DRILLBITS – August 2015
This Month’s Articles
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Jim Rocco joins IADC as Senior Director, Policy and Regulatory Affairs
Jim Rocco joined IADC’s Policy, Government and Regulatory Affairs division in August as Senior Director, Policy and Regulatory Affairs.
Jim joined IADC after retiring from the US Coast Guard with 23 years of active duty service. His last assignment with the Coast Guard was as Supervisor of its Offshore National Center of Expertise in Houma, Louisiana, where he had extensive interaction with the offshore oil and gas industry, and with IADC.
In his twenty plus years with the Coast Guard, Jim served as liaison to vessel and offshore classification societies, and in field assignments as a commercial vessel inspector and port operations officer working in the ports of Seattle, Morgan City and Chicago.
Additional assignments at the US Coast Guard’s Washington DC headquarters included policy and procurement positions in the Offices of Navigation, Port and Facility Activities, the National Maritime Center and the Coast Guard’s Office of Acquisitions.
Jim earned his undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University. He earned his MBA with a focus in finance from Northern Illinois University, and a Masters of International Public Policy with a focus on energy resources from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Jim can be reached via his IADC email at Jim.Rocco@iadc.org.
US EPA proposes methane emissions standards for oil and gas industry
On 18 August, the US Environmental Protection Agency proposed new standards to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas industry by 40 to 45 percent below 2012 levels in the next 10 years.
The proposed standards will require oil and gas facilities to find and repair methane leaks, capture natural gas from hydraulically fractured wells and limit emissions from pumps and other equipment. It also clarifies the agency’s air permitting rules as they apply to the oil and gas industry.
The standards for new and modified sources are expected to reduce 340,000 to 400,000 short tons of methane in 2025, the equivalent of reducing 7.7 to 9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to the EPA.
For more information about the proposed standards, please visit the EPA website
IADC Australasia Chapter rewards excellence in safety performance with awards
John O’Brien, Nabors PNG, receives the Onshore Winners Plaque from Derek Morrow, IADC Regional Representative, presented during the Australasia Chapter AGM held in Melbourne
The IADC Australasia Chapter recognized excellence in safety in 2014 with its Safety Performance Award Program.
Nabors PNG was recognized with the Onshore Winners Award and Noble Drilling was recognized with the Offshore Winners Award.
The program is open to all onshore and offshore members. In 2014, 14 of the Chapter’s 17 member companies participated, resulting in an uptake rate of more than 80%, a slight improvement over the previous year. The safety statistics for the participating companies were supplied quarterly by completing the contractor recording template and followed the 2014 IADC ISP Official Rules and Guidelines. An independent company was engaged to collate the data and provide the final results.
Particularly noteworthy was the exemplary safety performance for offshore operations, with 0 lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) across the board and 50% of the participating facilities attained 0% days away, restricted, transfer frequency rate (DARTFR) and 0% recordable frequency rate (RCRDFR). Overall, the general safety performance of the IADC Australasia member companies improved in every area despite an increase in hours worked.
Derek Morrow, IADC Regional Representative, presented Kirk Atkinson, Noble Drilling with the Offshore Winners plaque at the Noble offices in Perth
Key statistics include:
- 12,590,157 hours worked
- 24 medical treatment cases
- 12 lost time incidents
- 27 restricted work/transfer cases
- LTIFR – 0.95
- DARTFR – 3.10
- TRIFR – 5.00
- 0 fatalities
Please visit the IADC Australasia website for more information about the chapter.
US Coast Guard seeks applicants for National Maritime Security Advisory Committee
The US Coast Guard recently announced that it is seeking applications for membership on the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee. The Committee provides advice and makes recommendations on national maritime security matters to the Secretary of Homeland Security via the Commandant of the US Coast Guard. Applications are due on or before 30 October. Committee members are required to apply for, obtain and maintain a government national security clearance at the Secret level.
For more information, including contact information for applications, please visit the Federal Register of 31 August.
IADC to host Deepwater Zone Session during SPE Offshore Europe 2015
During the SPE Offshore Europe Conference and Exhibition, IADC will host a Deepwater Zone Session on 11 September at 9:30 a.m. The session, titled IADC: The Future of Well Control in the Post-Macondo Era, will delve deeper into issues facing offshore drilling contractors and will explore industry’s pro-active efforts to improve well control response. During the chaired session, a range of topics will be discussed, including WellSharp; strategic considerations for the global drilling industry; trends and developments in global regulation; and advantages of MPD for well control.
Presenters during the session include Stephen Colville, IADC President and CEO, Taf Powell, IADC Executive Vice President, Policy, Government and Regulatory Affairs; Brenda Kelly, IADC Senior Director, Program Development and representative from Blade Energy.
For more information about the Deepwater Zone sessions please visit the Offshore Europe website.
IADC Nigeria Chapter recognizes superior performance with Safety Awards
In June, the IADC Nigeria Chapter hosted a Safety Awards event to recognize superior industry performance. Awards for Active Participation in the 2014 Incident Statistics Program and Best HSE Performance in the 2014 Incident Statistics Program were presented. Winners included:
Active Participation in the 2014 Incident Statistics Program:
- Idigo Drilling Limited
- Oando Energy Services
- Depthwize Nigeria Limited
- Cardinal Drilling Nigeria Limited
- KCA Deutag Nigeria Limited
- Shelf Drilling Nigeria Limited
- Pacific International Drilling West Africa Limited
Best HSE Performance in the 2014 Incident Statistics Program
- KCA Deutag Nigeria Limited
Nigeria Safety Awards winners. Left to Right – Mark Shaw, Indigo Drillingn Limited; Ote Enaibe, Depthwize Nigeria Limited; Chijioke Akwukwuma, Oando Energy Services; Dick Verhaagen, Pacific International Drilling West Africa Limited.
KCA Deutag Nigeria Limited is awarded Best HSE Performance for 2014. From L to R: Sola Falodun, IADC Nigeria Chapter Chairman; Tokundo Akinuli, Chapter Secretary, who accepted the award on behalf of KCA Deutag and Markus Droll, Vice President Nigeria & Gabon, Shell Exploration and Production Africa Limited.
For more information about the Chapter and to get involved, please visit the IADC Nigeria Chapter website.
API issues Bulletin 92L, Drilling Ahead Safely with Lost Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico
In August, API issued Bulletin 92L, Drilling Ahead Safely with Lost Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico.
Lost circulation during drilling operations, in the form of both seepage and fracture losses, is common in the US GoM. Through experience, operators and drilling contractors have learned that with proper information, planning and execution, lost circulation can be safely managed to allow well construction goals to be met. The methods used to repair or manage lost circulation are based on well location, geology, pore and fracture pressures, drilling depth, well design, hydraulics, mud properties and available contingencies.
Bulletin 92L identifies items that should be considered to safely address lost cirulcation challenges when the equivalent circulating density exceeds the fracture gradient. It addresses drilling margins and drilling ahead with mud losses. It provides guidance when lost circulation is experienced with either surface or subsea stack operations. Information contained in the Bulletin may also apply to other Outer Continental Shelf environments.
Importantly, Bulletin 92L provides a non-prescriptive approach to addressing the issue of “drilling margins” contained in BSEE’s recently proposed Well Control Rule.
For more information, please visit API’s website.
IADC Supply Chain Committee develops 2015-2016 strategy
On 8 May, supply chain representatives from 11 drilling contractor companies met to develop and agree upon a strategy for the IADC Supply Chain Committee.
The strategy includes two main areas of focus, supplier performance and trade compliance, which have been broken out into sub-committees. The Supplier Performance sub-committee, led by Abhishek Vyas, Pacific Drilling and Brad Green, Ensco PLC, will create standard supplier key performance indicators and develop a standard supplier performance scorecard, among other initiatives. The Trade Compliance sub-committee, led by Joseph Turner, Maersk Drilling USA and Boris Kos, Ensco PLC, will initially focus on developing country specific import and export guidelines and developing requirements for importing and exporting rigs.
The committee is currently open to drilling contractors only. For those interested in participating, please contact co-chairmen Andy Poosuthasee at andy.poosuthasee@vantagedrilling.com and Jorge Lebrija at JLebrija@enscopls.com. More information can also be found on the IADC Supply Chain Committee website.
IADC to broadcast WellSharp Virtual Panel Discussion
IADC will broadcast a Virtual Panel Discussion (VPD), WellSharp: A Revolution in Well Control Training, on 16 September. Sponsored by Maersk Training, the VPD will offer detailed information about the new IADC WellSharp program.
Presenters include Mark Denkowski, IADC Executive Vice President, Operational Integrity, Brian Maness, Assistant Director of Learning and Development, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. and Brooke Polk, IADC Competence and Learning Development Specialist. The discussion will be moderated by Mike Killalea, IADC Group Vice President/Publisher.
IADC WellSharp represents the world’s most advanced well control training program for professionalizing drilling. A collaborative, industrywide, industry-led effort to completely re-define well control training produced WellSharp, which emphasizes rigorous training for every person with well control responsibilities, whether office-based or rig-based.
The VPD is offered free of charge. To register for the VPD, please visit IADC’s Website.
IADC Lexicon updated to include Well Control Institute terms
The IADC Lexicon, a free online repository of definitions for commonly used industry terms, has recently been updated.
The updates include 10 new terms drawn from the Well Control Institute.
The Lexicon provides a forum for critical review and analysis of terms used in drilling operations and production, particularly those used for regulatory purposes. It was developed in 2013 with the intent that users would use the information to influence, improve, and where appropriate standardize, the use of terminology in legislation, regulation and standards.
The IADC Lexicon contains over 7,000 terms, encompassing more than 20,000 definitions and can be accessed via IADC’s website.
Accreditation Updates
RigPASS
WellSharp
DIT
Safety Alerts
For the latest safety alerts, visit www.iadc.org/safety-alerts
Alert 15-05: Smashed fingers on tongs
Alert 15-06: Caught between winch truck and half pit
Alert 15-07: Poor situation awareness/Line of fire incident results in OSHA Recordable
Rigs Receive ISP Certificates
For certificates received since last LTI (in years):
New IADC Members
IADC welcomes 24 new members:
DRILLBITS Volume 25, Number 8
Ed Jacob, Chairman • Stephen Colville, President and CEO • Amy Rose, Editor
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+1/713-292-1945. Fax +1/713-292-1946.
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