Q: Tell us your background and when you first became interested in energy?
A: I grew up mainly in the North of England and spent seven years in southern India. As a kid, my dad took me to air shows and we shared a passion for Formula 1. I was always building things – usually with Lego. With those interests, alongside a love of science and maths, it felt natural to pursue an engineering degree.

Initially, I was set on a career in Formula 1 or aviation, so I applied to and was accepted to study aeronautical engineering at Imperial College London. During my third-year summer internship at National Grid, I reignited my interest in the energy industry. That experience led me to apply for a master’s in petroleum engineering at Imperial. Despite having other graduate offers, it felt like the most natural fit for me, so I committed to it.

Before starting the master’s, I was almost completely unaware of what the upstream energy industry actually did. But as I learned more, I was drawn in by the technical challenges and the sheer scale of the projects. I’m still working in the upstream energy industry today.

Q: How did you first hear about the Energy Institute and what motivated you to join?
A: The EI came onto my radar when I started looking into engineering chartership after several years in industry. I wanted to pursue chartership through a broader, energy-focused organisation, one that wasn’t solely centred on oil and gas.

That was partly because the potential to move to different parts of the industry was definitely in the back of my mind. But a bigger concern was that if I were chartered with a dedicated oil and gas body, I would not get exposure to challenges in adjacent areas, such as energy transmission and generation, for example. I’d still have access to the detailed technical knowledge needed for my role, but felt like I would be more rounded having a chartered qualification from the EI.

I applied relatively early, with around four years’ experience. I wasn’t successful. I took the feedback seriously and, with support from other EI members, used it to shape my development plan. It helped me identify where I needed to strengthen my experience and capability, and it had a real positive impact on my day-to-day professional growth. About 18 months later, I applied again and was successful in achieving CEng and becoming chartered as a petroleum engineer through the EI.

Q: Tell us about your current job and industry, and how your work is contributing towards a just transition to net zero?
A: I currently work at Origin Energy in Brisbane, within the Integrated Gas division. My role is Reservoir Optimisation Team Lead (Asset East). I lead a team of surface and petroleum engineers focused on optimising and understanding the performance of more than 1,300 coal seam gas (CSG) wells in Australia Pacific LNG’s (APLNG) Queensland fields. Together, these wells produce close to 800mn cf³/d and supply gas to local customers as well as export markets in Asia. [Editor’s note: APLNG is a joint venture between Origin Energy, ConocoPhillips and Sinopec.]

After more than a decade of work experience in the North Sea, one of the biggest adjustments for me has been getting to grips with the scale of the project and the very different set of technical challenges compared with my previous roles.

The gas these fields produce is important for both the energy transition and, more recently, energy security. My role is to help ensure we continue to deliver that gas safely and as efficiently as possible, while continuously improving performance and reliability.

With the onshore fields I work on now, we have thousands of wells to manage that might together produce the same amount as a handful wells offshore. With offshore installations, you are hyper-focused on selected wells, but onshore it's about trying to optimise the best for the majority. With either, health, safety and the environment is still paramount, but there are different risks. For example, driving is one of the key risk areas for onshore assets.

Moving all the family to the other side of the world was a very big decision. As a family we were keen for an adventure and always wanted to live in other countries. The work environment and the type of technical challenge was completely different, and that was the exciting part. Right now I am really enjoying the work and the family is taking to life in Australia, so we are very happy with the decision. In terms of career development, it is building and broadening my experience in areas where I had not worked before.

Q: How has being an MEI benefitted you in your career?
A: Once I achieved MEI and CEng status, I joined the EI’s Aberdeen, Highlands & Islands Young Professionals Network (YPN). We had a fantastic group and organised a range of events focused on energy and developing early-career talent. I found the experience so rewarding that I looked for other ways to contribute.

One of the standout benefits has been volunteering as an assessor for MEI and chartership. I’ve been fortunate to speak with professionals from around the world and across a wide range of industries. While the process is necessarily formal, I’ve learned a great deal from those conversations and it has helped me think more clearly about what I want from my own career. Getting that outside perspective on how others have grown and developed professionally has been invaluable.

Q: Tell us more about your CEng and how being a Chartered Petroleum Engineer has benefitted you in your career and what advice you’d give to an aspiring petroleum engineer?
A: You don’t stop learning once you leave university; it’s really just the start of your professional journey and development continues throughout your career.

Professional recognition is an important part of that journey for any engineer. Chartership demonstrates you’ve met a rigorous professional standard and it is widely recognised internationally. In some parts of the world, being chartered is essential – without it, you may not be able to sign off on your own technical work. Historically, chartership hasn’t been as strongly embedded in petroleum engineering as it is in some other disciplines, but that is changing. For me, it signals a commitment to high standards, professionalism and continual improvement – both to yourself and to the wider engineering community.

Technology moves at a rapid pace, whether it's new equipment to optimise and make things safer or the adoption of AI to drive efficiencies and bring more value. Either way, if you stand still and cannot adapt, then you will not last long in this industry.

My main advice to aspiring petroleum engineers is to stay curious, seek out varied experiences (technical and commercial) and treat chartership as a development framework – not just an end goal.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are strictly those of the author only and are not necessarily given or endorsed by or on behalf of the Energy Institute.

If you’re keen to follow in Zubin’s footsteps, click to find more about how to become a Member of the Energy Institute (MEI) and the route to CEng status.