Senior Cost Engineer (Well Engineering)

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Cost Engineer (Well Engineering)

Location: Lagos

Job Responsibilities

• The Senior Cost Engineer (Well Engineering) will provide meaningful expert cost engineering support across clients onshore and offshore exploration, appraisal and production assets, with a primary Focus on well engineering projects.
• This job holder will partner closely with Finance and the Technical
• The job holder will be responsible for establishing and maintaining robust cost control, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting frameworks across the project portfolio, ensuring accurate and timely financial information is available to project stakeholders, joint venture partners, and the board.

Cost Control and Reporting:

• Maintain accurate cost allocation across different ventures and assets, including JV cost-sharing structures, based on technicalinputs and agreed commercial terms.
• Develop and maintain project-specific Cost Control Procedures and tools within the company's project management framework.
• Compile, verify, and report monthly budget, commitment, Value of Work Done (VOWD), and Anticipated Final Cost (AFC) figures, including variance analysis and management narrative teams to drive cost discipline, improve performance visibility, and support the company's commercial objectives.
• Monitor and challenge contractor progress and VOWD reports using deliverable registers, CTRs, progress reports, and other available information.
• Work with asset leads to establish, standardise, and maintain project cost control frameworks for both onshore and offshore drilling programmes, aligned with company Project Management Systems.

Budgeting and Forecasting:

• Coordinate approvals through required governance channels.
• Develop and maintain project-specific funding and budgeting information, including shareholder-level breakdowns, and
• Develop owner's cost analysis and projections to ensure completeness of cost management and to support management reporting.
• Prepare detailed cost estimates, AFEs (Authorities for Expenditure, and budget submissions for drilling campaigns and associated capital projects.
• Prepare cost forecasts in support of funding requests, counter estimates, change order evaluations, and trend analysis.

JV and Commercial Coordination:

• Provide all necessary project financial information to Finance and shareholder representatives in a timely and accurate manner, including cash calls and funding updates.
• Liaise with JV partner cost representatives to align on cost reporting, cash calls, funding updates, and audit requirements.
• Coordinate with Finance, Supply Chain Management, Commercial, and Legal teams on the drafting and completion of Cost Sharing Agreements and relevant JV cost recharge frameworks.

Contractor and Compliance Management:

• Work with the contract holder to ensure contractor monitoring and reporting processes comply with company policies and procedures, enabling accurate cost tracking and forecasting.
• Support the audit and assurance process for project costs, including JV audits and internal controls reviews
• Review, verify, and challenge contractor invoices, change orders, and claims in coordination with the Technical teams and Commercial function.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Work with the accountant to present cost performance reporting to project stakeholders, senior management, and JV partners in a clear and structured manner.]
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of cost engineering processes, tools, and reporting standards across the business/
• Provide ad hoc cost analysis and decision support to the Technical and Finance teams as required.

Job Requirements

• Professional Well Engineering Certification – IWCF or Rd 1 & Rd equivalents are a must
• Additional finance or project management qualifications (e.g. PMI, PRINCE2) are an advantage.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Accounting, or Quantity Surveying, or a related technical or commercial discipline.
• AACE International (CCP, CEP, or equivalent), RICS, or APM.
• Professional certification in cost engineering strongly preferred
• A postgraduate degree is an advantage.

Experience:

• Experience with industry cost preparation and monitoring software.
• Familiarity with Nigerian upstream regulatory and commercial
• Strong analytical and numerical skills with high attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy.
• Proven track record of managing cost control and reporting on well programmes, including AFE preparation, VOWD tracking, and AFC management.
• 8 to 12 years of practical Well Engineering Experience involving well planning, budgeting, cost and AFE preparation in an operating environment.
• Direct experience working within joint venture structures, including JV (and PSC) cost reporting, cost sharing, cash calls, and partner audits.
• Experience working with international oil companies (IOCs), Independents, or NOC-driven environments, are an advantage.
• Cost engineering experience in the oil and gas sector, with demonstrable exposure to both onshore and offshore drilling environments.
• Frameworks are desirable but not essential.

Knowledge, Skills & Competencies:

• Demonstrated commitment to health, safety and environmental standards in all aspects of engineering work.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage credibly with technical, commercial, and finance audiences.
• Familiarity with simulation history matching, and uncertaint quantification to improve model accuracy.
• Solid understanding of drilling operations and well construction cost drivers and associated services contracts.
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams concurrently and deliver too tight reporting deadlines.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to present complex technical data to non-technical stakeholders
• Knowledge of production logging, nodal analysis, and other techniques to analyze well performance and suggest improvements.
• Project management and planning skills.
• Proficiency in cost management tools and systems—specific platforms to be confirmed; experience with industry-standard cost systems (e.g. SUN, Oracle, Prism, EcoSys, or similar) expected.
• Sound judgement and the ability to identify, escalate, and Resolve cost issues in a timely manner.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel; experience with Power BI or equivalent reporting tools are an advantage.
• Strong technical knowledge of upstream project cost control methodologies, including earned value management, trend analysis, and contingency management.
• Expertise in identifying and applying strategies to optimize production, including well performance evaluation, completion design, artificial lift systems, and production forecasting

Personal Attributes:

• Collaborative team player who builds strong working relationships across disciplines.
• High integrity with a commitment to accurate and transparent reporting.
• Effective Communicator
• Detail-oriented with a structured and methodical approach to problem-solving.
• Adaptability
• Team-Oriented
• Attention to Detail
• Proactive and self-motivated; takes initiative without requiring close supervision.
• Problem-Solving Mindset
• Strong Leadership Skills.
• Resilient and adaptable in a dynamic, fast-paced upstream environment.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities