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Category
Process & Chemical
Work Pattern
Onshore (project-based with offshore survey visits)
Reports To
Flow Assurance Manager / Subsea Engineering Director
Position Overview
The Flow Assurance Engineer is a highly specialized role responsible for ensuring the reliable and efficient flow of hydrocarbons from reservoir to processing facility, particularly in subsea and deepwater developments. This role addresses complex multiphase flow challenges including hydrates, wax, scale, asphaltenes, slugging, and thermal management, which are critical for the technical viability and economic success of subsea field developments.
Key Responsibilities
- Perform steady-state and transient multiphase flow simulation using OLGA, PIPESIM, or similar software
- Design and optimize subsea production system architecture including flowline sizing, routing, and insulation
- Develop hydrate management strategies including thermodynamic and kinetic inhibition, and depressurization procedures
- Perform wax and asphaltene deposition modelling and develop mitigation strategies
- Design and evaluate subsea pigging programmes for wax management and flowline cleaning
- Conduct slugging analysis and develop slug catcher sizing or anti-slug control strategies
- Perform thermal analysis including cooldown time calculations and insulation specification
- Design and evaluate subsea boosting (multiphase pumps, subsea separators) and subsea processing systems
- Develop start-up, shut-down, and restart procedures for subsea production systems
- Perform erosion assessment for sand-producing wells and specify sand management systems
- Evaluate chemical injection requirements and coordinate with production chemistry teams
- Support concept selection and FEED studies for new field developments
Qualifications
Required
- Education: Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering (Master's/PhD preferred)
- Certifications: OPITO BOSIET/FOET for offshore; Chartered Engineer (CEng/PE) preferred
- Experience: Minimum 10 years in flow assurance engineering with significant subsea and deepwater project experience
- Technical Skills: Multiphase flow simulation (OLGA, PIPESIM, LedaFlow), hydrate phase behaviour (PVTSim, Multiflash), thermal analysis, wax/asphaltene modelling, subsea system design, chemical injection design, transient simulation for start-up/shutdown
Preferred
- Experience with ultra-deepwater flow assurance challenges
- Subsea boosting and processing system design experience
- Dynamic simulation for emergency scenarios (cool-down, blowdown)
- Experience with carbon capture transport flow assurance (dense phase CO2)
Market Intelligence
$1,100–1,600/day
Shortage Level: Critical
Key Skills Gap: Flow assurance is one of the narrowest specializations in oil and gas. Engineers with genuine OLGA/PIPESIM expertise and the ability to translate simulation results into engineering design decisions are exceptionally rare. The addition of CCUS/dense-phase CO2 transport capability makes candidates almost unique.
Regions in Highest Demand: Brazil (pre-salt), North Sea (Norway), West Africa, Gulf of Mexico, Middle East, Australia
Demand Drivers: Deepwater and ultra-deepwater field developments, subsea tie-backs with long offset distances, subsea processing technology uptake, CCUS pipeline transport studies, FLNG subsea flow assurance, energy transition creating demand for CO2 and hydrogen transport expertise
# Category 4: HSE & Quality