DRILLBITS -February 2015
This Month’s Articles
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IADC Deepwater Well Control Guidelines Now Available for Purchase
The 2nd edition of the groundbreaking “IADC Deepwater Well Control Guidelines” is now available for purchase in both print and electronic formats. The guidelines include new content on operational risk management, sometimes called process safety, with additional new and refreshed content on well integrity, well planning, rig operations, equipment, procedures, training and drills, and emergency response. The year-long project was led by Louis Romo, BP, Chairman of the Deepwater Well Control Guidelines Task Force, and Moe Plaisance, Diamond Offshore Drilling (Retired), Executive Advisor, with support from nearly 100 top-level experts.
The Guidelines aim to facilitate safe and efficient deepwater drilling operations. It provides guidance for maintaining primary well control, applying secondary well control methods and responding to an emergency in the event of a blowout. Each chapter is intended to facilitate the rig team’s primary task of maintaining and optimizing control of the well.
Six chapters tackle the following vital information, key to maximizing safety and efficiency in subsea rig operations.
- Operational Risk Management and Well Integrity (James Hebert, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc, chairman): Barrier installation and maintenance for the life of the well;
- Well Planning and Rig Operations (Brian Tarr, Shell, chairman): Relevance of well planning and well design to well control;
- Equipment (Peter Bennett, Pacific Drilling, chairman): Typical well control equipment used on floating drilling rigs;
- Procedures (Earl Robinson, Murphy Oil Corp, chairman): Kick prevention, detection and mitigation to maintain/regain control.
- Training and Drills (Benny Mason, Rig QA International, chairman): Planning, conducting and continuously improving deepwater well control training and drills;
- Emergency Response (John Garner, Boots and Coots, chairman): Activities and resources to manage a well control emergency.
The IADC Deepwater Guidelines also include an appendix defining important acronyms and terms.
To purchase, visit the IADC Bookstore.
IADC Chairman’s Anniversary Award Program Now Accepting Submissions
IADC believes in the importance of continually improving performance for the drilling industry. The Chairman’s Anniversary Award was developed to recognize field-based individuals who have made a direct impact on improved performance for their company, either through a project or personal effort. The Award will be given every five years as part of IADC’s anniversary celebrations.
Award winners will demonstrate how their innovative project directly improved performance in the field in one of the following ways:
- Eliminating injuries
- Enhancing process safety
- Reducing NPT
- Improving equipment reliability
- Increasing efficiency
Submissions are being accepted now through 21 May and will be judged based on the above criteria by a selected group of IADC staff and industry veterans. The winner will be contacted in August and the award will be presented by IADC Chairman Ed Jacob during the IADC Annual General Meeting on 5 November in San Antonio.
For more information, please visit www.iadc.org/chairmans-anniversary-award
Former UBO/MPD Committee Chairman Receives Accolades
David Pavel, 2015 IADC UBO/MPD Committee Chairman and President, Welling & Company, presents Martin Culen, General Manager, Blade Energy Partners, with a plaque in appreciation of his service as 2014 chairman of the MPD/UBO committee.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) Competencies Database Updated to Include Technical Maintenance and Marine Operations
IADC recently added Technical Maintenance and Marine Operations competencies to the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) competency database.
The free database includes competencies for more than 73 rig-based positions, listing the recommended capabilities that personnel must possess to safely and consistently fulfill their job roles.
The database allows industry users to generate, on-demand, a unique set of competencies based on position, rig type and operational environment, providing the industry a tool to demonstrate the qualifications of their personnel. More than 70 subject matter experts from across the industry collaborated on the project, which was initiated in 2012.
“KSA competencies can be used to build or evaluate in-house competency programs, assess personnel capabilities and qualifications by building assessment guides, build personnel development tools by identifying competency strengths and can assist in the development of career advancement pathways,” said Brooke Polk, IADC Competency and Learning Development Specialist.
To access the KSA database, please visit the IADC Website.
IADC and Industry Partners Issue Letter Regarding Ocean Energy Safety Institute
On 20 February, IADC, along with NOIA, IPAA, API, US Oil & Gas Association and Offshore Operators Committee issued a letter to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Ocean Energy Safety Institute (OESI), providing feedback on the OESI. The associations came together in November 2013 to form a workgroup to discuss the OESI, which was announced that same month.
The letter detailed industry’s willingness to invest time and resources to serve on a volunteer steering committee to OESI, while also cautioning that OESI must have a clear mission and scope. The groups also noted that the value and objective of the OESI should be focused on creating safety dialogue and increasing safety in the three focus areas of offshore drilling, containment and oil spill response. The letter urges OESI to first identify and track current research and development to identify gaps that could be prioritized for funding and development, to ensure that duplication of effort is avoided.
The industry groups pointed to a long history of successful deployment of solutions to improve safety and environmental performance, asking that industry be allowed to address perceived gaps that could significantly affect safety or the environment first. IADC will continue to work alongside these industry associations on further discussions regarding the work of the OESI.
For more information, please contact Alan Spackman at Alan.Spackman@iadc.org.
Joe Hurt Receives IADC Exemplary Service Award
IADC President and CEO Stephen Colville recognizes Joe Hurt with the IADC Exemplary Service Award during the IADC Health, Safety, Environment & Training Conference and Exhibition in Houston on 3 February. Mr Hurt, IADC Vice President, Onshore Operations, retired in 2014.
New eChapter of the IADC Drilling Manual Now Available
An additional stand-alone chapter of the 12th edition of the IADC Drilling Manual has been issued in electronic form and is available for purchase via the IADC Bookstore.
More than 100 technical experts have contributed to the first major rewrite of the manual in 22 years.
The new chapter is:
High Pressure Drilling Hoses:
This eChapter includes an overview of hose types, mechanical properties, care and maintenance, inspection and testing, and a special section on flexible choke-and-kill hose and flexible well-test hose. Written by Ron Trujillo and Dr Tibor Nagy, with co-authors Alexandra Bukszár, Attilla Mihály and Jocelyn Mangunsong.
This new eChapter is in addition to the 22 chapters previously released in electronic format. The eBooks are compatible with most eReaders, including DL Reader (mobile devices), BlueFire, Adobe Digitial Editions and more.
Hard copies of the 12th Edition of the Drilling Manual are expected to be released in 2015.
To purchase any of the available eBooks, please visit the IADC Bookstore.
Industry Issues Letter in Support of U.S. Vessel Incidental Discharge Act
On 17 February, IADC, along with more than 50 other associations, issued a letter Senators John Thune and Bill Nelson of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, to support S. 373, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act. The groups urged that the legislation be marked up and reported out as soon as possible by the committee.
S.373 is bipartisan legislation that will establish nationally uniform and environmentally sound standards for ballast water and other vessel discharges.
Currently, two federal agencies, the US Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency, regulate ballast water and other vessel discharges under two differing statutory authorities. And, because neither federal statute preempts state action, 25 states have established their own requirements for many of those same discharges – over 150 in all. The overlapping patchwork makes compliance complicated, confusing and costly for vessel owners and mariners, creating inefficiencies and uncertainties that add costs to shippers and state agencies.
S.373 would rectify this situation by establishing a uniform, science-based federal framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges that will benefit all segments of the US maritime industry.
For more information, please contact Alan Spackman at Alan.Spackman@iadc.org.
IADC Issues Federal Regulatory Summaries for Onshore and Offshore Operations
IADC recently issued updated editions of two reports, Federal Regulatory Actions Impacting Offshore Drilling Contractors and Federal Regulatory Actions Impacting Onshore Drilling. Released semi-annually, each report details federal regulatory actions that could impact either onshore or offshore drilling.
The reports include updates related to hazardous waste management systems, the clean air act, maritime cybersecurity standards, hydraulic fracturing chemical reporting, arctic regulations, clean air reporting and compliance, crane standard updates, chemical management and occupational injury and illness recording and reporting requirements, among many others.
“These reports are IADC’s effort to pull together a comprehensive listing of all regulatory actions in the United States that our members can quickly access,” said Rhett Winter, IADC Director – Onshore Operations. “Our goal is to provide our members with as much information as possible to ensure efficient operations. Both of the reports not only list each regulatory action, but include an annotation of those in which IADC and our members have submitted comments to the respective agency, and they serve as a valuable tool for our industry.”
The reports reflect regulatory actions announced in the Federal Register or other available sources through December 2014.
Federal Regulatory Actions Impacting Offshore Drilling Contractors and Federal Regulatory Actions Impacting Onshore Drilling can be accessed at IADC’s website.
Accreditation Updates
RigPASS
WellCAP
Competence
Safety Alerts
For the latest safety alerts, visit www.iadc.org/safety-alerts
Alert 14-29: Personnel basket failure serious near hit
Rigs Receive ISP Certificates
For certificates received since last LTI (in years):
New IADC Members
IADC welcomes 29 new members:
DRILLBITS Volume 25, Number 2
Ed Jacob, Chairman • Stephen Colville, President and CEO • Amy Rose, Editor
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