IADC CONNECTION • EDITORIAL
To propel itself
forward, drilling
industry must
look to technical
innovations FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Technological advances are often designed
to further safeguard our employees or to
deliver heightened equipment and systems
reliability and operational efficiency, or
to simultaneously advance both of these
essential attributes as our industry explores,
drills and produces the energy upon which
the world relies. This is why many oilfield
service companies commit their efforts,
and financial resources, to drive continuous
enhancements to existing technologies and
to develop new, innovative technologies
to support customers’ efforts to meet the
world’s expanding energy demands.
The importance our industry places on
technological advancements is on dis-
play each May in Houston at the Offshore
Technology Conference (OTC), the premier
event for exhibiting the latest scientific
and technical knowledge in the offshore
energy sector. Thousands of profession-
als from around the world collaborate at
the four-day conference to discuss techni-
cal challenges and solutions. It is a truly
inspiring event, and I encourage everyone
in our industry to participate, using it as
a prompt for incremental improvement of
existing technologies and as a springboard
for the exploration of new ideas that will
invariably continue to propel our industry.
Everyone in the energy industry knows
that we will continue to face challenges –
some of which are not yet known. However,
we possess the distinct advantage of hav-
ing the best and the brightest minds to
tackle these challenges and push us for-
ward to further improve safety, reliability
and efficiency while reducing fuel con-
sumption and emissions. This continued
technological advancement is especially
important as the offshore drilling market
enters a period of robust recovery amid
44 strong demand and limited availability of
the newest, highest-specification rigs.
At Transocean, we are nearing deliv-
ery of our two new eighth-generation
drillships – the Deepwater Atlas and the
Deepwater Titan. These will be the only
two eighth-generation drillships in the
industry, set apart by their ability to drill
and complete 20,000-psi prospects with an
industry-leading net 3 million-lb hoisting
capacity. These attributes clearly reinforce
Transocean’s position as the technologi-
cal leader in offshore drilling – a position
built upon a long history of technological
innovation in constant pursuit of safety,
reliability and efficiency.
Our company’s history includes the first
dynamically positioned drillship, the first
rig to drill year-round in the North Sea, the
first semisubmersible rig for year-round
sub-Arctic operations, the first 10,000-ft
water depth rated ultra-deepwater drill-
ship, as well as numerous water depth
world records over the past several decades.
Innovation is a core value at Transocean.
We continuously advance our leadership
position by developing and investing in
technologies that optimize our operation-
al performance. An excellent example of
a technology enhancement to improve
operational performance is our automated
drilling control system, which is currently
installed on six of our harsh-environment
floaters. This system materially improves
our ability to safely and efficiently deliver
better wells to our customers.
Additionally, we employ a data-driven
approach across the company and have
deployed our smart equipment analytics
tool, which delivers real-time data feeds
from equipment to monitor their health,
inferred emissions and energy consump-
tion, while identifying performance trends
that allow us to systematically optimize
equipment maintenance and achieve
higher and more constant levels of reli-
ability and operational efficiency.
Transocean has also developed and
deployed its patented HaloGuard system,
which sounds a series of alarms and,
if required, halts equipment to prevent
injury to personnel who move into danger
zones. We also recently deployed the first
unit of Enhanced Drilling’s EC-Monitor
system to an offshore installation, which
enables a highly accurate understanding
Click here to view more
photos. Jeremy Thigpen, IADC Chairman
of well fluid dynamics, improves the effi-
ciency and accuracy of flow-checking, and
detects flow anomalies. Additionally, in
2021, on one of our ultra-deepwater drill-
ships, we deployed and tested the world’s
first kinetic blowout stopper on a well,
potentially representing a sea change in
operational integrity and enterprise risk
reduction through unrivaled shearing
capability. Later this year, we expect to be
the first to deploy offshore a robotic riser
bolting tool on two of our ultra-deepwater
drillships, improving our ability to deliver
safe, efficient operations to our customers.
At Transocean, we believe that our
efforts to continuously improve, and effec-
tively use, innovative technologies are
critical to maintaining our competitive
position within the contract drilling ser-
vices industry. By drilling more efficient
wells, building greater resilience into our
critical operating systems, ensuring the
safety of our crews, and reducing fuel con-
sumption and emissions, we are making
improvements that benefit our company,
our industry and the environment.
And as we work toward producing more
energy with lower emissions, our entire
industry recognizes that new and existing
technology plays a role. It is clear that our
industry must keep innovating, we must
keep advocating, and we must keep edu-
cating to attract new talent and the neces-
sary capital for the future of our industry.
Most importantly, we must keep drilling to
meet the global demands of a world whose
economies and people rely upon the oil
and gas we help produce each day. DC
HaloGuard is a service mark of Transocean.
M AY/J U N E 202 2 • D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R
NEWS CUTTINGS • IADC CONNECTION
Volunteers needed for IADC ISP review subcommittee
The IADC HSE Committee recently
formed a subcommittee for drilling con-
tractors, onshore and offshore, to under-
take a comprehensive review of the IADC
Incident Statistics Program (ISP), focus-
ing on updating definitions, reporting
criteria and performance metrics.
The ISP has tracked safety and acci-
dent information for the drilling indus-
try since 1962. It provides a record of
data reflecting accident experience that
can be compared with other industries,
helping drillers identify the causes and
trends of drilling industry injuries and
providing a means of recognizing rig
crews for outstanding safety perfor-
mance. It also provides a benchmark
for global HSE performance across the
drilling industry.
Patrick Kearley, Global VP HSE and
Training for Ensign Energy Service, will
serve as Onshore Chairman for the ISP
Subcommittee, and Paul Finnie, Director
Global HSE for Diamond Offshore, will
represent the offshore members. The
subcommittee is proactively looking for
representatives from onshore and off-
shore drilling contractors to participate,
with the goal of creating a finished prod-
uct that is fully representative of indus-
try opinion. Its first meeting will be held
on 9 May.
For more information, please contact
Rhett Winter at rhett.winter@iadc.org.
IADC members host students at Drilling Conference
IADC member companies hosted several student chapters at the 2022 IADC/
SPE International Drilling Conference in Galveston, Texas, in early March. As part
of the activities that week, 39 students from nine schools also toured the Valaris
8506 semisubmersible, which was positioned dockside in Galveston.
DEC Tech Forum to focus on drilling hazards, well design
On 15 June, the IADC Drilling Engineers
Committee will host its Q2 Technology
Forum, “Drilling Hazards and the Impact
on Well Design and Delivery.”
This forum will explore the ongoing
evolution in well design due to changes
in philosophy, technology and risk. Well
designs are constantly evolving, and
wellsite operational practices continue
to improve to mitigate exposure and risk.
The forum will examine how the indus-
try can quantify risk so that appropriate
well designs can be planned and select-
ed. Drilling engineering problems that
could be explored in this forum include:
subsurface hazards, offset wells, drilling
technology, bit design and fluids.
Scan me to register
for the IADC DEC Q2
Technology Forum.
bit.ly/3Dij3xT IADC ART Energy Efficiency
group launches projects
The IADC Advanced Rig Technology
(ART) Committee recently kicked off three
new projects and is calling for individu-
als in the drilling industry to join the
efforts. The projects, which fall under the
ART Energy Efficiency Subcommittee, are
emission forecasting and reporting, emis-
sion reduction recommended practice
for drilling operations, and an alternative
fuels overview report.
Scan me to indicate
your interest in
participating in one or
more of these projects.
bit.ly/2YHM9GC IADC, SPE student chapters
collaborate to host virtual
geothermal drilling event
IADC and SPE student chapters at the
University of North Dakota co-hosted a
virtual Geothermal Drilling Conference in
late March. While enhanced geothermal
systems offer tremendous potential, high
drilling costs remain a critical challenge.
The conference explored the causes of
these high costs, such as low rates of pen-
etration and wellbore instability issues.
The event also presented a drilling opti-
mization system designed for geothermal
application. This was the second event co-hosted by
the two student chapters. The first event,
focusing on carbon capture utilization and
storage, took place in January.
Saudi Arabia’s KFUPM
adds IADC student chapter
IADC has announced the 13th edition
to its student chapter program: King Fahd
University of Petroleum and Minerals
(KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia.
The KFUPM Department of Petroleum
Engineering was established in 1973 and
started functioning on 14 September 1974
with an undergraduate program. The first
BS degree in petroleum engineering was
awarded in 1977. The department started
its MS program in 1982 and its PhD pro-
gram in 1985.
IADC’s Student Chapter program was
started in 2017.
D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R • M AY/J U N E 202 2
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