From the President

In the pages to follow, we will be sharing a snapshot of IADC’s activities during 2019. I am proud of what our dedicated staff and involved members have been able to accomplish this year, and it is my hope that this snapshot will make clear the value of IADC and the key role the association plays in facilitating the industry’s high standards of safety, environmental stewardship and operational efficiency.

The activities of the various groups at IADC – including Government and Industry Affairs, Accreditation and Credentialing, International Development and Communications – along with the contributions of IADC’s many committees, are wide and varied. We have been able to accomplish a lot in what feels like a short period of time.

As we look into 2020 and beyond, we see more exciting initiatives on the horizon.

Next year will mark IADC’s 80th anniversary. Our industry has changed significantly in those eight decades. Many modern technologies that we routinely use on today’s rigs were almost unimaginable when IADC was founded in 1940. We continue to improve year by year on all of the metrics important to our industry.

In 2020, IADC will continue to focus on advocacy, on the development of new and revitalized training programs, on encouraging young professionals to become more involved in our industry and association, and on the myriad opportunities offered at IADC for you to network, make connections and share lessons learned.

We plan to continue expanding our network of student chapters, both in the US and abroad. Our signature accreditation programs will also continue to be updated and expanded, with work continuing on the Knowledge Retention and Education for our Workforce (KREW) program and a new course focused on subsea equipment maintenance.

The new faces in our lineup of worldwide regional representatives will ensure that IADC remains relevant, with a seat at the table with global regulators. And with a 2020 presidential election looming in the US, advocacy efforts will ramp up. Our IADC DRILLERSPAC will be supporting the campaigns of those candidates who support sensible energy policies.

These are but a brief glimpse into the projects we will tackle next year. The goals that we have set for ourselves are not obtainable without the active involvement of our members. Each of you who donate your time and volunteer your expertise are what make this association special.

If you are inspired in any way by what we have accomplished in 2019 and want to get involved next year, I invite you to attend one of our conferences, join a local chapter and get involved with one of our committees. I look forward to working with you to make our industry even more successful in the coming years. DC

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IADC continues to deliver on wide-ranging issues affecting global drilling industry – from next-gen outreach to advocacy to training

By Amy Rose, IADC Director of External Relations

Government and Industry Affairs

IADC’s Government and Industry Affairs Division is responsible for advocacy activities on behalf of the drilling industry. The team proactively engages with both US and global regulatory and legislative bodies, policymakers, oil and gas producers and the media to serve as an educative resource on policies and provide input on standards making, in an effort to pursue transparent and appropriate regulations and standards.

“This year has been a busy one,” said Elizabeth Craddock, IADC Vice President, Government and Industry Affairs. “Particularly in the US, with a large new crop of House members, we continued to educate and serve as a trusted resource for these officials. With the current Administration’s support of the oil and gas industry and believing in its value, the industry has seen some wins from a policy and regulatory perspective.

“We are thankful for IADC’s members who support our advocacy efforts. Next year promises to be another busy year with a presidential election on the horizon. IADC’s team will continue to seek opportunities to educate decision-makers worldwide on the importance of our industry and how we operate.”

One way to get in front of members of Congress in the US is through the IADC DRILLERSPAC. The political action committee (PAC) is run by a 10-member Board of Trustees that includes representatives from three offshore contractors, three onshore contractors and two drilling services member companies, along with two IADC representatives. In the 2018 midterm elections, the PAC supported the campaigns of 14 candidates running for national office. All but one won their race, a 93% success rate. The PAC also raised more than $37,000 from 71 individuals and 13 companies in 2019.

Another way IADC engages with lawmakers is through Washington, DC, fly-in’s. Two were held this year, one focused on onshore affairs and one on offshore. Each fly-in provided an opportunity to meet with members of Congress and their staff. Each fly-in included an educational event for Capitol Hill staff, which provided an opportunity to engage in in-depth discussions about oil and gas operations.

Throughout the year, IADC’s Government and Industry Affairs team engaged in meetings with Bureau of Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Scott Angelle, officials at the US Coast Guard, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the US Customs and Border Patrol.

The IADC team was also invited to attend the Western Energy Alliance Roundtable, with key officials from the Bureau of Land Management and Department of Interior. Further, IADC was in attendance at the IOGCC Conference in Oklahoma City, meeting with New Mexico’s Oil Conservation Division and the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

Other activities include contributions to the National Offshore Safety Advisory Council; the revision of API 54; and joining a coalition of non-energy trade groups, Pass USMCA, to advocate for the swift passage of the new North American Free Trade Agreement, known as the US- Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Outside the US, the Government and Industry Affairs Division served on several workgroups and subcommittees at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). IADC’s team also hosted annual update meetings for offshore advisory groups from the registries of Panama and Marshall Islands and was active on a variety of IOGP committees to offer commentary on issues affecting drilling contractors.

“The remit of the division is to serve globally as an educative resource for the drilling industry,” Ms Craddock said. “We continue to build on our relationships and presence with key officials and look to continue our advocacy work into 2020 and beyond.”

International Development

IADC’s International Development Division represents IADC and drilling contractor interests throughout the world. The division boasts a network of regional representatives in Europe, the UK, Brazil, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Australasia. These representatives work closely with their local IADC chapter members, while maintaining relationships with government officials and regulators.

The division welcomed two new regional representatives this year. Lars Jorgensen joined as Regional Director – Europe, based in Copenhagen. Stuart Clow will be stationed in Aberdeen and serve as Regional Director – North Sea.

“Our network of regional representatives allows IADC to have our finger on the pulse of issues facing our industry around the world,” said Mike DuBose, IADC VP – International Development. “Our representatives are constantly meeting IADC members to determine their concerns and assist in devising strategies to solve regional issues. This year, we’ve worked on a variety of issues and had some great successes.”

In 2019, the International Development Division submitted comments to the Lebanese Petroleum Authority’s consultation request on the draft offshore Environmental Strategy Assessment. It also participated in meetings with the UK-based Nautical Institute on resumption of MOU marine crew training regimes. Additionally, the team attended the EGYPS conference in Cairo, the Petrotech Conference in New Delhi, India, and the AMEXHI Conference in Mexico City.

The group continues to maintain relationships and a continuous dialogue on regulatory and legislative matters with the Australian offshore regulator, NOPSEMA, the Malaysian Oil & Gas Services Council and Brazil’s ANP. They also met with officials from Mexico’s CNH and the Danish Energy Agency and attended Oil & Gas Denmark’s Task Force Zero Safety Conference.

IADC’s international chapters were also active this year. The revitalized Caspian Chapter hosted its first conference in February. The North Sea Chapter again recognized the best in safety at its annual awards gala in April. The Australasia Chapter also recognized excellence in safety performance in its region during its 54th Annual General Meeting in May, as did the IADC Nigeria Chapter in its June awards ceremony. The South Central Asia Chapter was instrumental in the establishment of the first international IADC Student Chapter at the Maharashtra Institute of Technology in India.

Accreditation and credentialing

IADC’s Accreditation and Credentialing Department (ACD) guides companies in their efforts to ensure quality and consistency in training content and adherence to relevant industry standards. Providers accredited by IADC are expected to help ensure that drilling industry personnel are prepared to perform their jobs safely and efficiently.

The department once again passed the ISO 9001:2015 recertification audit with zero findings. This standard is based on quality management principles, including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement.

“In partnership with hundreds of industry subject experts, IADC continues to represent the very best in industry training because it was developed by the industry, for the industry,” said Mark Denkowski, IADC VP – Accreditation Operations. “That effort was hugely successful this year. Technology is ever-evolving, and we continue to work with our industry partners to ensure that IADC’s programs addresses the very latest in industry technology and best practices.”

Work continues on the Knowledge Retention and Education for our Workforce (KREW) program, an innovative approach to continuous learning. It focuses on education between the traditional two-year well control certification period. It allows companies to select training modules from an IADC-curated database to address the role-specific needs of individual employees.

The IADC WellSharp program also continues strong. In the four years since it was launched, more than 140,000 industry personnel have been certified, with an average passing score of 83%. The WellSharp CRM Facilitator Course and WellSharp Plus CRM Course were both launched this year, as was the Well Servicing Introductory Course. Further, all well servicing courses were translated to Spanish.

The ACD team has been recognized for its involvement in drafting and implementing industry-leading training programs and has been invited as participants or speakers at several conferences in 2019. These include the American Association of Community Colleges, the Enhancing Offshore E&P Regional Capacity meeting in Guyana and SafeLand/SafeGulf. They were also active members of several industry workgroups, including those convened by API.

ACD is now working to develop the Subsea Engineer Competency Program, which will address knowledge and competency assessments for those with responsibilities for maintenance of subsea equipment.

Well Control

IADC continued to champion a myriad programs and initiatives to address well control in 2019.

• ACD addresses well control through the development and implementation of training courses to ensure the current and next generation of oilfield personnel are equipped with the knowledge they need to competently perform their jobs.
• The IADC Well Control Committee provides a forum for collaboration and exchange of best practices related to well control, and the IADC Well Control Conference of the Americas offers another way for industry personnel to network and share information and lessons learned.
• The IOGP/IADC BOP Reliability Joint Industry Project (JIP) is known as RAPID-S53, which stands for Reliability and Performance Information Database. The effort was designed to collect data on BOP performance as specified by API Standard 53. In 2019, the group published and distributed its 2018 Annual Report and agreed to explore the feasibility of IOGP’s proposal to include subsea well intervention systems in the RAPID-S53 database.
• The Well Control Institute (WCI) functions as an industry clearinghouse to study recent well control events and issue recommendations on how well control performance might be improved. Its Board of Directors is made up of senior executive-level individuals representing drilling contractors, operators, service companies and equipment manufacturers. In 2019, the WCI hosted a Human Performance in Well Control Workshop.

Communications

The IADC Communications Department publishes Drilling Contractor magazine, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2019. The team delivers a multitude of news and technology articles and videos across several platforms: the Drilling Contractor news website, 12 issues of eNews per year and virtual panel discussions.

In 2019, DC magazine enjoyed a circulation of nearly 32,000 readers. According to a third-party study, 56% of DC’s readers spend at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours reading each issue, and 17% spend more than 2 hours on each issue.

The DC website is on track to have posted more than 450 news items by year-end, including approximately 80 exclusive video interviews conducted by DC Editor & Publisher Linda Hsieh and her team.

Recognizing the industry’s need to engage with the younger generation – including both young professionals in our industry and students who may be interested in oil and gas careers – DC continues to share its content across social media platforms. DC’s Facebook page, for example, has approximately 31,000 followers and another 31,000 in “likes.” DC’s YouTube channel also has more than 2,000 subscribers and this year broke 2 million views of its video content.

As the way people consume information changes, IADC’s Communications Department also is conducting more virtual panel discussions – a more polished version of webinars that blend expert discussions with videos, photos and animations. Two such webcasts were conducted this year – one examining the progress of MPD, and the other focusing on how industry can accelerate and sustain the learning curve through digitalization and automation. Both videos are archived on DrillingContractor.org.

The Communications Department also operates the IADC Bookstore. To improve user experience, this year the IADC Bookstore and e-Bookstore were consolidated into one storefront. More than 80 titles are offered through the Bookstore in categories such as Accident Prevention, Drilling Technology, and Education & Training. DC

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IADC members show leadership through committee work

IADC hosts 17 Committees focused on a wide range of industry topics and issues that are critical to the global drilling industry. IADC’s Committees are divided into two types – Standing and Divisional. Standing Committees represent the legacy, or founding committees, of IADC. Division Committees have been created to address industry needs or for a specific purpose or project

Accounting

Under the leadership of Colleen Grable, Valaris, the Accounting Committee continues to facilitate the exchange of information regarding accounting and financial reporting issues and compliance with all rules and regulations through the exchange of best practices among committee members. In 2019, the committee focused on completing drilling contractors’ application of the new accounting pronouncement regarding leases and revenue accounting.

Advanced rig technology

The Advanced Rig Technology (ART) Committee, chaired by Robert van Kuilenburg, Noble Corp, moved ahead on several projects to improve the industry’s safety and efficiency.

• V1.0 of the IADC DDR Plus, an upgraded version of the original IADC DDR, was launched in February. Over the course of this year, the ART Drilling Control Systems (DCS) Subcommittee has been working to communicate with various stakeholders to collect and evaluate comments. V2.0 was released to the industry in October for final comments, and rollout will begin in 2020.
• A working group under the DCS Subcommittee continues to progress its development of the IADC Guideline for Drilling Rig Control Systems Minimum Safety Features.
• A working group is being established for the Rig Sensor Stewardship project, a joint effort between ART and the Maintenance Committee. The purpose is to generate guidelines based on recognized standards and best practices for rig owners, equipment vendors and service companies to ensure their sensors and instruments perform as intended on a continuous basis.
• The ART BOP Controls Subcommittee completed V2.0 of the IADC Control Valve Qualification Testing Recommendation, adding new chapters on regulator and relief valves.
• The ART Committee held a Spark Tank event in April, highlighting innovations in lase scanning technology, fastening solutions, monitoring and orifice flowmeters. The committee also helped to organize the ART Conference, held 22-23 October in Amsterdam.

Contracts

In 2019, the Contracts Committee continued to promote clarity and efficiency in commercial documentation within the global drilling industry to foster a wider understanding of contracts and risk management. The group is working to update the IADC Model Daywork Contract – Offshore International and has reviewed multiple requests for Amicus Briefs from IADC membership.

Cybersecurity

The Cybersecurity Committee, under the leadership of Juan Negrete, Valaris, continued to develop digital security guidelines for drilling assets. The committee hosted IADC’s first Cybersecurity Conference in October, which included a series of panels and subject presentations that addressed emerging concerns and challenges associated with supply chain integrity and IT/OT interfaces as they relate to drilling and upstream activities.

Drilling Engineers

The quarterly technology forums organized by the Drilling Engineers Committee (DEC), chaired by Dennis Moore, Marathon, continue to draw high interest.

The Q1 event focused on the state of industry adoption of MPD, and the Q2 event examined current levels of automation in the drilling industry and debated the path forward.

Data was the theme of the Q3 event, looking at how the promise of big data is impacting the way decisions are being made.

The Q4 event, to be held in November, will focus on the status and future of drilling contractors’ provision of integrated services.

Ethics & Compliance

In 2019, the Ethics & Compliance Committee continued to foster international understanding of and compliance with applicable laws. Under the leadership of Chairman James Sanislow, Noble,  the group met in late September 2019 for a discussion on workplace violence in the office, which featured speakers from Yetter Coleman and Umbra Advisors.

HSE

The HSE Committee, whose mission is to provide a forum for the exchange and dissemination of best practices, continued to maintain both the IADC Incident Statistics Program and Safety Alert Program. Under the leadership of Co-Chairs Ryan Smallwood, Patterson-UTI, and Cody Ashley, Latshaw Drilling, the committee contributed to the rewrite of API RP 54 and to the IADC HSE&T Conference.

JackUp

The Jackup Committee is led by Mike Dowdy, Valaris and in 2019 continued to pursue efforts to update the suite of 19000 series ISO standards addressing a variety of subjects. These include the categorization of offshore weather criteria to sea-bottom site assessment parameters for the safe positioning of jackup rigs.

Maintenance

In 2019, the IADC Maintenance Committee worked toward continuous improvement projects with OEMs regarding ongoing rig equipment issues. Under the leadership of Chairman Mike Anatra, Parker Drilling, the group launched the Rig Sensor Stewardship initiative in collaboration with the ART Committee to improve the process of calibrating rig equipment sensors.

Rig Moving

Chairman John Hendry, Aveda Energy Services, oversaw the activities of the Rig Moving Committee in 2019. The group developed best practices for rig moving night operations and chartered a new subcommittee to rework the previous version of the IADC Gin Pole Guidelines. Throughout the year, the committee saw record attendance at its meetings, which positively impacted what the group was able to achieve in 2019.

Supply Chain

The Supply Chain Committee, under the leadership of Tom Steiner, Valaris, launched the Southeast Asia Chapter of the committee in early 2019 to more actively engage with supply chain professionals in that region. Also in 2019, the Inventory Subcommittee developed a best practices document for elastomer management, and the Supplier Performance Subcommittee developed a supplier performance metrics document.

Tax

Under Committee Chair Linda Ibrahim, Vantage Drilling, the Tax Committee hosted quarterly meetings focused on relevant and timely topics that include an around-the-world look at various tax jurisdictions and their impact on industry. The annual International Tax Seminar was held in June, and in late May, the committee submitted a response to the Financial Accounting Standards Board regarding the income tax disclosure framework. Members of the committee also met with the IADC Contracts Committee on the potential impending changes needed to industry contracts as a result of the late 2017 US tax law changes.

Technical Publications

Long-time Chairman Leon Robinson recently handed over leadership of the Technical Publications Committee to Fred Growcock. The group continues its work on a long list of books for the industry, covering topics like non-aqueous drilling fluids, well integrity considerations for workover and recompletions, and drill bits.

UBO & MPD

The Underbalanced Operations and Managed Pressure Drilling (UBO & MPD) Committee, chaired by Oscar Gabaldon, Blade Energy Partners, hosted another MPD & UBO Conference in April this year.

The group has also developed numerous guidelines that have been adopted by API. Members of the group participated in a joint meeting with the API RP 16Q Committee to discuss expansion of the MPD section.

This year, the MPD Subcommittee worked on API RP 92P, Pressurized Mud Cap Operations for Rigs with Subsea BOP Systems; API RP 92S, Managed Pressure Drilling Operations – Surface Back-Pressure with a Subsea Blowout Preventer, and the Influx Management Annex to API RP 92M & S. The UBO Subcommittee is reviewing API RP 92U, and the DGD Subcommittee is reviewing API RP 92C.

The HSE & Training Subcommittee is developing an IADC training certification for multiple levels of MPD, and the Riser Gas Subcommittee continues to work on a draft of the Riser Gas Handling guidelines, which is proposed as an annex or appendix to the IADC Deepwater Well Control Guidelines.

Well Control

The Well Control Committee works to advance the drilling industry, from pre-drill planning to plug and abandonment, by providing an international, industrywide forum for exchange of best practices. In 2019, under the leadership of Peter Bennett, Pacific Drilling, the committee discussed changes contained in API Standard 53 5th Edition, increased collaboration between offshore and onshore contractors on MPD procedures, and gave more focus to training for horizontal wells versus traditional vertical wells, among other topics.

Workforce Development

The Workforce Development Committee in 2019 was led by Eliot Doyle, Valaris, and Nolan Habegger, Baker Hughes. A focused effort was made to grow participation in the committee and determine the topics that will best address industry needs.

In 2019, the group initiated a survey to gauge topics of interest and value and reached out to member companies to better understand industry topics that should be shared with the group. The committee focused on expansion into human resource-focused topics and is working to incorporate agendas for 2020 that address both training and HR needs.

Young Professionals

In 2019, IADC established the Young Professionals Committee to more actively engage with a younger generation of industry personnel. Sarah Kern, Helmerich & Payne, and Garrett Reinert, Valaris, were chosen as the first Co-Chairs.

Under their leadership, the group developed its mission statement and is now working to identify and develop subcommittees. Members of the group will participate on a panel at the 2019 IADC Annual General Meeting in Austin. DC