.
Ethical judgement and compliance focus when handling sensitive JV or regulatory information.
Proactive curiosity and bias for delivering actionable, concise recommendations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering, Reservoir Engineering, Geoscience, Chemical Engineering or a closely related technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree or PhD in Reservoir Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Petrophysics, Geoscience, Applied Mathematics, Data Science or similar that strengthens modelling and data analytics capability.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Petroleum / Reservoir Engineering
Geosciences (Geology, Geophysics)
Applied Mathematics / Statistics
Chemical Engineering
Data Science / Computer Science (with domain experience)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–7 years of progressive upstream/reservoir engineering or production analysis experience, depending on role level.

Preferred: 4+ years of hands-on experience in reservoir modelling, production forecasting and economic evaluation in oil & gas; prior exposure to JV reporting, regulatory submissions and field development planning is highly desirable.