Well Control School to offer deepwater drilling course

According to Well Control School, course objectives include: the ability to recognize and analyze relevant indicators of abnormal and critical well conditions; develop contingency response plans that apply complex well control methods; demonstrate effective problem-solving techniques using a problem-solving template; and practice team collaboration to maintain open and consistent communication with all relevant parties.

Participants are judged on course participation and teamwork. After successfully completing the five-day course, students receive a WellCAP Plus Drilling Subsea Certificate at the supervisor level.

Students in the course must be in a driller or higher position and be able to provide two previous supervisory level well control certificates from internationally recognized providers. At least one must be valid, and participants must take an entrance exam including a simulator exercise on the first morning of the course and receive a minimum score of 80%.

The course format requires participants to work as cross-functional problem-solving teams in situational exercises using the problem-solving model and teamwork methods to analyze the situation, make decisions, and identify team solutions to well control problems. A typical team will consist of four members assuming the roles of driller, toolpusher, consultant, and engineer.

Each scenario will have two or more decision points, and each exercise is progressively more difficult. Each exercise ends with an "After Action Review" so each team can identify "Recommended Practices" and discuss opportunities for change and/or improvement.

As a key feature, the Well Control School's deepwater drilling course features the world's second Intellectus hiDRILL simulator. The first simulator debuted in Stavanger, Norway, in November 2011. AXON Energy Products provided the state‐of‐the‐art integrated drilling simulator and drilling software from its subsidiary Oiltec Solutions and affiliate eDrilling Solutions.

Intellectus features 3D visualization and advanced modeling of the downhole drilling process, and hiDRILL provides a generic topside rig model. The simulator includes two drilling chairs, three ceiling-mounted projectors, three projector screens, and the instructor's station.

Intellectus models the time development of drilling, takes into account inertia, acceleration and retardation, and the effects of temperature and pressure changes downhole on the process. According to the Well Control School, the technology provides realistic training on drilling and tripping operations with dynamic surge and swab, stripping operations, connections, multi-fluid operations, fingerprinting in deepwater and HP/HT wells, well control (kicks and losses), through-tubing rotary drilling, deepwater and HP/HT, and extended reach drilling.

The hiDRILL simulator provides training with driller chairs equipped with touch screens (human-machine interface), instructor station with fault scenarios, full 3D drill floor projection, drillpipe handling and tripping operations, drillfloor operations, fingerboard racking, iron roughneck, BOP, remote choke, mud handling, top drive and compensator, drawworks operations, alarm management, and closed-circuit television.

The course will only be offered at the Well Control School's Houston Training Center at 16770 Imperial Valley Drive, Suite 290. While a definite start date for the course has not been set, the school was anticipating a late April start as of press time.