International Association of Drilling Contractors Receives Global Safety Award from International Regulators Forum

Organization recognized for Health Safety and Environmental (HSE) Case Guideline Initiative

The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) announced that it has received the Carolita Kallaur Award for Outstanding International Safety Leadership, presented by International Regulators Forum (IRF). The award recognizes IADC’s latest contribution to improving safety in drilling operations, the “IADC Health, Safety and Environmental Case Guideline.” The IADC HSE Case Guideline, introduced in October 2006, provides a framework with which companies can develop integrated health, safety and environmental management systems to help reduce risk in drilling operations. “This excellent achievement has great potential for enhancing the safety of offshore drilling operations worldwide, and member countries of the International Regulators Forum greatly appreciate the work the International Association of Drilling Contractors has performed in developing this document,” reads the award certificate. The award was bestowed on 3 December in Miami, Fla., at the International Regulators Offshore Safety Forum 2007. Remarked Dr. Lee Hunt, IADC president, “We are honored to be recognized by IRF with this prestigious safety award. IADC is committed to developing heath, safety and environmental programs that will not only safeguard the people who work offshore, but foster the long-term goal of HSE collaboration for the drilling industry.”
Added the IRF award certificate, “The Guidelines are rapidly gaining worldwideacceptance and exposure not only in Northwest Europe and Australia, but in Cuba, Canada, Angola, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago.”
Use of the IADC HSE Case Guideline allows drilling contractors to align their business activities with a variety of international standards and regulatory requirements, assuring transparency of operations globally. The HSE Case represents a voluntary set of core principles applicable to any mobile offshore drilling unit, regardless of geographic location. Originally developed for offshore drilling operations, the HSE Case has more recently been tailored for onshore operations. The Carolita Kallaur Award for Outstanding International Safety Leadership recognizes people and organizations that demonstrate exceptional leadership in promoting and achieving international safety.

About IRF:
The International Regulators’ Forum consists
of a group of nine r
egulators of health and
safety in the offshore upstream oil and gas i
ndustry from Australia, Brazil, Canada (two
provinces separately represent
ed), the Netherl
ands, New Zealand, Norway, the United
Kingdom, and the United States
who analyze and monitor global
offshore safety. Created
in 1994, it exists to drive forward improvement
s in health and safety in the sector through
collaboration in joint programmes, and
through the sharing of information. For more information a bout IRF, please visit www.irfoffshoresafety.com.

About IADC

IADC is dedicated to enhancing the interests of oil-and-gas and geothermal drilling contractors worldwide. IADC’s contract-drilling members own most of the world’s land and offshore drilling units and drill the vast majority of the wells that produce the planet’s oil and gas. IADC’s membership also includes oil-and-gas producers, and manufacturers and suppliers of oilfield equipment and services. Founded in 1940, IADC’s mission is to improve industry health, safety and environmental practices; advance drilling and completion technology; and champion responsible standards, practices, legislation and regulations that provide for safe, efficient and environmentally sound drilling operations worldwide. IADC holds Accredited Observer status at the International Maritime Organization and the International Seabed Authority, specialized agencies of the United Nations. The Association is a leader in developing standards for industry training, notably its Well Control Accreditation Program (WellCAP)® and rig-floor orientation program, RIG PASS®. IADC is headquartered in Houston and has offices in Washington D.C., the Netherlands, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as chapters in the UK, Venezuela, Brazil, Australasia, South Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and across the United States. For more information, visit the IADC website at www.iadc.org.