- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Education Post-secondary degree
Career profile
Subsea engineers are specialists within the petroleum engineering field and are responsible for evaluating oil and natural gas reservoirs and determining the most efficient ways to access as much of these resources as possible.
Some subsea engineers may have additional specialization including drilling, production or reservoir analysis due to marine production facilities generally being located far from land and additional support and expertise on site.
Offshore, Exploration and production, Oil and gas services
In this occupation, activities may include:
- Coordinating data gathering, design-drafting and associated supporting information for drawings.
- Monitoring and forecasting oil and gas reservoir performance and recommending oil recovery techniques which extend the economic life of wells
- Designing and selecting artificial lift machinery, and well and surface production equipment and systems
- Designing, developing and co-ordinating the installation, maintenance and operation of subsea well-head and production equipment
- Developing specifications for and monitoring and supervising well modification and stimulation programs
- Analyzing reservoir rock and fluid data to design optimum recovery methods and to predict reservoir performance and reserves
- Monitoring and forecasting oil and gas reservoir performance and recommending oil recovery techniques which extend the economic life of wells
- Supervising technicians, technologists and other engineers
Education
- A bachelor’s degree in mechanical or civil engineering or in a related engineering discipline is required.
Licensing
- Licensing by a provincial or territorial association of professional engineers is required to approve engineering drawings and reports and to practise as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.).
- Engineers are eligible for registration following graduation from an accredited educational program, and after three or four years of supervised work experience in engineering and passing a professional practice examination.
Additional Requirements
- Depending on the company and responsibilities, typical requirements may include:
- Experience with engineering software applications such as SFRAME, STAAD, RISA
- Extensive knowledge of all relevant codes and standards
- Specific health and safety certifications may be required, determined by location of work and company requirements. Marine work in general includes:
- Basic Survival Training
- Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET)
- Helicopter Underwater Emergency Breathing Apparatus (HUEBA)
- Marine Emergency Duties (MED)
- Offshore Medical
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
- First Aid/CPR
- H2S Alive
- Minimal or no travel
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Work not physically demanding
- Work away from home/in camps
- Application of Engineering Design and Technology
- Security of People and Property
- Laws and Regulations
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Physics
- Production and Processing
- Preventative Maintenance
- Equipment Selection
- Managing Finances
- Quality Control Analysis
- Systems Evaluation and Analysis
- Complex Problem Solving
- Professional Judgment and Decision Making
- Troubleshooting
- Attention to Detail
