This Month’s Articles
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Siv Hilde Houmb represents IADC Cybersecurity Subcommittee at meeting to discuss Cyber Threat to Maritime Transportation Systems
On 19-20 July, the Maritime Industry National Maritime Interagency Group (NIAG) and the Company Security Officer (CSO) hosted a meeting at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland to discuss the Cyber Threat to Maritime Transportation Systems.
The meeting was arranged between the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office (NIAG), the Maritime Administration (MARAD), the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the US Coast Guard.
The event was organized to highlight a sampling of potential cyber threats that target the maritime and offshore industry and included discussion on high impact vulnerabilities, prevention and remedies. It provided an opportunity for maritime and offshore industry representatives to engage with maritime stakeholders within the US Federal interagency and to articulate issues.
Dr Siv Hilde Houmb, chairwoman of the IADC Cybersecurity Subcommittee and Chief Technology Officer, Secure-NOK, presented on behalf of IADC, detailing the planned 2016-2017 work plan of the subcommittee, alongside presenters from U.S. government agencies and other members within the maritime and offshore industry sector.
The IADC Cybersecurity Subcommittee will host it’s next meeting on Thursday, 1 September at 9:30 a.m. in Houston. For more information on the subcommittee, please visit the IADC Website. To access the recently released IADC Guidelines for Assessing and Managing Cybersecurity Risks to Drilling Assets, please visit the IADC Bookstore.
US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Issues Report on Deepwater Gulf of Mexico
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management recently produced a new report, “Deepwater Gulf of Mexico December 31, 2014”, which provides more than 99 pages of page on oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico. The report, which contains information pertaining not only to deepwater, is the 10th report from BOEM highlighting oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico, and the first since 2009.
BOEM noted, “Because of the importance of oil and gas development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, BOEM has resumed this systemic compilation of information and statistics from deepwater activities, from leasing through production.”
The report can be downloaded from BOEM’s website.
Industry Association’s Detail Concerns with Expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Boundaries in Letter to NOAA
On 19 August, IADC, along with API, NOIA, IPAA, IAGC and the OOC submitted comments to the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed actions of boundary expansion and application of existing regulations and management plan actions to new geographic areas of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
The letter details several critical areas of concern with the draft, which was included in the June 10, 2016 Federal Register. The letter goes on to conclude that, “the Associations do not support an expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary at this time due to the lack of scientific basis for benefits, expected high negative effects on the economy and energy production, and lack of justification to satisfy statutory requirements under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. NOAA has not conducted adequate analyses as required under NEPA, has failed to follow an open, transparent process, and has disregarded the reasonable expansion recommendations put forth by the Sanctuary Advisory Council, which included significant stakeholder input. The Associations urge NOAA to cease work on draft environmental impact statement, define a more reasonable set of alternatives, work with BOEM and industry stakeholders to more fully analyze the impacts of these new alternatives, and re-issue a draft that meets National Environmental Policy Act requirements and allows for informed comment and decision-making.”
For more information, please see the 10 June, 2016 Federal Register.
IADC Future Tech Subcommittee is Looking for a Few Good Ideas
The IADC Future Technology Subcommittee is looking for a few good ideas. This ART subcommittee is organizing its next “Spark Tank” to provide technology entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch their products and ideas to a panel of drilling contractors and operators.
If you’d like feedback on an idea, product or service, we are interested in hearing from you.
The Q3 2016 Future Technology “Spark Tank” is scheduled for 09.00-11.30 (CDT) on Thursday, 27 October, at IADC headquarters.
Similar to the television show “Shark Tank”, the panel will ask questions and give feedback on the presenters on just how great (or not!) they think the product is.
The purpose is to provide insights (“sparks”) to technology developers into what matters to those they are innovating for. There is sometimes a vast disconnect between a good idea and a great product, and this series will attempt to close that gap in a good-natured, productive manner. Caveat: This forum is not designed to generate investments in the product or service.
To submit an idea for the subcommittee to consider for the Spark Tank, please complete the online form at http://www.iadc.org/abstract-future-technology-sc-spark-tank.
For more information about the IADC Future Technology Subcommittee or other initiatives of the Advanced Rig Technology (ART) Committee, contact Mike Killalea, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Transportation Research Board to Host Workshop to Discuss Final Report from the Committee on the Application of Real-Time Monitoring of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations
The Transportation Research Board, part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, will host a workshop on 22 September in Houston to communicate the findings and recommendations of the Committee on the Application of Real-Time Monitoring of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations final report.
The RTM Final Report Dissemination Workshop, sponsored by the Gulf Research Program, will be held at the JW Marriott Houston, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, including an agenda, and to register for the free workshop, please visit the Dissemination Workshop registration site.
The Committee’s Final Report can be accessed via the Transportation Research Board website.
BOEM Hosts First Live-Streamed Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale
On 24 August, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hosted it’s first live-streamed lease sale for offshore oil and gas drilling. For Sale 248, the agency received 24 individual bids totaling slightly more than $18 million from three companies, Exxon, BP and BHP. The 24 tracts covering 138,240 acres that received bids made up less than 1 percent of the 23,778,011 acres that were available.
The auction was the eleventh Gulf of Mexico offshore sale and the final one for the Western Planning Area under the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017. The sale builds on the first ten sales in the current Five Year Program, which offered more than 60 million acres and netted nearly $3 billion for American taxpayers.
Sale 248 included approximately 4,399 blocks, located from nine to 250 nautical miles offshore, in water depths ranging from 16 to more than 10,975 feet (5 to 3,340 meters). As a result of offering the area for lease, BOEM estimated a range of economically recoverable hydrocarbons to be discovered and produced of 116 to 200 million barrels of oil and 538 to 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
For more information about Western Planning Area Lease Sale 248, please visit BOEM’s website.
2017 DC Editorial Calendar, Media Kit, Now Available
The 2017 media kit for Drilling Contractor and other key IADC communication tools, showing both editorial and advertising opportunities, is available on line at http://www.drillingcontractor.org/mediakit.
The 2017 media kit details the editorial topics covered in each of DC’s six issues next year, as well as information about IADC.org, DrillingContractor.org, eNews from DrillingContractor.org, DrillBits, the 2017 IADC Membership Directory, and more.
The media kit contains information on the very strong web statistics for all IADC electronic products, which uniformly outperform Internet averages.
“2016 is a difficult year, to put it mildly, and DC is sensitive to industry realities,” remarked Mike Killalea, Group VP/Publisher. “That’s why DC is keeping its prices low for 2017, the fourth consecutive year without raising rates on our flagship Drilling Contractor.
“We are focusing on adding value for our clients,” he added. “This year, we have greatly expanded advertiser reach for those advertising on any of DrillingContractor.org’s eight microsites.
Each of the highly focused microsites covers one of eight areas — drilling rigs and automation, innovating while drilling (IWD), onshore advances, completing the well, IADC initiatives and regulatory challenges, drilling it safely, global and regional markets, and the offshore frontier.
Each microsite landing page features only one advertiser. That company’s advert will appear on all landing pages for that specific microsite. In addition, it will appear on all articles linked to any of the eight microsites (banner will rotate with up to seven other adverts). With 2,400 microsite-linked articles on DrillingContractor.org, that’s a lot of exposure.
The media kit also discusses IADC’s successful video panel discussions, which provides high visibility and enormous added value.
For more information, contact Mike Killalea at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or a local sales representative.
IADC DEC Tech Forum Studies “Barriers in Well Control”
Maintaining proper well control is the drilling industry’s single most important responsibility. The 7 September Technology Forum organized by the IADC Drilling Engineers Committee will feature cutting-edge presentations exploring the most effective means of assuring robust well control.
The tech forum will be graciously hosted by ABS at its facility at 15011 Katy Freeway, Suite 100 (conference room 101), Houston, TX 77094.
The event will begin at 08.00 with coffee, refreshments and networking. Following a review of the DEC’s current JIPs, the audience will hear six ideas for improving well control. The morning concludes with a light lunch, sponsored by ABS. See the complete schedule below.
To register, go to http://www.iadc.org/event/iadc-dec-technology-forum-8/.
08.00 Coffee/Business Cards
08.25 Welcome & Agenda Review
08.30 JIP Updates:
08.30 DEC-1: “Drilling Systems Automation (DSA) Roadmap”, Robin Macmillan, NOV
08.40 DEC-2: “Decision Support for Dynamic Barrier Management”, Amar Ahluwalia, DNV-GL
08.50 “Mud and Gas Handling: Conceptual Design”, Brad Smolen, Director, BP Gulf of Mexico Region, & Charlie Holt, Senior Technical Specialist, Well Control, BP Global Wells Organization, BP
09.20 “MPD System Optimized for Operation with Conventional Primary Barrier”, Brian Piccolo, Pumped Riser System Project Manager, Managed Pressure Operations
09.50 ”Key Measurements for Confirming Well Control Barriers”, Bob Pilko, Strategic Relationships Director, Blade Energy Partners
10.20-10.35 Break
10.35 “RTD and CSD: A Better Compliance Path with BSEE’s Well Control Rules?”, Robert Ziegler, Global Director, Well Control Systems, Weatherford Ltd.
11.05 “Development of a Subsea Annular Flowmeter for EKD Application”, Bob Judge, Director, Product Management, GE Oil & Gas
11.35 “Intersection of MPD and Well Control”, Blaine Dow, Drilling Engineering, Marketing and Technology Manager, MI-SWACO, A Schlumberger Company
12.05 Lunch & Adjournment
For more information on the Drilling Engineers Committee, contact Mike Killalea, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Updated IADC Safety Posters Available for Purchase
IADC recently updated its Safety Posters, offering a complete set of 10 full color posters to deliver key safety messages and enhance worker safety awareness on the job. Safety posters on Anti-Drugs, Zero Incidents, Lock-out Tag-out; H2S Warning; Eye Protection; No Phone Zone, Extinguishers, Hearing Protection, Dehydration an Employees Only are included in the set. IADC Safety Posters can be purchased through the IADC Bookstore.
BSEE Hosts Well Control Implementation Workshop
On 17 August, IADC Vice President, Policy, Government and Regulatory Affairs Alan Spackman attended a Well Control Rule Implementation Workshop in Houston hosted by the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Key provisions and implementation dates for the rule were presented, along with information regarding the Guidance, or interpretations, of the rule. BSEE continues to post guidance as it is developed.
The Guidance can be accessed via BSEE’s website. For questions regarding interpretation of the rule, submit in writing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
API Opens Ballot on Specification for Marine Drilling Risers
API has opened a ballot for the next edition of API Spec.16F, Specification for Marine Drilling Riser Equipment, 2nd Edition. An associated ballot has been issued for the withdrawal of API Spec.16R, Specification for Marine Drilling Riser Couplings, 1st Edition. Both ballots close on 6 October 2016, and can be accessed via API’s website.
The API Ballot system can be accessed as a guest (non-voter) in order to view or provide comments on the draft standard.
Accreditation Updates
RigPASS
BEIJING XINBO INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM TECHNICAL SERVICE COMPANY(CONDITIONAL), CHINA; MAERSK TRAINING, INC., USA; SEGURIDAD AMBIENTE CALIDAD Y SALUD CONSULTORES S.A.S. (CONDITIONAL), MEXICO
DIT
Entrac, Basra, Iraq; Institute of Engineering and Information Technologies KBTU, Almaty Region, Kazakhstan; Next-A Schlumberger Company, Dubai, Saudi ArabiaWellSharp
G&C Advisory & Consulting, Mexico;Halliburton Energy Services PM, Houston, Texas
Safety Alerts
For the latest safety alerts, visit www.iadc.org/safety-alerts
Alert 15-08: Disabled and non-functional safety devices leads to destruction of derrick board
Alert 15-09: Near miss – dropped six pound sledge hammer
Alert 15-10: Fatality on drill floor
Rigs Receive ISP Certificates
For certificates received since last LTI (in years):
Japan Drilling Co. Ltd.: Hakuryu-5 (1); Hakuryu-10 (4); Hakuryu-11 (1); Naga-1 (2); Sagadril-2 (4).
New IADC Members IADC welcomes 14 new members:
ASAP FLUIDS PVT LTD, VIKHROLI (WEST), MAHARASHTRA, INDIA;
BEN LINE AGENCIES, SOUTHPOINT, SINGAPORE; BRC INTERNATIONAL LLC, BAYTOWN, TEXAS, USA; CHANNELS OF KNOWLEDGE TRAINING CENTER, AL-KHOBAR, EASTERN PROVINCE, SAUDI ARABIA; DEVICE MAGIC, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, USA; LEI, INC, HAMMOND, LOUISIANA, USA; PROFESSIONAL PHYSICAL THERAPY, INC, SANFORD, FLORIDA, USA; RAS TRAINING, MUANG SURIN, SURIN, THAILAND; RYNO DRILLING & ENERGY SERVICES INTERNATIONAL LTD, PANAMA CITY, PANAMA; SHANDONG DESHUNYUAN PETRO SCI & TECH CO LTD, DONGYING CITY, SHANDONG PROVINCE, CHINA; SHEENSTONE (SHENZHEN) OIL TOOLS CO, LTD, SHENZHEN, GUANGDONG, CHINA; SINOPEC OFFSHORE OILFIELD SERVICES COMPANY SHANGHAI DRILLING DIVISION, PUDONG, SHANGHAI, CHINA; SISTEMAS INTEGRALES DE COMPRESION SA DE CV, VERACRUZ, MEXICO; TOP GUN OILFIELD TRAINING CENTER, STOCKDALE, TEXAS, USA DRILLBITS Volume 26, Number 8
Tom Burke, 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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IADC Director – Membership Sharon Thorpe at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
