Costa Silva started working in Angola at Sonangol in 1980 and from 1984 to 1997 he worked at Companhia Portuguesa de Serviços.
He was Director of Reservoir Engineering and Production at Beicip-Franlab, the corporate branch of the French Petroleum Institute, in Paris from 2001 to 2003, Executive Director of the Compagnie Géneral de Geophysique in Portugal from 1998 to 2001 and CEO of Partex from 2004 to 2021.
Costa Silva is professor emeritus at the Higher Technical Institute, where he taught Planning and Integrated Management of Energy Resources.