Senior Drilling Engineer (Onshore Planning) – Nairobi, Kenya at WTS Energy

Job Description


We are seeking to hire a Senior Drilling Engineer (Onshore Planning) who will be responsible for leading the design, planning, and optimization of onshore drilling campaigns. The role will ensure safe, efficient, and cost-effective well construction while meeting technical, operational, regulatory, and schedule objectives. The ideal candidate must have extensive upstream oil & gas experience in drilling engineering, well construction planning, and onshore well delivery environments.


Key Responsibilities:


Develop basis of design and detailed well engineering programs, including casing design, cementing programs, drilling fluids requirements, BHA design, drill string design, and directional drilling plans.
Prepare drilling work programs, execution work packs, and tender documentation, including drilling schedules, critical path analysis, and resource planning.
Conduct drilling risk assessments, including HAZID, HAZOP, well control evaluations, and drilling hazard identification, ensuring mitigation measures are incorporated into well designs.
Develop well cost estimates, AFE budgets, and schedule baselines to support project planning, tender evaluation, and contractor selection.
Coordinate with subsurface, production, completions, HSE, logistics, procurement, and land access teams to ensure alignment of well objectives and operational constraints.
Specify, evaluate, and verify drilling equipment, services, and materials, ensuring contractor systems, performance, and compliance meet operational requirements.
Ensure compliance with HSSEQ standards, regulatory requirements, and well control procedures throughout the well construction lifecycle.
Provide technical support during drilling execution, including troubleshooting drilling challenges such as stuck pipe, lost circulation, well control events, and directional drilling issues.
Participate in post-well reviews, lessons learned sessions, and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance future well delivery performance.
Maintain accurate well construction records, including as-built documentation, well files, drilling reports, and performance tracking data.
Perform any other duties as assigned in support of drilling and well construction operations.


Required Qualifications:


Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
Minimum of ten (10) years' experience in upstream oil & gas drilling engineering, with strong exposure to onshore drilling operations and well construction planning.
Proven experience delivering onshore wells from planning through execution in upstream drilling environments.
Strong knowledge of drilling engineering principles, including well design, casing and cementing programs, drilling hydraulics, torque and drag, hole cleaning, well control, directional drilling, and BHA design.
Experience using well planning and drilling simulation software such as Landmark suite (Drillbench, WellPlan, Compass, WellCat), Schlumberger tools, OpenWells, and related platforms.
Strong understanding of drilling contracts, rig operations, logistics, permitting, and onshore operational constraints including land access requirements.
Experience in cost estimation, AFE preparation, scheduling, and drilling performance tracking.
Strong understanding of HSSEQ systems, risk management frameworks, and well control standards.
Professional certification such as IWCF Well Control Certification will be an added advantage.
Excellent analytical, problem-solving, communication, stakeholder engagement, and leadership skills.