Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Upstream Specialist

🎯 Role Definition

The Upstream Specialist is a technically focused, cross-functional professional responsible for planning, optimizing and delivering upstream hydrocarbon activities across exploration, drilling, completions, and production operations. This role blends subsurface and surface engineering judgment with data analysis, project execution and stakeholder management to maximize reservoir recovery, ensure safe operations, control cost and comply with regulatory and HSE requirements. The Upstream Specialist works closely with reservoir engineers, geoscientists, drilling and completions teams, operations, and commercial leads to translate subsurface models into executable field programs.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Reservoir Engineer or Assistant Reservoir Engineer
Production Engineer or Facilities Engineer
Petrophysicist / Geoscience Analyst

Advancement To:

Senior Upstream Specialist / Senior Reservoir Engineer
Field Development Manager / Asset Manager
Subsurface Team Lead or Head of Upstream Operations

Lateral Moves:

Development Geoscientist
Drilling & Completions Engineer
Production Optimization Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead reservoir and well performance evaluations by integrating seismic interpretations, petrophysical logs, well test data and production history to develop defensible reserves estimates, material balance studies, and field development scenarios that support investment decisions and production forecasting.
Design, review and optimize well programs (drilling, completions and workover) by specifying well trajectories, casing/liner design, stimulation strategy, artificial lift selection and well compulsion methodologies to meet reservoir targets and minimize non-productive time.
Develop and maintain dynamic reservoir models and static earth models using industry tools (e.g., Petrel, Eclipse, CMG, INTERSECT) to run sensitivity studies, predict production profiles and recommend recovery-enhancement interventions tied to economic case analysis.
Execute production optimization initiatives including nodal analysis, choke management, well testing interpretation, ESP/rod pump campaigns and surface facility adjustments to maximize recoverable volumes and improve uptime and flow assurance.
Prepare and present technically robust field development plans (FDPs), concept select studies, well tie-in plans and phased execution schedules to multidisciplinary review boards and senior stakeholders, including sensitivity and risk analysis.
Manage field surveillance and performance monitoring by interpreting SCADA, RTU, downhole sensor and well test data to provide timely recommendations for well interventions, artificial lift changes and production reallocation across the asset.
Lead or participate in drilling and completions engineering reviews and HAZOPs, ensuring well control, integrity and environmental protection requirements are met while optimizing for cost and schedule.
Coordinate and negotiate with service providers and contractors on technical scope, equipment selection, HSE requirements and commercial terms for drilling, completions, workover and testing campaigns.
Define and implement well testing programs and production allocation strategies, supervise test execution, ensure data quality, perform DST and pressure transient analysis to refine reservoir understanding and support reserves booking.
Conduct economics and commercial evaluations for development options including NPV, IRR, breakeven and sensitivity to oil/gas price, CAPEX/OPEX, fiscal terms and abandonment liabilities to guide investment and sanction recommendations.
Establish and maintain technical governance for subsurface data workflows, data quality standards and data repositories; ensure subsurface models are version-controlled, well-documented and aligned with corporate data management policies.
Support exploration-to-development handover by integrating exploration results, upside mapping and prospect maturation studies into the field development planning process.
Provide technical oversight for well integrity programs including corrosion monitoring, tubing/casing assessment, pressure testing regimes and remediation plans to mitigate integrity risks and extend well life.
Lead technical due diligence for asset acquisitions, farm-ins and divestments by assessing subsurface risk, reserve volumes, production potential and remediation costs, preparing technical reports for investment committees.
Mentor and train junior engineers and technicians on subsurface workflows, reservoir engineering fundamentals, production optimization techniques and best practices for safe operations.
Drive cross-disciplinary root-cause investigations and lessons-learned reviews for production shortfalls, well failures or unexpected reservoir behavior, producing actionable remediation plans and updated risk registers.
Coordinate with HSE, permitting and regulatory teams to prepare environmental impact assessments, well permits, safety cases and community engagement plans required for upstream operations.
Implement and maintain performance KPIs for reservoirs and wells (e.g., uptime, decline rates, recovery factor, realized production vs forecast), providing regular reporting to asset leadership and commercial teams.
Use statistical and machine learning techniques or partner with data science teams to identify production anomalies, optimize equipment schedules and accelerate predictive maintenance workflows for upstream assets.
Apply enhanced oil recovery (EOR) screening and design methodologies (e.g., waterflood, polymer, gas injection) including pilot design, material balance forecasting and monitoring strategies to improve long-term recovery.
Supervise and prioritize well intervention, workover and recompletion campaigns in alignment with asset risk/reward profiles, operational windows and budget constraints to maximize net present value.
Ensure accurate reserves and resources classification and reporting in accordance with SPE/WPC/PRMS guidelines; prepare technical reserve reports for regulatory filings and investor disclosures.
Maintain strong commercial awareness by collaborating with commercial, supply chain and finance teams to optimize field operating cost, procurement strategies and contract performance for upstream projects.
Participate in emergency response and incident command for upstream operational incidents, providing technical guidance for containment, mitigation and post-incident analysis.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis that improve reservoir surveillance and operational decision-making.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap, advocating for subsurface data capture standards and analytics pipelines.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements for dashboards, AI models and real-time monitoring systems.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Assist in preparing proposals, bids and tender evaluations by providing technical inputs, scope definitions and high-level cost estimates for upstream campaigns.
Support local community engagement and stakeholder communication on project timelines, environmental safeguards and economic benefits as required by the asset's social performance plan.
Undertake periodic field visits and rigsite supervision to validate data collection, review operational performance and ensure alignment between engineering models and actual well conditions.
Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by documenting best practices, standard operating procedures and lessons learned from field campaigns.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Reservoir engineering and simulation: strong experience building and calibrating dynamic reservoir models (Eclipse, CMG, tNavigator) and performing history matching and forecasting.
Well engineering and completions design: proficiency in directional drilling planning, casing/tubing design, stimulation design and downhole completion selection.
Production systems and nodal analysis: expertise in well testing, surface facility bottleneck analysis, artificial lift sizing (ESP, gas lift, rod pumps) and flow assurance.
Petrophysics and subsurface data interpretation: ability to interpret logs, cores, PVT data and integrate with seismic and geological models (Petrel, Kingdom).
Data analytics and visualization: working knowledge of SQL, Python/R for data manipulation, and visualization tools (Tableau, Power BI, Spotfire) to support surveillance and optimization.
Well test and pressure transient analysis: practical experience with interpretation tools (PanSystem, OFM) and transient analysis techniques to estimate reservoir properties.
Reservoir surveillance and decline curve analysis: ability to run DCA, material balance, and analytical forecasting for reserves and production planning.
Economic evaluation and project sanctioning: strong skills in NPV/IRR modeling, sensitivity analysis and scenario planning under different fiscal regimes.
HSE and regulatory compliance: familiarity with international HSE standards, well integrity practices, environmental permitting and regulatory reporting in upstream operations.
Contract and vendor management: experience preparing technical scopes, evaluating bids and managing service delivery for drilling, completions and well services.
Geographic information systems and mapping: practical use of GIS or subsurface mapping tools for well placement, infrastructure routing and spatial analysis.
Familiarity with cloud platforms and digital twin concepts for upstream (advantageous): exposure to cloud-hosted reservoir models, real-time streaming data and ML model deployment.

Soft Skills

Strong communication and stakeholder management: able to present complex subsurface concepts clearly to non-technical leadership, commercial teams and regulators.
Problem-solving and critical thinking: structured approach to diagnose production or reservoir issues and to recommend technically and commercially viable solutions.
Collaboration and team leadership: experience working in multidisciplinary teams, leading technical reviews and mentoring junior staff.
Project management and prioritization: ability to manage multiple upstream projects, prioritize activities by value and risk, and deliver to timelines and budgets.
Adaptability and resilience: comfortable operating in field environments, with changing schedules and emerging technical challenges.
Decision-making under uncertainty: competent at making risk-informed recommendations when data is limited and balancing short-term operations with long-term value.
Negotiation and influence: able to negotiate technical scope and commercial terms with vendors and internal stakeholders to achieve optimal outcomes.
Attention to detail and documentation discipline: meticulous in maintaining data integrity, version control and audit-ready technical reports.
Cultural awareness and stakeholder diplomacy: experience engaging with local communities, governments and international partners across different jurisdictions.
Continuous learning mindset: committed to staying current with new upstream technologies, EOR techniques and digital analytics improvements.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering, Geoscience (Geology/Geophysics), Mechanical/Chemical Engineering or closely related technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Petroleum Engineering, Reservoir Engineering, Geoscience, or MBA with a technical undergraduate degree.
Professional certifications (e.g., SPE certification, Registered Professional Engineer) are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Petroleum Engineering
Reservoir Engineering
Geology / Geophysics
Mechanical or Chemical Engineering
Data Science / Applied Mathematics (for digitally oriented roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5 – 12+ years of upstream oil & gas experience for mid to senior-level Upstream Specialists. For senior or lead roles, 10+ years with demonstrated project delivery and commercial impact is common.

Preferred:

Proven track record delivering field development plans, drilling/completions programs, production optimization projects and reservoir modeling.
Experience across onshore and offshore environments, multiple basins and with both conventional and unconventional reservoirs.
Prior exposure to vendor management, contract negotiation, and interfacing with regulators and stake-holders in the upstream value chain.