Responsibilities of a logistics officer in oil and gas projects?

Logistics Officer — Oil and Gas Projects

Coordinates end-to-end movement of materials, equipment, and personnel to support drilling, construction, production, and maintenance campaigns, ensuring safe, compliant, and cost-effective logistics across land, marine, and aviation modes.

I. Core Responsibilities (Day-to-Day)

I.1 Material planning and expediting: align demand signals with project schedules, create mobilization/demobilization plans, and chase critical spares to prevent NPT.
I.2 Transport coordination: book and track road tankers, flatbeds, heavy-lift, supply vessels, and helicopters; plan loads, routes, and weather windows for offshore sailings.
I.3 Documentation and compliance: prepare commercial invoices, packing lists, manifests, dangerous goods declarations (IMDG/IATA), and certificates of origin; ensure HS classification and Incoterms usage.
I.4 Customs and regulatory: manage import/export permits, temporary admissions (ATA Carnet), exemptions, and broker instructions; monitor clearance status to avoid storage/demurrage.
I.5 Yard and warehouse interface: prioritize receipts/issues, manage staging and laydown areas, quarantine nonconforming goods, and ensure proper preservation and labeling.
I.6 Offshore personnel logistics: coordinate crew changes, POB updates, check-in/manifesting, and HUET/medical compliance; manage medevac/contingency routing.
I.7 Marine/aviation slots: secure berth/heli slots, issue sailing orders and flight manifests, confirm tug/pilotage and bunkers, and align backload plans with deck limits and crane windows.
I.8 HSE and risk controls: verify load securement, lifting gear certifications, MSDS availability, and route risk assessments; implement journey management and stop-work authority.
I.9 Cost and KPI control: track freight, handling, storage, and demurrage; report OTIF, cycle time, and utilization; raise cost-avoidance claims for delays or damages.
I.10 Reverse logistics and waste: coordinate returns, repairs, and backloads; manage waste streams in line with environmental permits and vendor take-back agreements.
I.11 Stakeholder communications: run daily logistics calls, issue look-ahead plans, and publish shipment trackers and exceptions lists to project teams.
I.12 Emergency and surge response: activate contingency routes/carriers, secure hot-shot trucking or charter lifts for critical path incidents; participate in IMT/DC exercises.

II. Required Skills and Physical Demands

II.A Technical Skills

II.A.1 Multimodal logistics: load planning, deck space calculations, axle load/route surveys, breakbulk/heavy-lift coordination.
II.A.2 Trade compliance: Incoterms, HS coding, valuation, temporary import/export regimes, free zone/transshipment handling.
II.A.3 Dangerous goods: IMDG/IATA DGR fundamentals, segregation, packaging, labeling, and documentation.
II.A.4 Materials management: MRP signals, reorder points, preservation, and QA hold processes for critical equipment.
II.A.5 Marine/aviation ops: berth management, vessel clearance, airside rules, POB control, weight/balance constraints.
II.A.6 HSE: journey management, dropped-object prevention, lifting operations interfaces, H2S awareness, confined-space basics.
II.A.7 Costing and KPIs: freight tenders, rate benchmarking, demurrage/despatch, OTIF, dwell time, utilization, cost-to-serve.
II.A.8 Data proficiency: ERP/TMS/WMS transactions, master data accuracy, and dashboarding for real-time visibility.

II.B Soft Skills

II.B.1 Prioritization under pressure and critical path thinking.
II.B.2 Clear communications across crews, vendors, and authorities.
II.B.3 Negotiation and escalation with carriers and terminals.
II.B.4 Problem-solving and incident response decision-making.
II.B.5 Attention to detail in documentation and compliance.

II.C Physical Demands

II.C.1 Frequent yard/port visits; exposure to noise, weather, and moving equipment; consistent PPE use.
II.C.2 Extended hours during campaigns; on-call for 24/7 operations.
II.C.3 Fit to travel offshore/remote if role includes site rotations (medicals as applicable).

II.D Key Logistics Formulas

Reorder Point (ROP): \( \mathrm{ROP} = \bar{d} \times L + SS \), where \( \bar{d} \) is average demand per period, \( L \) is lead time, and \( SS \) is safety stock.

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ): \( \mathrm{EOQ} = \sqrt{\frac{2DS}{H}} \), where \( D \) is annual demand, \( S \) is order/setup cost, and \( H \) is annual holding cost per unit.

Demurrage Cost: \( C_{\mathrm{dem}} = t_{\mathrm{dem}} \times r_{\mathrm{dem}} \), where \( t_{\mathrm{dem}} \) is demurrage time and \( r_{\mathrm{dem}} \) is daily rate.

III. Typical Tools, Software, and Equipment

III.1 ERP/EAM/SCM: material reservations, purchase orders, goods issue/receipt, inventory, and asset tracking.
III.2 TMS and carrier portals: shipment planning, tendering, tracking, and freight audit.
III.3 WMS/Yard systems: bin/location control, barcode/RFID scanning, staging/laydown management.
III.4 Marine and aviation platforms: vessel scheduling/AIS visibility, port call management, helicopter dispatch and POB control.
III.5 Trade compliance tools: e-manifest, customs declaration, license/permit trackers.
III.6 Analytics and collaboration: dashboards, incident trackers, document control, and shared calendars.
III.7 Field equipment: handheld scanners, weighbridge interfaces, calibrated load indicators; coordination with forklifts, cranes, and MHE (operated by certified personnel).

IV. Work Environment

IV.1 Onshore logistics base, warehouse, and operations rooms; regular presence at ports, helibases, and vendor yards.
IV.2 Offshore/site exposure when role includes POB/turnarounds; short hitches aligned to campaign needs.
IV.3 Shift patterns: standard weekday coverage plus extended hours during sailings/rig moves; on-call for 24/7 operations.
IV.4 Travel: regional trips to terminals, customs offices, and suppliers; occasional international mobilizations for project phases.

V. Reporting Lines and Cross-Functional Interfaces

V.1 Reporting to: Logistics Supervisor/Manager or Project Supply Chain Lead; dotted-line to Project Manager during execution phases.
V.2 Internal interfaces: drilling/completions, production/maintenance, construction, warehouse/materials, marine/aviation coordinators, HSE, QA/QC, security, finance/AP.
V.3 External interfaces: customs/border agencies, port/airport authorities, 3PL carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, OEMs/service companies, insurance surveyors.
V.4 Hand-offs: shipping docs to customs/brokers; manifests to marine/aviation; goods receipt confirmations to warehouse and finance; POB to offshore leadership; incident reports to HSE.

VI. Career Ladder and Progression

VI.A Next-Step Roles

VI.A.1 Senior Logistics Officer: leads complex campaigns, mentors juniors, owns carrier performance and KPI plans.
VI.A.2 Logistics Supervisor/Coordinator: manages team rosters, vendor frameworks, and marine/aviation windows for multi-asset scopes.
VI.A.3 Materials/Logistics Manager: portfolio-level planning, budget control, and continuous improvement; interfaces to executive supply chain.
VI.A.4 Supply Chain Lead (project): integrates procurement, expediting, logistics, and materials across the project lifecycle.

VI.B What It Takes to Move Up (estimated)

VI.B.1 Experience: 3–5 years for Senior Logistics Officer; 5–8 years for Supervisor; proven record on rig moves, turnarounds, or major projects.
VI.B.2 Certifications: IATA DGR (Cat 6 or role-appropriate), IMDG, OPITO HUET/BOSIET (if offshore), HSE (e.g., IOSH/NEBOSH), and supply chain credentials (e.g., CPIM/CSCP or CILT).
VI.B.3 Performance: sustained OTIF = 95%, reduced demurrage/dwell, zero regulatory findings, and positive contractor management audits.
VI.B.4 Competencies: leadership in incident response, contract/vendor stewardship, and data-driven optimization.

VI.C Deliverables & Interfaces

VI.C.1 Deliverables: logistics execution plans, shipment trackers, manifests, customs packets, laydown maps, marine/aviation schedules, KPI dashboards, incident and cost reports.
VI.C.2 Interfaces: reports to Logistics Supervisor/Manager; hands off to warehouse (receipts/issues), finance (GR/IR, freight invoices), marine/aviation (sailing/flight packs), project teams (look-aheads), and HSE (audits/incidents).

VI.D Toolchain Snapshot

VI.D.1 ERP/EAM/SCM: SAP S/4HANA MM, Oracle Cloud SCM, IFS, Maximo.
VI.D.2 TMS/WMS/Yard: CargoWise, Descartes, Blue Yonder WMS, yard management systems, barcode/RFID.
VI.D.3 Marine/Aviation: marine scheduling/AIS platforms, port call tools, POB/heli dispatch systems.
VI.D.4 Compliance/Docs: e-customs portals, e-manifest, DG declaration tools, certificate repositories.
VI.D.5 Analytics/Collab: Power BI/Tableau, project boards, and document control systems.

VI.E Progression Trigger

VI.E.1 Typically promoted after 6–10 major campaigns or 18–24 months with = 95% OTIF and zero major compliance findings, plus current IATA/IMDG certification.