D E PA RT M E N T S
TRAINERS CORNER
WellCAP Plus is ‘top of crown’ for IADC’s WellCAP
By Steve Kropla, IADC
AT THE WELL Control Conference of
the Americas in late August, keynote
speaker David Payne, Chevron vice
president of drilling & completion, drew
attention to IADC’s WellCAP Plus program as a key tool for dealing with some
of the industry’s complex training needs.
WellCAP Plus provides a high-level
skill set for well control and challenging learning experiences. It serves as
both an alternative and a supplemental
program to the standard WellCAP supervisory level training by promoting a
discovery process that improves critical
thinking and problem-solving skills.
The course is intended primarily for
managers, company men, engineers and
rig supervisors who have previously
attended typical well control supervisory
courses and are seeking to challenge
their well control skills at a higher level.
The suggested minimum level for participation is driller, and participants must
have at least two prior supervisory level
certificates, including a current certificate.
Chevron has been one of the most active
WellCAP Plus providers. Although the
company did not hold any WellCAP Plus
courses in 2007 due to other operational needs, it has now scheduled one
for February 2008 in Thailand. Other
accredited WellCAP Plus providers
include Transocean, Randy Smith
Training Solutions and Wild Well
Control. Aberdeen Drilling Schools
and Murchison Drilling School have
programs pending accreditation.
GLOBAL GROWTH
Recently, petroleum regulators in Europe
have taken notice of WellCAP Plus.
Ferdinand Gubler, senior inspector
with the State Supervision of Mines
in the Netherlands and member of the
North Sea Offshore Authorities Forum
(NSOAF) Well Group, said NSOAF is
updating a position paper for well control competence training for Denmark,
Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and
UK. The paper will address more specific training needs for specialized drilling
applications.
126 November/December 2007
A four-person team from Chevron works through a well control exercise during WellCAP Plus training. The program offers a unique approach that improves critical-thinking
skills and could be an important tool for the industry’s more complex training needs.
Mr Gubler said that although NSOAF is
happy with the basic IADC and IWCF
well control courses, regulators have concerns about variable standards of well
control training for more complex situations like HPHT and horizontal wells.
WellCAP Plus, with its flexible course
design and team approach, may provide
a vehicle for this advanced training.
Interest in WellCAP Plus is growing in
other areas as well. Greg Anderson,
president and CEO of Randy Smith
Training Solutions, said his company is
in developing a WellCAP Plus exercise
for a major operator based in the Middle
East.
One of the greatest attributes of WellCAP
Plus, Mr Anderson said, is that it allows
training providers to customize course
exercises based on real-world events,
thereby emphasizing lessons learned in
the field. WellCAP offers three standard
course scenarios to training providers,
but they are free to develop other scenarios to suit their own needs or their
customers’ needs. Eventually, IADC
hopes to assemble a library of exercises
dealing with a diverse range of well control situations.
COURSE FACILITATION
WellCAP Plus uses facilitation methods
originally developed by consultants
from the Texas Engineering Extension
Service (TEEX), a branch of Texas A&M
University. TEEX was funded by donations from companies participating
on the Development Team, which also
provided guidance and oversight into
the direction of the program. Companies
represented on the Development
Team included Chevron, Unocal,
Newfield Exploration, BP, Shell,
Amerada Hess, Transocean, Diamond
Offshore, GlobalSantaFe, Noble
Corp, Weatherford, Wild Well Control,
Aberdeen Drilling Schools and Randy
Smith Training Solutions.
WellCAP Plus instruction may be provided only by IADC-accredited training providers using certified IADC WellCAP Plus
facilitators. So far, TEEX is the sole entity licensed to provide WellCAP Plus facilitator courses. The group has conducted
five facilitator workshops involving 45
different participants from Chevron
and the former Unocal, Transocean,
Diamond Offshore, Randy Smith
Training Solutions, Aberdeen Drilling
Schools, Wild Well Control, RigTrain,
Petroleum College International and
Murchison Drilling schools.
FLEXIBLE CONTENT
Course content for WellCAP Plus is flexible yet focused on progressively difficult
exercises for which participants must
D R I L L I N G CONTRACTOR
D E PA RT M E N T S
TRAINERS CORNER
Problem-Solving Model
1 - Identify and
Define the Problem
5 - Document
Lessons Learned
Recognize problem exists
Gather the facts
Brainstorm causes
Implement sound practices
Invest in training
Review company policies
Others...
2 - Select the
Root Cause
Examples:
Underbalance kick
Swabbed kick
Ballooning
Underground flow
4 - Implement
the Solution
Develope a forward plan with
contingencies including:
Kill sheets and circulation schedules
Materials and logistics
Others...
3 - Select the
Best Solution
Considerations:
Goals, priorities and available resources
List possible solutions and likely outcomes
Risks and mitigating factors
Health, safety & environment, and regulations
WellCAP Plus uses exercises involving problem-solving models to help participants
work with a team approach and to challenge their well control skills at a higher level.
Students are graded not on an exit test but on course participation and teamwork.
WellCAP philosophy
IADC’s WellCAP system embraces
a philosophy of providing tools
needed to establish a well control
culture at all levels of a drilling
organization.
Introductory level — Rig workers
are introduced to the basics of
well control equipment.
Fundamental level — Simulator
exercises provide a higher
level of practical knowledge;
recommended for derrickmen,
assistant drillers and drillers.
Supervisory level — Involves more
complex simulator exercises and
calculations; designed for drillers,
toolpushers, superintendents and
drilling foremen.
WellCAP Plus — Provides a
higher-level skill set for well
control and more challenging
learning experiences by promoting
critical thinking and problemsolving skills.
develop team solutions. Participants
must pass a rigorous entry examination.
However, in a departure from traditional
WellCAP instruction, no exit examination
is required; participants are judged on
course participation and teamwork.
WellCAP Plus is not intended to replace
site-specific training. Site-specific training for all stakeholders is encouraged
when the anticipated characteristics and
challenges of a particular well warrant
additional pre-planning measures and
focused mitigation procedures.
WellCAP Plus is a voluntary program;
there is no requirement for a WellCAP
provider to participate. It is considered a
specific type of accreditation with unique
requirements for application, review,
renewal, recordkeeping and auditing.
The unique form of training approach
used in WellCAP Plus is setting new
industry standards, and IADC hopes
the program will ultimately help make
the next generation of complex drilling
operations safe and efficient.
More information about WellCAP Plus can be
found on the IADC web site at www.iadc.org.
Steve Kropla is IADC’s vice president of accreditation and certification programs.
D R I L L I N G CONTRACTOR
November/December 2007
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