This year’s technical program will include topics such as shale gas risk management, private equity investment in oilfield services and equipment companies, and decommissioning process optimization. Additionally, keynote speaker Stephen P. Thurston, VP of Chevron North America E&P Co, will address the short- and long-term outlook for the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Greg Stutes, Technical Session Committee chairman

“LAGCOE 2013 offers technical sessions to address topics of high interest to attendees. As technology changes in our industry, so does the need to convey the associated effect it has on all facets of our business,” Technical Session Committee chairman Greg Stutes, Completion Specialists, said. “Our technical session committee focuses on producing a slate of technical speakers and topics that have significant relevance to the current state of our industry and also tie in well with LAGCOE, an onshore and offshore exposition. The technology transfer associated with the technical sessions provides critical technical information that is of high interest to decision makers.”

In 2011, LAGCOE welcomed 400 exhibiting companies from around the world and 14,000 attendees from 26 countries and 47 states. Register for this year’s show here.

Whatever happened to Peak Oil? Peak Oil, the seemingly irrefutable hypothesis that the world is quickly exhausting its finite hydrocarbon resources, has joined the ranks of the legion of failed apocalyptic theories forecasting the imminent demise of global hydrocarbon supply.

US production has climbed steeply to levels not seen since the 1990s. And in China, discoveries and production of oil and gas, including unconventionals, are up sharply, according to the Chinese newspaper Global Times. According to press reports during late March, coalbed methane production during 2012 soared 24% to 2.57 billion cu meters.

Overall, some 1.5 billion tons (11 billion bbl) oil were discovered in China during 2012, reflecting a 13% increase from 2011, according to government officials quoted in the paper. However, only 270 million tons (2 billion bbl) can be produced with current technologies. 2 billion bbl is not too shabby, though.

The boom in Chinese natural gas is even more startling. New gas discoveries are up fully a third – 33% to 961 billion cu meters, with 500 billion cu meters described as exploitable through current technology.

China’s unconventional reserves could overshadow those of the US by 50%, pending the outcome of ongoing studies, according to Peter Voser, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell.

“We used to ask when we would run out of oil,” remarked Chevron Asia-Pacific E&P president Melody Meyer. “Now we ask when we will run out of technology. Let’s hope not for a long time.”

Mr Voser and Ms Meyer spoke at the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) in Beijing in March. IADC is a senior endorsing organization for IPTC. China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) was the host organization and principal sponsor.

However, unconventional development has a way to go, Ms Meyer cautioned.  “Shale gas is in its early exploration phase in most countries outside North America,” she remarked. “It will take time to develop (the necessary) infrastructure.”

Global population growth and economic expansion will continue to pump up energy demand, noted IPTC speaker Mark Albers, ExxonMobil senior vice president.

“Taken together, we predict that energy demand will rise by about 35% by 2040,” he said, adding that this exceeds the current energy demand of Latin America, Russia, India, Africa and the Middle East. While a significant increase, this works out to just 1.3% annually over the 27-year time frame.

Within China alone, the potential prize is huge, as the Middle Kingdom strives to meet its own energy goals. According to Mr Voser, China’s energy consumption could double by 2030, assuming current economic trends.

Natural gas is a key ingredient. CNPC president Zhou Jiping said a “golden age” of natural gas is upon us, calling gas the “most abundant and reliable” fuel. Gas, he added, will in coming years elbow out competing sources to provide 10% of China’s energy needs, up from about 4%.

With irresistable demand growth and increasing reserves to develop, the oil and gas industry may be entering a renaissance. But, agreed senior executives participating in IPTC, a rosy future is possible only if industry can embrace a new paradigm of cooperation and technology, particularly within NOC-dominated markets.

“Strong partnerships will be critical to make the transition to a new energy future,” Shell CEO Voser contended. “No one company can go it alone anymore.”  Mr Voser urged industry to collaborate with government and academia, as well as with companies outside the industry.

Collaboration was a consistent IPTC theme, as international oil companies strove to demonstrate their fitness as partners for national oil companies, particularly with CNPC and other Chinese NOCs.

Noted Saudi Aramco president/CEO Khalid Al-Falih, China is on track to assume the mantle of the world’s largest energy importer. “The best days of our work with China are still to come,” he remarked.

The IADC Drilling Lexicon, one of many new initiatives by IADC, is intended to provide a forum for critical review and analysis of terms that are used in relation to drilling operations, particularly those commonly used for regulatory purposes. Information that will be used to populate the website is being drawn from a wide variety of sources, including internationally recognized standards. Above is a preview screen capture of the Lexicon website, still under development.

By Amy Rose, IADC director of external relations

The IADC Drilling Lexicon website, now under development, will provide a forum for critical review and analysis of terms used in drilling operations, particularly those commonly used for regulatory purposes.

“More and more countries are becoming energy producers, but many of them lack the experience and knowledge at the legislative level to write regulations that are consistent with international standards,” commented Stephen Colville, IADC president and CEO.

“The International Regulators Forum, in collaboration with the European Union, is looking at how countries can work together to find ways to establish regulatory regimes,” he added. “One of the things IADC was asked to do, as the industry’s authoritative body in the drilling space, is to help identify and establish a lexicon of drilling terms that are commonly used to provide assistance in developing regulations.”

The information that IADC will use to populate the website is being drawn from a wide variety of sources that can be broadly categorized as:

• Legislation: definitions drawn from the enactments of a legislative body of a government;

• Regulations: definitions drawn from a rule or order issued by an executive authority or regulatory agency of a government;

• Regulatory guidance: definitions drawn from non-legally binding guidance issued by an executive authority or regulatory agency of a government;

• Internationally recognized standards: definitions drawn from material that has been developed and approved by a standards developing organization that enjoys widespread international recognition; and

• IADC guidelines: definitions drawn from material that has been developed and approved by IADC.

“The supply of information that we are drawing from is inexhaustible and always changing,” said Alan Spackman, vice president of IADC offshore division.

“However, in compiling this information, IADC is helping to ensure that the terminology used in standards and regulations is readily available to people who may be drafting regulations in the future and enable them to work toward consistency,” he continued.

“Already we are seeing that terms vary from legislature to legislature, country to country and state to state, depending on the regulations already in place in each area,” said Brigid Ewald, consultant for the IADC Lexicon project.

“To give but one example, the term ‘owner’ has a somewhat different meaning under the laws and regulations of Norway versus Australia versus the US, due to differences in expectations of responsibilities and liabilities put on an owner in each jurisdiction. We anticipate that terms in the Lexicon will contain definitions relevant to every country with drilling operations,” Ms Ewald said.

The IADC Drilling Lexicon and its complementary website will be evergreen. IADC will use, and hopes that others will use, the information to influence, improve and, where appropriate, standardize the use of terminology in legislation, regulations and standards.

Members and outside sources will be empowered and encouraged to contribute to the Lexicon to keep it up to date and relevant.

“The Drilling Lexicon project is one of the many initiatives that IADC is launching to improve performance in the drilling industry by championing better regulation,” Mr Colville noted.

“We are providing the tools for regulatory authorities to draw up legislation that is appropriate, consistent and transparent across time and geography.”

Register for updates on the website launch.

Dr Brenda Kelly, IADC senior director, program development, participated in the Latin American Forum on Energy and Environment at the University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences on 4-5 March. The event aims to strengthen relationships between the energy and environmental sectors in Latin America, the Caribbean and the US.

“The forum provided an excellent venue to discuss the opportunities and challenges of deepwater oil and gas industry expansion in the region,” Dr Kelly said. “My presentation showcasing IADC’s strategy to enhance operational integrity through people, equipment and processes sparked interest in collaborating on regional training initiatives to better equip local personnel for the deepwater drilling challenges and called attention to  IADC initiatives that could benefit the industry both regionally and globally.”

This year’s meeting, the eighth time the forum has convened, offered a space for policymakers, academics and industry leaders to share ideas about careful stewardship of environmental and energy resources.

Topics discussed included the technical challenges of developing unconventional resources, a legal perspective on oil and gas investment in Latin America, geological and technical challenges of monetization of deepwater Gulf of Mexico resources, the challenges and opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago, and the nexus of the environment, renewables and water, among others.

“It was a privilege for IADC to join the many distinguished Latin American and US governmental leaders in this event,” Dr Kelly concluded.

Pacific Drilling’s Kevin Rhodes (left) and Peter Bennett provided the contractor’s perspective on subsea BOP challenges in a joint presentation at the IADC ART Subsea BOP Workshop on 21 March in Houston.

IADC ART Committee holds subsea BOP workshop, considers creation of BOP Controls Subcommittee

Two subcommittees under the IADC Advanced Rig Technology (ART) Committee are noting industry’s increased interest in blowout preventers (BOP) and control systems. Undoubtedly, industry events of the past three years have driven concern and curiosity, along with governmental requirements for reporting and certification.

Primary concerns voiced by committee members have focused on BOP system robustness and reliability.

The ART Future Technology Subcommittee held a Subsea BOP Workshop in Houston on 21 March, which received positive feedback from attendees.

The Drilling Controls Systems (DCS) Subcommittee has also received numerous requests on BOP control systems, both hydraulic and multiplexed electrical/electronic, for offshore and onshore applications.

Due to the interest, the DCS subcommittee has proposed forming a BOP Controls Subcommittee. This task is under way, with discussions continuing at the 15 May DCS subcommittee meeting. IADC members are encouraged to attend and help shape the direction of the IADC ART Committee.

For more information or to register for the DCS Subcommittee meeting, please contact Holly Shock at +1-713-292-1945.

Well Servicing Committee to develop incident-reporting system, hold workshop

The IADC Well Servicing Committee, formed in 2008, continues to grow in the number of members and its scope of work.

During its 13 February meeting, several new members joined the conversation and contributed feedback to ongoing issues.

Specifically discussed was the creation of an incident statistics reporting system for the well services community.

Although similar to the current IADC-administered ISP program for drilling, the Well Servicing ISP will be tailored to the well servicing industry and will form the first voluntary database collection of such information.

The data collected in the Well Servicing ISP will be used for benchmarking and comparison on a global basis. Participation is completely voluntary and company names will not be shared.

In addition to the Well Servicing ISP, the committee decided to move forward with the first IADC Well Services workshop. The workshop is being organized by the committee with regards to topics that are relevant to the well servicing industry.

The Well Services workshop will take place on 30 October 2013 at NOV’s offices in Houston.

“It is exciting for me personally to have been heavily involved with the IADC HSE Committee for many years on the drilling side of the business and now within the Well Servicing Committee,” said Kerric Peyton, vice president of HSEQ and training for Superior Energy Services.

“IADC has accomplished so much for its members over the years,” he continued. “I would personally like to extend an invitation to all well servicing companies to join IADC and become an active member in the Well Servicing Committee.”

IADC supports SEMS II rule, to continue collaboration with BSEE

In a news release issued on 4 April, IADC supported the Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) II final rule issued by the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

The rule complements the original SEMS rule, issued in October 2010 and known as the Workplace Safety Rule. The SEMS II ruling further protects workers and the environment from preventable accidents. It provides for more participation by employees and empowers field personnel to make safety management decisions. Additionally, it will require audits be conducted by accredited third parties.

“IADC is pleased that BSEE has understood and responded in a positive way to many of the concerns raised by our organization and other industry stakeholders in response to the proposed rule,” Alan Spackman, vice president of IADC’s offshore division, said.

“This rule is intended to address a myriad of complex operations associated with the effective management of offshore oil and gas activities,” he added. “IADC will be joining with other industry groups to analyze the rule in depth. We trust that BSEE will work with the industry to improve or provide further clarification of the rule should it prove necessary.”

The SEMS II rule becomes effective on 4 June 2013.

William Reilly spoke at the IADC Environmental Conference in April.

William Reilly addresses industry at IADC conference

William K Reilly, administrator of the environmental protection agency under former President George H.W. Bush and co-author of the national commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling report, spoke at the IADC Environmental Conference and Exhibition in New York City on 8 April.

Mr Reilly discussed the energy opportunities of shale gas, noting its lower emission levels of greenhouse gases compared with coal. He also complemented the industry’s self-response since Macondo, citing the attention to BOPs and their improvement as impressive.

He also highlighted the need for better communication between regulators and the regulated, with particular emphasis on improvements in process safety.

Read more about Mr Reilly’s address here.

OSHA issued the “Guidance on Handling Cases Developed Pursuant to the FRC Enforcement Policy Memorandum” to regional administrators and solicitors on 18 December 2012. It provides guidance on the 2010 enforcement memorandum that required oil and gas well workers to wear flame-resistant clothing (FRC) to protect against flash fires.

The guidance details OSHA’s policy stating that compliance staff should closely review operations where FRC is not in use to determine its necessity to protect workers against flash fires. A citation requires evidence that the employer had notice of the need for equipment.

To enforce the Personal Protection Equipment standard, an OSHA compliance officer must show that FRC is necessary to protect workers from hazards in their workplace. In the guidance, OSHA maintains that the October 2010 memorandum was not a significant rule change to the PPE regulation.

IADC and other associations still contend that it is, in fact, a significant regulatory change.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) officially initiated its review of the Macondo incident during the 21st session of the organization’s subcommittee on Flag State Implementation on 4-8 March.

The group considered the marine investigation reports by the US and the Republic of the Marshall Islands related to the explosions, fire and loss of the Deepwater Horizon rig. Several issues and considerations were identified relating to fire protection, design and equipment, stability, training and oversight.

Pending endorsement by the IMO Maritime Safety Committee, the reports on the Macondo incident, as well as the analysis and comments of the subcommittee, will be forwarded to IMO technical subcommittees for more detailed review and action.

Alan Spackman, vice president of IADC’s offshore division, represented the association at the meeting. Warren Weaver of Transocean and Tom Horan of Rowan Companies also attended as members of the delegations of Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands, respectively.

Specific highlighted issues and recommendations forwarded for further consideration included provisions for fire protection, design and equipment, stability, training and oversight.

The Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, NOGEPA (the Netherlands), Oil and Gas UK, and Olie Gas Danmark (Denmark) worked to develop an agreement on safety training that has validity across borders.

In the agreement, signed 15 February, members agreed to recognize the safety training given in each of the other countries and to accept training schools and courses approved by the other national associations.

The goal of the groups is to develop a common standard that prepares the workforce to achieve a high level of competence in basic safety and emergency preparedness across northwest Europe.

Jens Hoffmark, IADC’s regional vice president for European operations, participated on behalf of the association in the National Oil Industry Associations workgroup that has been working to harmonize basic training in Holland, Denmark, UK and Norway.

IADC has joined with industry association efforts regarding the possible listing of the lesser prairie chicken as a “threatened species” by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Endangered Species Act. On 1 March, the associations sent comments to the docket listing a variety of concerns.

Should the lesser prairie chicken be listed, limits on drilling may be placed at well sites in Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

This action has the potential to affect IADC members who drill in areas that are subject to the FWS regulations pertaining to the conservation of species and operate in areas identified as a lesser prairie chicken habitat.

IADC, along with API, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, Western Energy Alliance, New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, Panhandle Producers and Royalty Owners Association, Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association and the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association of Oklahoma, is concerned with protecting the environment, and many members donate and assist in the protection of the bird’s habitat.

IADC, along with 32 other organizations and associations, drafted a letter to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 19 February seeking clarity on the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

A Resource Guide to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was issued on 14 November 2012 and provides a central source of information for compliance officers and others in regard to the views of the DOJ and SEC.

Signees requested that the established dialogue continue in order to address noted issues. They also asked for guidance regarding how compliance programs should be structured in order to merit favorable consideration in enforcement decisions.

API announced on 1 April the publication of two new oil and natural gas industry standards for well design and drilling operations.

The first, Deepwater Well Design and Construction, API Recommended Practice 96, provides engineers a systemwide reference for offshore well design, drilling and completion operations using subsea blowout preventers. It covers the range of considerations that must be taken into account when planning for and undertaking deepwater drilling operations, including:

Appropriate barrier and load case consideration to maintain well control;

Guidance supplementing API 65-2 on barrier philosophy and management of API 90 on annular pressure build-up; and

Risk assessment and mitigation practices for casing and equipment installation operations.

The second, Protocol for Verification and Validation of High-Pressure, High-Temperature Equipment, API Technical Report 1PER15k-1, establishes a process for evaluating equipment used in high-pressure and/or high-temperature environments both onshore and offshore.

David Williams, Noble Corp chairman, president and CEO

A recent API study estimated that the US oil and natural gas industry has invested more than $252 billion since 1990 to improve the environmental performance of its products, facilities and operations. Nearly two-thirds was directed toward cleaner air and water. At the same time, technologies pioneered by the industry are transforming the US from a nation heavily dependent on imported oil to one with the potential to export energy. If this is news to you, well, regrettably, you are not alone.

Unfortunately, a curtain of negativity among the public and press overshadows our technical prowess and high degree of social responsibility. Communicating clearly and consistently about our industry and its unique role in the world economy is more important than ever. Moreover, if our industry is to take its rightful place among the world’s most respected industries, we must continue to demonstrate that our commitment to safety goes beyond mere words.

This is why IADC developed the Red Thread, a document reinforcing our industry’s mandate to catalyze improved performance and outlining IADC’s strategic and tactical plans to achieve that goal.

Drilling contractors, operators, service providers, equipment manufacturers and even regulators – we are all tied together. It is imperative that we develop collaborative relationships and build a greater sense of trust in one another and the industry as a whole. By working together and sharing knowledge, we can reduce operational, safety and environmental risks and thereby secure our continued license to operate. Collaborative relationships across the industry also will serve to provide access to resources previously beyond our technological, environmental and political reach.

It’s a tall task, but one that can be accomplished by focusing on fundamental and critical elements – people, process and equipment. Further, by championing  sensible legislation and regulation, we demonstrate that our industry is responsible and accountable.

There are several key IADC initiatives supporting this effort. First, the IADC Knowledge, Skill and Abilities (KSAs) set forth competency benchmarks for virtually every rig position. In other words, the KSAs for a given job identify the knowledge and skills an individual must possess to perform his or her duties.

Our industry is on a course to grow exponentially in the next few years, and the need for skilled workers is unprecedented. Our current workforce is aging, and too few new workers are coming aboard to meet future demand. Consequently, we are developing the Workforce Attraction and Development Initiative (WADI). IADC will partner with community colleges in the US to develop a global outreach program. WADI will  provide education on industry benefits and opportunities to high school students and veterans. This initiative will also offer continuous learning and development opportunities for current employees.

Further, a team of 60 drilling experts is at work rewriting the IADC Drilling Manual, the definitive operational drilling guide. Along with the Drilling Manual, the IADC HSE Guidelines and IADC Deepwater Guidelines are also undergoing major revisions.

These are just a sampling of the many programs that IADC has initiated to address the needs that you, the industry, have told us are critical for the future.  The implementation of these initiatives will deliver improved performance for our industry, one of the key strategic goals of IADC for the future.

Accomplishing these goals will take a commitment to considerable hard work by IADC members. Taking a cue from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the Red Thread notably recognizes that IADC operations are “of the members, by the members and for the members.”  Active participation by you, our members, is indispensable if we are to maintain our license to operate. IADC staff cannot do it alone.

Membership, sponsorship, chapters, conference attendance, committees – all of these and more offer an opportunity to get involved in IADC and to share your knowledge and skills.

My hope is that you share the Red Thread with those around you. As IADC members, it is how we tell our story about the work that must be done in order to catalyze improved performance for the industry. Right now, we have an extraordinary opportunity to define what’s next for the drilling industry. By working together, we can ensure that our teams are prepared, trained and able to work safely wherever our assets are deployed around the world.

IADC recently recognized Mike Hoyle, head of advanced engineering in GL Noble Denton’s UK marine and offshore operation, for his contribution to the ISO standards for site-specific assessment of mobile offshore units.

Seemingly separate parts of life aligned for Mike Hoyle in the oil and gas industry. As an avid sailor coming from a family of engineers – his father and grandfather were both engineers – Mr Hoyle, now head of advanced engineering in GL Noble Denton’s UK marine and offshore operation and chairman of its Technical Policy Board, was able to combine his interests via a career in the offshore industry.

After graduating from Cambridge, “I was looking for something interesting to do. Engineering seemed quite natural. I had an interest in sailing and water,” he explained, but the offshore industry didn’t occur to him until he talked with a career adviser at university. So in 1977, Mr Hoyle began his career with Noble Denton and Associates as a junior engineer, where he performed studies of MODUs for operations and towage and analyzed modules for lifting, sea fastening and towage. “It was fascinating. Within Noble Denton, I ended up being thrown in the deep end and taking unexpected levels of responsibility for everything I was involved in,” he said. “It was a good kick-start to my career. It was a very different world than it is today. We didn’t have email, faxes… Reports were produced on a typewriter.”

During a brief stint in the offshore engineering department at Lloyd’s Register, Mr Hoyle gained experience in the appraisal of platforms, decks, interconnecting bridges, modules, helidecks and supply boat mooring systems. Doing appraisal work left more to be desired, and in 1980, he re-joined Noble Denton and Associates, now GL Noble Denton, as an independent technical adviser to the oil and gas industry.

Recalling a more “adventurous time” for the industry, Mr Hoyle noted that rules and controls were not as steadfast in earlier days as they are today. “In the early days, a lot of what happened was pioneering, and probably a lot of it wouldn’t have happened had we had the controls back then that we have today,” he said. “We’ve evolved from a pioneering industry that took quite a few well-judged risks, nevertheless risks, to today, where we’re very much controlled. We’re much more mature.”

In February, Mr Hoyle was presented with an IADC Exemplary Service Award for his contribution to the ISO standards for site-specific assessment of mobile offshore units, a project that Mr Hoyle ties back to his first years on the job. “I started fairly early on in my career dealing with jackups,” he explained. “The first job I ever did involved jackups and investigating the possibility of improving the fuel consumption under tow by fitting a jackup with sails.”

In 1987, his company began efforts to assess problems in the jackup industry and proposed a joint industry project. “That evolved into a study that Shell drove, which evolved into the joint industry project that resulted in the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) technical and research bulletin 5-5A, which came out in 1994,” Mr Hoyle, who served as technical secretary for the project, said.

Bringing industry to consensus was a challenge but nevertheless helped set the precedent for future collaborations. “When we first started out writing the SNAME document, we didn’t work together very well. We had people who sat around the table and guarded every word, and it was a very tense environment,” Mr Hoyle noted. “In the early days, people felt they needed to participate in order to look after their corner, but as time progressed, people were participating out of interest and because they had things to contribute. That’s been one of the huge benefits – getting people to work together more closely.”

The project did not stop there, as industry leaders sought to convert the SNAME document into an ISO in the ISO 19900 series of offshore structures standards. Under Mr Hoyle’s direction, a workgroup was first convened in 1996. “The development of ISO 19905-1 was a long process. The reality was the SNAME document had caused a few ruffled feathers, and people figured we needed to fix some areas of the technology before we took it into an ISO. This resulted in the formation of a ‘Concerned Users Group,’ which soon became the IADC Jackup Rig Committee.”

The IADC committee was instrumental in moving the process forward by financing a number of technical studies to investigate and progress jackup site-specific assessment, and “we were eventually able to make progress with the ISO and finally reach a conclusion,” he said. In addition, Shell UK, the UK HSE and, more recently, ExxonMobil and Chevron also funded studies, while LeTourneau, Keppel FELS and GustoMSC contributed technical work.

Maintaining that engagement and level of participation is still key to success in industrywide projects. “We need to look to maintain a level of interest in the workgroup and its technical panels so when we need to revise the document, which we will undoubtedly need to do, we have the resources and the willingness to do it,” Mr Hoyle stated. “IADC’s award reflects the effort of a lot of people across the industry, and I was really only there to pull it together a bit and keep it moving.”

IADC is working hard to support drillers and ensure that every crew member has the training, knowledge and support they need to work safely and efficiently “in a business that demands the very best,” 2013 IADC chairman David Williams said.

IADC is devoting significant energy and focus to address the interests of its onshore members, including the creation of an Onshore Committee and the establishment of regional forums in Midland, Denver, Lafayette and Oklahoma City, 2013 IADC chairman David Williams said in the keynote presentation at the IADC Drilling Onshore Conference & Exhibition in Houston on 16 May. Such groups will provide places for members to discuss issues that drillers are facing in the onshore market. “Safety, for example, remains the primary focus of IADC and its member companies, and rightly so. Safety is our most important operational integrity measure, and zero incidents is the target of every driller and our customers,” Mr Williams said.

One key initiative that IADC kicked off in 2012 is the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) project, which is expected to be completed this year. This milestone project to develop enhanced competency guidelines will help to ensure that rig crews have the appropriate training and skills to work safely and efficiently “in a business that demands the very best,” Mr Williams said.

Another project under way is the IADC Drilling Lexicon, a website that will provide a forum for critical review of drilling terms. “As we all know, terms and definitions shift overtime, and we’ll need everyone in the industry to keep this website up to date for the benefit of everybody,” Mr Williams said. One major goal in providing these commonly used drilling terms is to assist regulators around the world in developing regulations that are consistent with international standards.

IADC has further assembled a team of more than 100 drilling experts to update the IADC Drilling Manual. Major revisions of the IADC HSE Guidelines and Deepwater Well Control Guidelines are under way as well.

Cactus Drilling’s Ron Tyson, who is serving as vice president of the IADC Onshore Division, introduced David Williams at the opening session of the IADC Drilling Onshore Conference in Houston on 16 May.

“These are just a handful of examples of the important initiatives that IADC committees and staff are currently working on to forward the goals of our association. But none of these activities can happen without you. Our members play an integral part in moving the industry forward, and it’s only with your participation that IADC can achieve success. Committees, chapters and conferences like this are all ways to become more involved in IADC,” Mr Williams said.

Additionally, IADC continues an reorganization its committee structure, with one goal being to enhance the value of committees focused on onshore issues, including the Rig Moving and Well Servicing committees, he said. “We recognize that the important work and the necessary work to change our industry for the better is generated in IADC’s committees. The committees are a place where people come together to share experiences, brainstorm new ideas and develop initiatives with the industry,” he stressed.

Jason McFarland, IADC VP of corporate development and chief of staff, opened the conference on 16 May in Houston. He noted IADC’s efforts to enhance communication with members “and demonstrate our relevance to every individual on every rig.”

With significant offshore discoveries and robust growth of shale development, as well as projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline, the US has an opportunity to transform from a nation that imports energy into one that’s independent from the world’s oil market, he continued. “Reaching that potential means that the US and state governments will need to work together with the energy industry to unlock resources to meet future demand… We simply cannot tolerate politics as usual here.” As a call to action, he said that industry must be engaged in active dialogue with stakeholders around the world. “If you are not involved in this debate, get involved… If you don’t, we could be sidelined by those in government who would just as soon see us go out of business. As drillers, it’s time for us to get to work telling our story.”

Increasing pore pressures and fracture gradients in target reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico have motivated Chevron to use a seabed pumping dual-gradient drilling method, Ken Smith, Chevron, said at the 2013 IADC DGD Workshop on 9 May in Houston.

By Joanne Liou, associated editor

Dual-gradient technology continues to gain attention as an important solution to deepwater drilling and extraction of resources from depleted reservoirs. Chevron is months away from deploying its dual-gradient system in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, where the environment is largely characterized by increasing pore pressures and increasing fracture gradients, Ken Smith, manager of the dual gradient drilling (DGD) project implementation at Chevron, explained. “We’re really driven by the environment we’re drilling, the rocks that we have to drill. We’re motivated to change the physics behind our drilling,” he said at the 2013 IADC DGD Workshop on 9 May in Houston.

Nonproductive time is a major challenge, averaging up to 30% in the deepwater GOM, Mr Smith noted, adding that one-third of Chevron’s well costs go toward fighting NPT. “It’s getting worse as we routinely drill 30,000-ft wells, and we have leases in up to 20,000 ft of water.” This type of drilling environment is changing the playing field, and DGD will help overcome the challenges, he said. From a well design standpoint, DGD takes water depth out of the equation.

Chevron’s DGD system uses seabed pumping with positive displacement to open up tight pressure margins. “It improves the detection and reaction of the downhole challenges,” Mr Smith explained. “It restores the riser margin and remains overbalanced at all times.” With a restored riser margin, fewer casing strings are needed to reach TD.

In DGD, the fluid in the riser is replaced with seawater-dense fluid, setting up a pressure profile that is aligned with nature’s pressures. “We’re not fighting (natural pressures) as much as we do in conventional drilling,” Mr Smith said. “We enhance operational performance with the MPD capabilities of our system being closed and pressurizeable, which leads to improved well integrity and ultimately well productivity.”

Dag Ove Molde, Statoil, discussed the different types of dual-gradient systems that have been classified under the categories of pre-BOP and post-BOP.

While Chevron’s DGD is an example of seabed pumping, other methods of DGD also were discussed at the workshop, including Dag Ove Molde, specialist drilling technology for Statoil. The IADC DGD Subcommittee recently classified dual gradient systems into two main categories, pre-BOP and post-BOP. Mud-line pumping is one method under pre-BOP, while seabed pumping, dilution and controlled mud level fall under post-BOP.

Mud-line pumping is a riserless concept that has been deployed in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Norwegian sector, Mr Molde said. The system may consist of an interface on the seafloor, a subsea pump, a control system and a return conduit. Subsea pumps return the drilling fluid to the rig through a small-bore riser, which allows the mud to be used in the top sections of the well.

When mud inside the riser is diluted, injecting a lower-density fluid into the drilling annulus reduces the hydrostatic head of the circulating fluid. The mixing process results in the required density to achieve a constant bottomhole pressure, Mr Molde explained. Dilution is applicable from intermediate to deepwater operations.

Controlled mud level systems also use two fluids to control the wellbore pressure gradient. “The main usage is to control equivalent circulation density limitations,” Mr Molde said. The system can be placed at different levels in the riser to achieve variable control over the wellbore pressure based on fluid density and placement. Controlled mud level systems are applicable to intermediate water depth.

Dag Ove Molde, Statoil, discussed the different types of dual-gradient systems that have been classified under the categories of pre-BOP and post-BOP.

Qualification of DGD systems is dependent on the specific configuration of the DGD system, the drilling installation and the well conditions, DNV’s Francisco Chávez V. said at the IADC Dual Gradient Drilling Workshop on 9 May in Houston.

As industry gains experience in the deployment of dual-gradient drilling (DGD) systems on floating rigs, qualification of these systems will become necessary to provide documented evidence that the system will operate safely, Francisco Chávez V., principal project manager of the drilling & well section for Det Norske Veritas (DNV), said at the 2013 IADC DGD Workshop in Houston on 9 May. Such qualification would be dependent on three factors: the configuration of the DGD system, the drilling installation and well conditions, he said. “These three set the qualification boundaries, and changing any one of these will require a reassessment of qualification.”

Because new technologies begin with no defined standards that become developed as the technology is utilized, Mr Chávez said, a risk-based, systematic approach to system qualification would ensure that the technology functions reliably within specified limits. This approach should be applied to DGD technologies, he said, which remains new in terms of field deployment, particularly in deepwater environments. It’s also necessary to qualify DGD systems to extend the operational limits when existing DGD technology is used in more demanding operations, he said.

Mr Chávez cited the following as the current, relevant design standards for DGD on floating drilling rigs with DNV Class:

• DNV OS E 101 “Drilling Plant”
• DNV OS A 101 “Safety Principles and Arrangements”
• DNV OS D 202 “Automation, Safety, and Telecommunication Systems”

Efforts are also ongoing to produce more specific guidelines for designing DGD systems:

• The IADC Underbalanced Operations & Managed Pressure Drilling Committee has drafted an API Recommended Practice for managed pressure drilling, “Constant Bottom Hole Pressure using Applied Surface Back Pressure (Category 2 MPD) with Single Phase Fluid”
• Revised version of NORSOK D-010
• DNV revision of DNV-OS-E101

“The design of all equipment has to consider the regulations and the standards, which will eventually be used for qualifying such a system for the operation that is intended. Within that, it implies as well the need to assess the reliability of the different components within that part of the classification so the standards and the qualification methods contribute to building trust on the safe operations, the design and the performance, the reliability of a DGD system,” Mr Chávez said.

Paul Guirlet, Pacific Drilling, said at the workshop that the company had to make several modifications to integrate DGD on the Pacific Santa Ana but is incorporating lessons learned on the four rigs still under construction, which will be delivered “as DGD ready as we can.”

In another presentation at the workshop, Paul Guirlet, vice president of technical support for Pacific Drilling, highlighted the challenges and modifications associated with the integration of DGD on rigs, particuarly what the company has accomplished over the past three years working with Chevron on the Pacific Santa Ana.

He acknowledged that integrating DGD on that drillship has been a team-based effort among many companies, including Chevron, GE, AGR and National Oilwell Varco, adding that the biggest challenge from his perspective was finding space on the rig for the system. “Even if we have a very large vessel, the challenge is finding room.” Further, installation of DGD equipment required locations where it would be easy to access, easy to maintain and easy to use. “This is quite a big piece of equipment; consider it like a lower stack of a BOP that needs to be installed a part of the riser string… We’ve done a lot of work trying to optimize and make the best use of the space available on the vessel.” The DGD equipment includes a drilling riser cross-section, subsea rotating device, solids processing unit, MaxLift pump and drill string valve.

Other equipment on the rig, such as the piping system and the Christmas tree, also needed to be retrofitted due to the fluids used in DGD. “All of our vessel are coming with two storages for the BOP, but of course the MaxLift pump was not exactly similar to a BOP, so we needed to upgrade that. We needed to have a second guiding system to make sure the vessel motion would not create any problems.” Pacific Drilling also had to add two Mux reels, he said.

Mr Guirlet noted that Pacific Drilling is taking all the lessons learned from the Pacific Santa Ana, which was delivered in late 2011, to its new ultra-deepwater drillship, the Pacific Sharav. “We really believe in the DGD plan, so all of the four rigs that we’ve got currently under construction at Samsung will be as DGD ready as we can, because there is a lot of development still ongoing at this stage. And we will know more certainly after we drill the first well in not too long.” Samsung is expected to deliver the Pacific Sharav at the end of 2013.