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Category
Drilling & Well Engineering
Work Pattern
Onshore / Offshore rotational for campaign execution
Reports To
Well Services Manager / Intervention Lead
Position Overview
The Well Intervention Engineer plans and engineers well intervention operations to maintain, restore, or enhance production from oil and gas wells. This includes wireline, coiled tubing, slickline, and hydraulic workover operations. As the industry shifts toward maximising recovery from existing wells, intervention engineering has become a growth area with demand outstripping supply.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and plan well intervention programmes including slickline, e-line, coiled tubing, and hydraulic workover operations.
- Prepare intervention procedures, risk assessments, and barrier plans for well access operations.
- Specify equipment requirements and coordinate service company mobilisation for intervention campaigns.
- Calculate well intervention hydraulics, forces, and stresses for downhole tool deployment.
- Manage well control during intervention operations, ensuring barrier compliance per NORSOK D-010 or API 96.
- Provide on-site supervision during well intervention operations or real-time support from onshore.
- Evaluate post-intervention results and prepare technical reports.
- Develop intervention candidate selection criteria in coordination with production and reservoir teams.
- Support procurement of intervention equipment and services through technical bid evaluation.
- Identify and qualify new intervention technologies (e.g., through-tubing rotary drilling, tractor technology).
Qualifications
Required
- Education: Bachelor's degree in Petroleum, Mechanical, or Well Engineering.
- Certifications: IWCF Level 3 or 4; BOSIET/FOET with CA-EBS; Offshore Medical; IWCF Well Intervention Pressure Control (preferred).
- Experience: 5–10 years in well intervention engineering with operational execution experience.
- Technical Skills: Proficiency in intervention program design; understanding of well control principles for intervention; knowledge of wireline, coiled tubing, and slickline operations and equipment.
Preferred
- Experience with subsea well intervention (via riser or riserless).
- Familiarity with intelligent completion systems and ICD/ICV manipulation.
- Coiled tubing force analysis and simulation capability.
- Experience with multi-well intervention campaigns and batch operations.
Market Intelligence
$750–$1,150/day
Shortage Level: High
Key Skills Gap: Engineers who combine intervention program design with the well control competency to safely execute operations are in demand; subsea intervention capability is particularly scarce.
Regions in Highest Demand: North Sea, Middle East, West Africa, Southeast Asia
Demand Drivers: Ageing well stock requiring increasing maintenance and workover; production optimisation focus shifting from drilling new wells to enhancing existing ones; subsea intervention vessel fleet expansion.