DRILLBITS – October 2019
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Advocacy
IADC Hosts Successful Onshore Focused Washington, D.C. Fly-In
IADC members and staff meet with Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR) during the IADC Washington, D.C. Fly-In
IADC recently hosted a Fly-In in Washington, D.C. for onshore members. Those who attended participated in 20 meetings, visiting with 19 Congressional offices and the Chemical Safety Board. They also hosted an educational ‘Snack and Learn’ educational event on Capitol Hill for Congressional staff, agency staff, trade associations and anyone else who had an interest in learning more about the latest advancements in offshore drilling technology.
IADC members in attendance included Mike Garvin, Sr. Vice President, Operations Support; Patterson-UTI Drilling Company; Scott McKee, Vice President, Marketing, Cactus Drilling Company; Chris Menefee, Vice President – Business
During a fundraiser, IADC members and staff met with Texas Representative Henry Cuellar during the Washington, D.C. Fly-In.
Development, Independence Contract Drilling and Mike Bowie, Director, Oilfield Equipment – North America, Baker Hughes, a GE Company (BHGE). From IADC, Liz Craddock, Vice President, Government and Industry Affairs; Bob Warren Vice President, Government and Industry Affairs – Onshore and Matt Giacona, Legislative Assistant, were also in attendance.
The Snack and Learn featured a 101 on Onshore Drilling presentation.The group met with Members of Congress from Oklahoma, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Dakota, Texas, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and Arkansas. They also met separately with Chemical Safety Board Director of Recommendations Charles Barbee.
Barring Drilling in Federal Waters Shortsighted; IADC Comment on Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act House Vote
On 11 September, the U.S. House voted, 238 to 189, to approve H.R. 1941, the Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act, legislation that bars offshore drilling in federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. It additionally voted, 248 to 180, to approve H.R. 205, the Protecting and Securing Florida’s Coastline Act, to permanently extend the GOMESA moratorium on oil and gas activities in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. In response, IADC President Jason McFarland issued the following statement:
“Arbitrarily locking away strategic offshore resources severely limits the United States’ ability to remain an energy leader. Today’s vote is disappointing given the reality that increased oil and gas production is necessary to meet the country’s rising energy needs. Energy in the U.S. is produced with a smaller carbon footprint and under stronger environmental protections than most other places in the world, a significant fact that must be considered when debating energy policies that impact its ability to decrease its reliance on foreign energy sources and provide energy for the world. Just as importantly, policies that encourage U.S. oil and gas development significantly contribute to the overall economy. We are an industry that employs a staggering number of Americans, more than 10.3 million, nearly 8 percent of the economy. Today’s House votes ignore both of these positive realities that result from U.S. oil and gas production. Shutting down the possibility of drilling in federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and Eastern Gulf of Mexico, areas that are expected to hold vast natural resources, is shortsighted and the first step toward “keeping it in the ground”. American consumers can’t afford policies that stifle domestic energy production and the resulting increase in their energy costs. IADC remains hopeful that in the future, a real conversation about the potential development of these natural resource assets in U.S. waters is entertained by lawmakers as their development has very real impacts on the everyday lives of American consumers and the U.S economy.
To read the Joint Trades Letter on the topic, please visit: Stand Up for American Made Energy
IADC: Move Forward Not Backward on ANWR, U.S. House Votes to Bar Development
On 12 September, the U.S. House voted, 225 to 193, to advance H.R. 1146, the Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act, legislation that reverses the enacting clause opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In response, IADC President Jason McFarland issued the following statement:
“Today’s vote bans oil and gas leasing and development in and around the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. These lands, which are presumed to hold more than 10 billion barrels of recoverable oil, can be developed safely and in an environmentally responsible manner. The impact of such activity would no doubt have a huge impact on the Alaskan economy, as well as the U.S. Treasury, bringing jobs to the region along with the drilling royalties these activities generate. IADC supports energy policies that encourage the safe and environmentally sound development of all the nation’s energy resources. With today’s vote, the House took a step backward in promoting U.S. energy production, and another step toward advancing ‘keep it in the ground’ policies.
Results of DRILLERSPAC Campaign
IADC’s DRILLERSPAC ran a fundraising campaign from May 20-June 20 with a goal to raise $50,000. To date, $37,000 has been received from 71 individuals and 13 companies! Thank you for those contributions. In addition, Latshaw Drilling had 43 employees who committed to supporting the PAC. Thank you Trent and Latshaw Drilling!
In the 2018 midterm elections, the IADC DRILLERSPAC supported 14 candidates in Senate and Congressional races, with 13 of those winning their races, a 93% success rate. The next election cycle includes key races in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Mississippi and Alaska, among others, and IADC will again be supporting candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to supporting energy and the drilling industry.
The DRILLERSPAC was sanctioned by IADC’s Board of Directors to further IADC’s goal of advocacy engagement with federally elected Members of Congress. DRILLERSPAC is not affiliated with any political party. It is organized and conducted on a voluntary, non-partisan basis. DRILLERSPAC is overseen by the PAC Board of Trustees, which is comprised of 10 members – three from offshore companies, three from onshore companies, two from drilling services companies and two IADC employees.
Washington D.C. Updates
House:
Coming back from a long August recess, the House jumped into legislative mode in September. Multiple hearings and votes occurred on the energy front, with Atlantic, Pacific and ANWR drilling ban bills (H.R.1146 and H.R.1945), as well as a Florida drilling ban bill (H.R.205) all passing the House. The bills passed largely on party lines, but it is highly unlikely they will ever be voted on in the U.S. Senate. The Natural Resources committee held several hearings that examined the oil and gas industry, as well as BLM, the agency in charge of onshore oil and gas development and federal lands. Democratic lawmakers pressed Interior officials hard on plans to move the Bureau’s headquarters to Grand Junction, CO. Democrats have continued to use their control of committees and the House floor to exercise oversight over the Trump Administration: just last week, Speaker Pelosi announced the initiation of formal impeachment proceedings against the President. The House is in recess until October 15, but the rest of the year will surely be filled with more hearings, subpoenas and investigations as both parties scramble to position themselves favorably ahead of elections in November of 2020.
Senate:
The Senate spent September confirming 22 more of President Trump’s executive branch nominees. Despite making almost no progress on appropriations, the Senate managed to pass a continuing resolution that will fund the government through Nov. 21; the bill is now awaiting President Trump’s signature. Concerning energy policy, the Senate ENR committee held hearings on clean energy technology and critical minerals. With the House still working out details with the Administration over the new USMCA trade deal, Senators are waiting patiently to take up ratification of the deal. Both parties have expressed a high level of interest in getting the deal ratified before the end of 2019.
White House:
Marred by international crises and growing calls for impeachment from Democrats, the Trump Administration spent September doubling down on its policies and playing political defense. Late in the month, the President released a statement in which he pledged the Administration’s continued commitment to promote growth across the U.S. energy industry by approving new pipelines, strengthening grid security and resilience, removing restrictions on oil and gas exploration and development, and supporting clean coal technologies. Regarding environmental policy, the Administration made waves early in the month when it announced two controversial changes: a rollback of EPA’s oil and gas methane emissions rule and a repeal the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, a measure that placed limits on polluting chemicals that could be used near bodies of water. On the trade front, the Administration continued to work with Speaker Nancy Pelosi throughout September in efforts to ratify the USMCA deal signed by the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Despite final details surrounding environmental standards and protections for workers still being ironed out, both sides remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached before the end of 2019. In regard to immigration issues on the southern border, the Administration has continued to take steps to limit immigration and reverse longstanding border policies; President Trump recently announced an end to the U.S. ‘catch and release’ policy, and the Pentagon recently approved the transfer of additional defense funds for the construction of a physical wall on the southern border.
INDUSTRY NEWS
August GOM Lease Sale Yields More than $159 Million in Bids
The US Department of Interior’s region-wide Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Lease Sale 253, held on 21 August, generated bids in excess of $159 million for 151 tracts covering 835,006 acres in federal waters of the GOM. A total of 27 companies participated in the lease sale, submitting $174,922,200 in all bids.
Lease Sale 253 included 14,585 unleased blocks, located from three to 231 miles offshore, in the Gulf’s Western, Central and Eastern Planning Areas in water depths ranging from nine to more than 11,115 feet. Lease Sale 253 was the fifth offshore sale held under the 2017-2022 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program.
More information about the sale, can be found at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s website.
IADC Participates in Enhancing Offshore E&P Regional Capacity Workshop in Guyana
In mid-September, IADC was invited to participate in a conference, Enhancing Offshore E&P Regional Capacity: Operational and Environmental Safeguards, in Georgetown, Guyana. Mark Denkowski, IADC Vice President, Accreditation Operations spoke on a panel about how industry associations can bring together experts to address critical issues in the upstream O&G enterprise. Mr. Denkowski was joined on the panel by representatives from IOGP and API.
For more information about IADC’s participation at the conference, please contact Mark Denkowski at Mark.Denkowski@iadc.org.
U.S. Coast Guard’s Maritime Security Committee Holds Annual Security Exercise
The Gulf of Mexico Maritime Security Committee recently held its annual security exercise in Kenner, Louisiana. The tabletop exercise gave participants the opportunity to discuss the capabilities, resources and procedures required to respond to cybersecurity threat scenarios that may occur during operations in the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf. ADM John Nadeau, 8th District Commander, kicked off the event by addressing a need for participants to remain persistent in continuing to develop collaborative efforts to address the breadth of cyber concerns.
More information about the exercise can be found at the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Commons blog.
DNVGL Releases Maritime Forecast to 2050 3rd Edition
DNVGL recently released its Maritime Forecast to 2050 3rd Edition: Fuel Flexibility Key to Competitiveness in Low-Carbon Shipping Future. The document examines the future of the shipping industry in a rapidly changing global energy landscape. This year’s report focuses on the challenges of reducing the carbon intensity of the global fleet to meet the ambitious targets set by the IMO’s greenhouse gas reduction strategy.
To obtain a full copy of the report, please visit the DNVGL website.
UL-Lafayette IADC Student Chapter Tour Facility, Host Presentation
The University of Louisiana – Lafayette (ULL) IADC Student Chapter hosted Marcel Robichaux, General Manager, Global Drilling and Completions Assurance for Chevron during the IADC/AADE chapter meeting on 13 September. Mr. Robichaux’s presentation focused on Chevron’s WellSafe assurance program, and more than 35 students attended the meeting and presentation.
ULL student chapter members also participated in a facility tour at Nabors Offshore Drilling. 25 students attended the tour, which allowed students to see up close BOPs, accumulators, pumps, top drives, draw works and rig structures
IADC Student Chapters Established in India, Louisiana State University
IADC recently announced the establishment of new student chapters at the Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT) in India and at Louisiana State University (LSU) in the United States.
The first international IADC Student chapter was established at MIT last month. During a presentation to MIT, IADC President Jason McFarland said, “Expanding the student chapter program outside of the U.S. has been a goal since its inception in 2017. To accomplish this goal by establishing a student chapter in India is particularly special, as IADC’s South Central Asia Chapter has long provided exceptional leadership in this region.”
Mr. McFarland went on to thank Mike DuBose, IADC Vice President, International Development for his leadership of the student chapter initiative and Arun Karle, President of Askara Enterprises who has supported IADC and its members in India for 25 years.
IADC Houston Chapter to Host Christmas Gala
The IADC Houston Chapter will host its 3rd annual Christmas Gala on Saturday, 7 December at the Petroleum Club of Houston from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. The evening’s festivities will include music, caricature artist, door prizes and a special visit from old St. Nick. Last year’s gala raised more than $10,000 for the Houston Chapter’s scholarship fund.
For more information, or to purchase a ticket or table, please contact Scott Gordon at scott.gordon@hpidc.com.
ACCREDITATION
IADC Accreditation Department Successfully Passes ISO 9001:2015 Recertification Audit
In February, IADC’s Accreditation Department successfully passed the ISO 9001:2015 recertification audit with zero findings. IADC remains the only well control accrediting body to hold ISO 9001:2015 certification, demonstrating the association’s ability to consistently provide services that meet customer requirements while keeping a focus on quality and integrity. Programs that fall under the ISO certification include RigPass, SafeLand, SafeGulf, WellSharp, WellCAP Plus, DIT, Competence Assurance, Gateway and Crane-Rigger.
The ISO 9001 QMS standard requires that a company identify and describe processes using business metrics, the purpose of which is to better manage and control business processes. The ISO 9001 family addresses various aspects of quality management and contains some of ISO’s best-known standards, which provide guidance and tools for companies and organizations that want to ensure that their products and services consistently meet customer’s requirements. ISO 9001:2015 sets out the criteria for a quality management system and is the only standard in the family that can be certified to. This standard is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement.
For more information, please contact Brooke Polk at Brooke.Polk@iadc.org.
INDUSTRY RESOURCES
DDR Plus V2.0 Released for Final Comment
IADC has issued V2.0 of the DDR Plus for final comment, after receiving and considering wide-ranging input from across the industry over the past eight months since V1.0 was launched earlier this year.
Among the major changes are:
- Main Codes 21, 22 and 23 are now “Other” which can be used for any user-defined operations.
- Nonproductive time was moved from Main Codes to a Sub-Activity Code.
- Run/Retrieve Riser Equipment and “Surface Testing” moved from Main Codes 21/22 to 31/32.
- “Operating Status” moved from Main Code 25 to Main Code 33.
- “Safety” moved from Main Code 26 to Main Code 34.
- “Well Control” moved from Main Code 27 to Main Code 35.
- Thorough vetting and consolidation of subcodes.
IADC paper DDR Plus tour sheets will also be updated by January 2020 to match the electronic IADC codeset. New fields have been added for:
- Spud Date/Time,
- Rig Release Date/Time
- Pause Date/Time
- Resume Date/Time
- TD (Total Depth) Date/Time
- Fuel Used
- Fuel on Hand.
The fields have been slightly re-arranged to group corresponding codes more efficiently together.
The work has been completed by the IADC Drilling Control Systems (DCS) Subcommittee under the purview of the IADC Advanced Rig Technology (ART) Committee. The group aims to keep the DDR Plus as an evergreen document, with annual surveys conducted to identify changes that may be required as the industry and its technologies evolve.
The new codeset and a mockup of the revised print tour sheet can be viewed online at ddrplus.iadc.org. Comments should be submitted no later than 30 November 2019, either via the website or e-mailed to ddrplus@iadc.org.
IADC Bookstore Enhanced and Upgraded
The IADC bookstore recently completed a thorough update and streamlining process to further advance the overall user experience. The print and electronic bookstores are now combined into one store and allow customers to quickly link to the desired choice and format of desired books, contracts, daily drilling reports, and streaming media. Top-selling items, including the 2T6 Drilling Report, the IADC Drilling Manual and the Drillers Knowledge Book, are featured.
IADC has worked with its partners, including Techstreet and Moxie Media, in making the user experience much easier while offering new products and delivery methods. The bookstore will continue adding relevant content for our users and customers over the coming weeks.
Android App for Mission Petrohouse Rolled Out
IADC’s Drilling Matters initiative to educate the public and dispel myths and misconceptions about our industry hit the ground running in 2019, with the roll out of an Android app for its popular online game Mission Petrohouse.
Mission Petrohouse players steer a retro rocket ship through a home and “zap” everyday products created from petroleum to fill the rocket’s fuel tank. The game tracks the number of items zapped, and provides helpful information about each item.
The new app can be downloaded from Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iadc.hydrohouse
Drilling Matters is available on line at www.DrillingMatters.org.
For more information about Drilling Matters, contact Amy Rose (amy.rose@iadc.org).
IADC Lexicon Featured Term for October 2019
The IADC Lexicon (IADCLexicon.org) is a compendium of upstream-related terms, which, unlike conventional glossaries, are official definitions drawn from legislation, regulation and regulatory guidance, standards (global, national and regional), and IADC guidelines. Terms often have multiple definitions from different sources.
This month’s Featured Term is:
“Expert Operation” ( API SPEC 17F, Specification for Subsea Production Control Systems, Second Edition, December 2006 (Reaffirmed April 2011):
Operating the IWCS with other control commands or other methods than used for normal operation. NOTE Typically used by IWCS supplier or other skilled resource to read IWCS diagnostic data and make (engineering) adjustments to IWCS equipment.
(click the link to read the full definition on the IADC Lexicon.)
Accreditation Updates
RigPass
WellSharp
Upcoming Events
Rigs Receive ISP Certificates
For certificates received since last LTI (in years):
New IADC Members
IADC welcomes 10 new members:
DRILLBITS Volume 29, Number 10
Kevin Neveu, Chairman • Jason McFarland, President • Amy Rose, Editor
All listed phone extensions are for IADC’s Houston headquarters,
+1/713-292-1945. Fax +1/713-292-1946.
Send comments/questions to Amy Rose at amy.rose@iadc.org.
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IADC Director – Membership Sharon Thorpe at sharon.thorpe@iadc.org.