Senior Reservoir Engineer

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 Reservoir Engineer will play a leading role in the Hamrin Field Development, providing the reservoir engineering foundation for field development planning across the field’s multiple structures. The role spans reservoir characterization and dynamic modelling, pressure transient analysis, fluid and rock property studies (PVT and SCAL), reserves and production forecasting, and the definition of depletion and development strategies for both undeveloped (greenfield) and previously produced (brownfield) reservoirs.

The position requires a seasoned engineer with strong reservoir engineering fundamentals, hands-on reservoir simulation capability, and the judgment to build fit-for-purpose subsurface descriptions from sparse, legacy, or uncertain data. Prior experience in Iraq and with major international oil companies (IOCs) is strongly preferred.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Reservoir Characterization & Simulation

• Build, calibrate, and maintain dynamic reservoir simulation models for the Hamrin structures, from material balance and analytical models to full-field numerical simulation.
• History-match models against legacy and current production, pressure, and injection data, and quantify remaining uncertainty.
• Work with geoscientists to translate static models into robust dynamic descriptions, including upscaling, fluid contacts, compartmentalization, and aquifer definition.
• Screen and evaluate recovery mechanisms (primary depletion, water injection, gas injection, other IOR/EOR options) and their applicability by reservoir.
• Design and run prediction cases to underpin development concepts, well counts, phasing, and reserves bookings.

Reservoir Surveillance & Well Test Analysis

• Plan, design, and interpret pressure transient analyses (build-up, drawdown, interference) to characterize permeability, skin, boundaries, and connectivity.
• Define surveillance programs (static and flowing pressures, PLT/ILT, saturation logging, tracer studies) appropriate to each development phase.
• Integrate well test, production, and surveillance data into a coherent, continuously updated reservoir description.
• Track reservoir pressure, depletion, and displacement performance against forecasts and recommend corrective actions.

Fluids & Rock Properties (PVT / SCAL)

• Design fluid sampling programs and PVT laboratory studies; validate, QC, and tune equation-of-state and black-oil fluid models.
• Define SCAL programs (relative permeability, capillary pressure, wettability) and integrate results into simulation models.
• Reconcile legacy fluid and core data of varying vintage and quality into consistent property sets for modelling.
• Assess fluid variations across structures and their implications for development, processing, and allocation.

Field Development Planning

• Lead reservoir engineering input to the Hamrin field development plan, including depletion strategy, well targets, well count, and development phasing across structures.
• Develop production forecasts and reserves/resource estimates under recognized classification frameworks (e.g., PRMS), including uncertainty ranges.
• Address both greenfield elements (undeveloped reservoirs and structures) and brownfield elements (redevelopment of previously produced reservoirs, legacy wells, and infill opportunities).
• Provide well and completion target justification, expected rates, and reservoir constraints to drilling and completions teams.
• Contribute to economic screening of development options with commercial teams, including sensitivity and risk analysis.
• Participate in development planning reviews, peer assists, risk assessments, and decision gate documentation.

Interfaces & Leadership

• Act as focal point between geoscience, production engineering, drilling, facilities, and commercial teams on reservoir matters.
• Coach and develop junior engineers and national staff in reservoir engineering methods and workflows.
• 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 reservoir engineering experience, including senior-level roles.
• Hands-on proficiency in reservoir simulation (e.g., Eclipse, CMG, navigator, Petrel RE, or equivalent), including history matching and prediction.
• Strong track record in pressure transient analysis and well test design and interpretation (e.g., Saphir/Kappa or equivalent).
• Demonstrable experience designing and applying PVT and SCAL programs and integrating results into dynamic models.
• Experience delivering field development plans for both greenfield and brownfield assets.
• Proven ability to devise practical, out-of-the-box engineering solutions where data, tools, or established workflows are limited.
• Working knowledge of reserves classification and reporting (e.g., PRMS/SEC).
• 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, with sound judgment on model complexity versus decision needs.
• 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 subsurface workflows, peer review, and assurance standards.
• Experience with multi-structure/multi-reservoir fields and commingled development schemes.
• Familiarity with fractured and/or sour (HS/CO) carbonate reservoirs.
• Experience working with legacy datasets of mixed vintage and quality, including non-digital records.
• Arabic language skills Advantage.