Project Analyst (Upstream)
Curitiba/PR, Brazil
Position type: Full-Time, in-person
Reports to: Regional Director, IPA-LA
Date posted: August 22, 2025
Closing date: Open until filled
Introduction
Are you interested in how the oil and gas Exploration & Production (E&P) world is transitioning? Do you love making connections and solving puzzles or problems? Are you detailed and focused, yet you also have broad interests and ideas and excellent communication skills? Do you enjoy analytical research work while also being comfortable client-facing?
If so, please apply as a Project Analyst – Petroleum Exploration & Production in IPA’s Latin America office! The Project Analyst will lead evaluations and consulting for major energy players to help them improve the effectiveness of their capital projects.
About the Role
Independent Project Analysis (IPA) has an opening position in our Latin America office (located in Curitiba/PR, Brazil) for a Project Analyst – Petroleum Exploration & Production. The candidate should have a proven track record working on capital projects or analyzing project feasibility in the upstream oil & gas market. Candidates are required to have strong analytical skills, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to contribute as a thought leader. Aptitude for and demonstrated skills to be a successful analyst include your ability to connect in real life with the data and vice versa, to know when to ask more questions and when to just listen, as well as to be self-motivated to learn and thrive.
IPA’s client portfolio includes world-leading companies in both the heavy and light industries around the world. IPA has offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, and Singapore; as such, major industry leaders globally rely on us to assess the health of their capital project systems and provide recommendations to improve their performance. IPA evaluates hundreds of capital projects every year, developing very complete technical, business, and people histories from their front-end through early operation. These histories become the data we use to find what works and what does not work in capital projects. The IPA project databases are unique and the most comprehensive sources of capital project experience in existence. IPA also takes a leading role in empirical research into the drivers of better projects and project systems using our extensive databases of past project performance.
Responsibilities
General responsibilities of the role include:
* Working directly with capital project teams and project organizations of major E&P companies to improve business competitiveness
* Interfacing with clients to collect and analyze technical, cost, schedule, and project management data
* Writing reports with insight and a customer focus
* Delivering verbal feedback and public presentations
* Conducting research on the drivers of project success or failure using proprietary databases and statistics
Day in the Life
Responsibilities of the Project Analyst – Petroleum Exploration & Production role include:
* Interfacing directly with clients in person to collect project data and uncover areas of risk
* Applying statistical analysis to quantify your findings
* Writing reports to provide insight and recommendations for clients
* Delivering verbal feedback and presentations to technical and business audiences
* Working directly with capital project teams and project organizations of major E&P companies to improve business competitiveness
* Conducting research on drivers of project success and failure using IPA’s proprietary databases and statistics
Skills and Qualities
Project Analysts – Petroleum Exploration & Production must have:
* Demonstrable Portuguese and English language oral and written communication skills; fluency in Spanish is an advantage
* Solid analytical skills
* Ability to demonstrate intellectual curiosity and organizational leadership
* Excellent listening, presentation, and report writing skills with strong attention to detail
* Strong interpersonal skills to develop and maintain relationships at senior levels with client companies and liaise with people from other cultures
* Strong work ethic
* High self-motivation and ability to work independently
* Positive attitude and willingness to work in a team
* Ability to work to tight deadlines and under pressure
* Flexibility in taking on a variety of assignments
Travel
* This position requires up to 30 percent travel; candidates are required to have proper documentation for necessary business travel
* Travel will be required primarily within Latin America and is primarily on weekdays
Education and Experience
* A Master’s degree (preferred) or Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in engineering, science (physics, chemistry, petroleum, geology), statistics, operations research, economics, or related fields
* Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience with upstream oil and gas projects
* Proven record of carrying out independent research or using a variety of statistical methods to analyze large amounts of data
WHY IPA?
For over 35 years, IPA has delivered groundbreaking research and quantitative risk analyses to enhance the value generated by our clients’ capital project systems and meet their obligations for sustainable and safe performance. IPA guides capital‑intensive organizations to establish the right combination of people, work process, and governance to maximize performance across several measures: cost, schedule, safety, operability performance, and carbon reduction. We have a dataset of over 24,000 capital projects as the basis of our work. Our clients are leading companies in the energy, minerals, infrastructure, chemicals, pharmaceutical, and consumer products sectors. IPA is committed to social and ethical responsibility, and all global offices initiate or participate in local charity initiatives to support those in need.
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants should complete the form at https://www.ipaglobal.com/careers/project-analyst-upstream/ and include a cover letter, resume, and salary requirement.