Senior Production Technologist – Nairobi, Kenya at WTS Energy

Job Description

• We are seeking to hire a Senior Production Technologist who will provide technical leadership in production engineering and well performance optimization to maximize hydrocarbon recovery, improve asset uptime, and support safe and cost-effective field operations. The role will lead production surveillance, artificial lift optimization, well performance diagnostics, and production enhancement initiatives. The ideal candidate must have extensive upstream oil & gas experience in production engineering, artificial lift systems, and well performance optimization. Nairobi based role with regular field visits.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead production surveillance and well performance monitoring programs, analyzing production data to identify underperforming wells and recommending corrective and optimization actions.
• Perform nodal analysis, inflow/outflow modeling, well deliverability studies, and decline curve analysis to support production forecasting and field development decisions.
• Design, select, and optimize artificial lift systems including ESP, PCP, gas lift, and rod pump systems, ensuring optimal well performance and reliability.
• Diagnose well performance issues such as scale, sand production, wax deposition, corrosion, and increasing water cut, and define appropriate remediation and intervention strategies.
• Develop and manage production testing programs including PLT/IFT execution, interpretation, and integration with reservoir and production models.
• Provide technical input into well intervention planning, completion reviews, and workover proposals, including risk assessments and execution planning.
• Collaborate with production operations and facilities teams to optimize choke settings, surface constraints, and overall production system efficiency.
• Lead root-cause failure analysis for downhole and surface equipment failures and drive corrective actions and reliability improvement initiatives.
• Manage production data integrity, dashboards, forecasting models, and technical reporting to support asset and management decision-making.
• Evaluate and implement new production technologies including chemical treatments, downhole sensors, scale inhibitors, and digital monitoring solutions.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on increasing production efficiency, reducing downtime, and optimizing asset recovery.
• Mentor junior production engineers and technologists and contribute to development of technical standards, best practices, and training programs.
• Ensure compliance with HSSEQ standards, well integrity requirements, and regulatory obligations for production operations and interventions.
• Perform any other duties as assigned in support of production optimization and field performance improvement activities.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of ten (10) years’ experience in upstream oil & gas production engineering or production technologist roles, with strong exposure to artificial lift and well performance optimization.
• Proven experience in well performance monitoring, production surveillance, and production optimization across onshore or offshore assets.
• Strong expertise in artificial lift systems including ESP, gas lift, PCP, and rod pump systems, including design, troubleshooting, and optimization.
• Experience in nodal analysis, decline curve analysis, production forecasting, and well test interpretation (PLT/IFT).
• Strong understanding of flow assurance challenges including scale, wax, hydrates, corrosion, and multiphase flow behavior.
• Experience supporting well interventions, workovers, and production enhancement projects.
• Proficiency in production engineering software, SCADA systems, and real-time production monitoring tools will be an added advantage.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Professional certifications or advanced training in production optimization, artificial lift systems, or multiphase flow will be an added advantage.