About this role
Job Title
Senior Petroleum Engineer
Work Schedule
Sunday - Thursday
Department
Production
Work Location
HKN Hamrin Block, Salahaldin, Republic of Iraq – any of HKN's site
Reports to
Reservoir and Production Technology Manager
Start Date
To be confirmed
Subordinates
N/A
Application Deadline
09/08/2026
Contract Type
Fixed Term
Other details
Three months' probation
About Us:
HKN Hamrin Ltd. is a privately held, independent oil and gas company operating in the Republic of Iraq. The Hamrin Block is comprised of 535 km2 and contains one producing field. The Hamrin field produces oil primarily from the Tertiary (Miocene) reservoirs — the Jeribe and Euphrates formations — with the Dhiban formation as a secondary reservoir.
At HKN, our strength lies in our highly experienced, diverse team, whose professionals bring insights from working across 80+ countries. We are committed to building a culture deeply rooted in our Core Values, which include Integrity, Respect, Commitment, Excellence, and Teamwork.
Position Summary
The Senior Petroleum Engineer will play a leading role in the Hamrin Field Development, covering production engineering, production allocation, well performance management, and field development support across the field's multiple structures. The role combines hands-on production optimization with responsibility for establishing and maintaining a robust, auditable production allocation system across wells, gathering systems, and processing facilities.
The position requires a seasoned engineer with strong petroleum engineering fundamentals, demonstrable experience in both production operations and hydrocarbon allocation/measurement, and the ability to work effectively with operations teams, partners, regulators, and management in a challenging brownfield redevelopment environment. Prior experience in Iraq and with major international oil companies (IOCs) is strongly preferred.
Main Duties & Responsibilities
Production Engineering & Optimization
• Monitor and optimize well and field production performance (rates, drawdown, BHP, WHP, GOR, water cut).
• Conduct well performance analysis (IPR, VLP, nodal analysis) and identify production losses and optimization opportunities.
• Design and interpret well tests; support production forecasting and target setting for the Hamrin development.
• Support artificial lift selection, design review, and surveillance across the development phases.
• Analyze operational constraints (high GOR, water production, sand, scale, H₂S/sour service considerations) and recommend mitigations.
• Support reservoir surveillance across the field's domes/structures, including pressure trends, depletion tracking, and water/gas breakthrough monitoring.
• Build and maintain well and network models (e.g., PROSPER/GAP or equivalent) calibrated against actual field data.
Production Allocation & Hydrocarbon Accounting
• Design, implement, and maintain the field production allocation system covering well, reservoir, dome/structure, and facility levels.
• Define allocation methodology and hierarchy (theoretical rates, well tests, meter factors, shrinkage, fuel and flare, losses) consistent with contractual and regulatory requirements.
• Reconcile allocated volumes against fiscal/custody transfer measurement and investigate imbalances and misallocations.
• Establish well test validation criteria, test frequency requirements, and data quality controls underpinning allocation.
• Coordinate with measurement, operations, and finance teams on daily/monthly production reporting, partner reporting, and government submissions.
• Support meter proving/calibration programs and review measurement uncertainty in the allocation chain.
• Maintain auditable records and support internal, partner, and regulatory audits of allocated production.
Field Development Support
• Contribute to the Hamrin field development plan, including well count, phasing, and production profile development across structures.
• Provide production engineering input to well and completion design, workover candidate selection, and reactivation programs.
• Support integration of new wells and facilities into the allocation and reporting framework.
• Participate in development planning reviews, risk assessments, MOC processes, and operational readiness reviews.
Interfaces & Leadership
• Act as focal point between subsurface, operations, facilities, and commercial teams on production and allocation matters.
• Coach and develop junior engineers and national staff in production engineering and allocation practices.
• Represent the company in technical discussions with partners, contractors, and government/regulatory bodies as required.
• Champion safe operations and ensure engineering recommendations align with HSE requirements.
Minimum Qualifications
Required:
• MSc in Petroleum Engineering or related discipline (required).
• Minimum 15 years of petroleum engineering experience, including senior-level roles.
• Demonstrable experience in both production engineering/operations and production allocation or hydrocarbon accounting.
• Strong grounding in well performance analysis, well testing, and production surveillance.
• Proven ability to devise practical, out-of-the-box engineering solutions where data, tools, or established workflows are limited.
• Experience with production allocation systems, fiscal measurement principles, and production reporting workflows.
• Proficiency with industry-standard modelling tools (e.g., PROSPER, GAP, or equivalent).
• Fluent written and spoken English; strong reporting and presentation skills.
• Self-starter capable of working with limited data in a developing operational environment.
• Rigorous and detail-oriented, particularly regarding measurement, reporting, and audit integrity.
• Strong interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity for multinational and national team environments.
• Pragmatic problem-solver comfortable balancing technical rigor with operational reality.
Preferred:
• Prior working experience in Iraq, ideally on brownfield redevelopment or rehabilitation projects.
• Experience with major IOCs, with exposure to their production management, allocation, and reporting standards.
• Familiarity with multi-structure/multi-reservoir allocation (e.g., commingled, or multi-dome fields).
• Experience in sour service environments (H₂S/CO₂) and associated operational constraints.
• Arabic language skills Advantage.