Nexen Petroleum U.S.A. Inc. is an oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the most attractive hydrocarbon basins in the world. We have a management team noted for its technical expertise, an incomparable asset suite and the financial support of Nexen Inc., one of Canada's largest international oil and gas exploration and production companies.

Position Overview:
The Senior Drilling Engineer is expected to participate in all aspects of Nexen's Well Delivery Process: Design, Plan, Execute and Review. This Houston-based position will focus on Nexen operated deepwater exploration wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Some support for non-operated and shallow water (shelf) wells will be required occasionally.

Job Duties/Responsibilities:
Work with geo-scientists and reservoir engineers to develop detailed objectives for all new drilling projects.
Develop drilling cost estimates ranging from simple scoping estimates to probabilistic cost estimates.
Review offset wells and identify risks and hazards, as well as best practices.
Develop detailed well designs and perform casing stress calculations.
Evaluate and recommend equipment and procedures of contractors and vendors.
Work with third-party (vendor) experts to develop well designs and plans. Evaluate third-party design analysis for thoroughness and accuracy.
Present drilling designs and plans to peer review committees.
Write comprehensive drilling programs and contingency procedures.
Participate in DWOP and pre-spud meetings.
Provide technical support to field operations. Monitor drilling operations according to safety and quality control standards, environmental regulations, corporate policy and contract terms. Visit the drilling rig during critical operations.
Lead after-action reviews to identify best practices and lessons learned, and document these in a lessons learned database. Prepare an End of Well report.
Gather and organize information such as equipment specifications, government regulations, operating agreements, permit approvals, technical publications, guidelines and reports.
Participate in peer reviews of drilling projects from other divisions within Nexen, as required.