Exploration Opportunity Manager

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Exploration Opportunity Manager translates exploration opportunities into actionable business opportunities and investable projects. Reporting directly to the VP Exploration, the role provides the business, economic, planning, and cross-functional integration needed to connect Exploration with Wells, Finance, Legal, Land, Major Projects, Strategic Planning, Commercial, and other functions.

The role serves as a key interface across the organization, ensuring exploration priorities, assumptions, capital requirements, schedules, and decision needs are understood and incorporated into corporate planning and investment processes.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Business & Investment Integration

• Translate exploration strategy and technical outputs into clear business cases, economic evaluations, and investment recommendations.
• Coordinate economics, valuation, capital requirements, timing, risk, and strategic considerations for exploration investments.
• Support management decision-making by ensuring recommendations are complete, consistent, and decision-ready.
• Maintain visibility of exploration investment decisions, approvals, commitments, and key dependencies.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Serve as a primary business interface between Exploration and Wells, Finance, Legal, Land, Major Projects, Strategic Planning, Commercial, and other functions.
• Coordinate functional inputs required for exploration planning, budgeting, investment decisions, transactions, and execution readiness.
• Ensure exploration assumptions and priorities are reflected appropriately in well planning, project concepts, financial forecasts, legal and land considerations, and corporate plans.
• Identify cross-functional gaps, dependencies, or competing priorities and facilitate timely resolution or escalation.
• Promote consistent communication and alignment across functions as exploration priorities and plans evolve.

Portfolio, Planning & Capital

• Support exploration portfolio evaluation and prioritization based on value, risk, capital requirements, timing, strategic fit, and readiness.
• Partner with Finance and Strategic Planning on annual planning, budgeting, forecasting, and capital allocation.
• Maintain an integrated view of exploration opportunities, expected capital requirements, decision timing, and portfolio implications.
• Support scenario analysis and longer-term exploration planning.

Business Development & Transactions

• Support evaluation of new-entry opportunities, farm-ins, acreage acquisitions, and other exploration transactions.
• Coordinate exploration, economic, financial, legal, land, and strategic inputs required for evaluation and diligence.
• Support commercial teams with the business and economic context needed for negotiations and investment decisions.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• 12+ years of upstream oil and gas experience, including offshore or deepwater exploration required.
• Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering or related field required; MBA or Master’s preferred.
• Reservoir engineering background with strong understanding of exploration economics, project value, and investment decision-making.
• Strong project-management, business-planning, and cross-functional coordination experience.
• Experience with economics, valuation, capital planning, business cases, and investment decision processes.
• Ability to work effectively across technical, operational, financial, legal, commercial, and strategic functions.
• Strong analytical, organizational, commercial judgment, and executive communication skills.
• International exploration experience preferred.

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS:

• Proven ability to turn exploration opportunities into investable projects and actionable business cases.
• Strong ability to integrate technical, financial, commercial, and strategic inputs into cohesive recommendations.
• Demonstrated project management skills in planning, scheduling, and advancing opportunities from concept to decision.
• Solid understanding of exploration economics, valuation, risk assessment, and key value drivers.
• Portfolio and capital planning experience, including prioritization, budgeting, and capital allocation.
• Effective cross-functional coordination to align diverse teams and resolve competing priorities.
• Proven investment decision support through complete, consistent, decision-ready recommendations.
• Sound commercial judgment in opportunity, transaction, and negotiation evaluation.
• Excellent executive communication skills to clearly convey complex information to senior leadership.