News Cuttings

Brad James named 2024 IADC Contractor of the Year at Annual General Meeting

Brad James received the 2024 IADC Contractor of the Year award at the association’s Annual General Meeting, held in November in San Antonio, Texas. Mr James serves as President and CEO of Enterprise Offshore Drilling and also had served as IADC Chairman in 2024.

“I’m extremely grateful to be surrounded by visionaries, thinkers and creators all driven by a shared commitment for excellence and innovation,” Mr James said in his acceptance remarks. “This award is not for me, it’s really for everyone that believes in our story and our vision.”   

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a minor in psychology from Southwestern Texas State University in 1981, Mr James went right into the industry, working for National Supply’s sales service department. He then moved to a rental tool company and later for Intrepid Drilling. That led to a seven-year stint at Southland Drilling, where he served as Vice President of Marketing.

He then spent three years as founding CEO of a land drilling company. After the divestiture of that company, he worked in business development at Cliffs Drilling, which was purchased by R&B Falcon in 1998. R&B Falcon was later merged into Transocean, and the shallow-water division was subsequently spun off into TODCO, where Mr James was VP of Marketing. TODCO was later purchased by Hercules Offshore, where he was Senior VP of Marketing. Enterprise Offshore was formed in 2016 via the acquisition of Hercules’ US operating division.

The annual IADC Contractor of the Year award was established in 1988 to recognize an individual drilling contractor’s outstanding lifetime achievement in technical innovation, safety and economic efficiency within the drilling industry. It is the only industry award reserved solely for drilling contractors.

Adam Keith, Lee Womble, David Faure honored with IADC Exemplary Service Awards

Recognizing their contributions to IADC and to the drilling industry as a whole, Patterson-UTI’s Adam Keith, SLB’s Lee Womble and Transocean’s David Faure (retired) each received an IADC Exemplary Service Award on 14 November at the 2024 IADC Annual General Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

Mr Keith has served as MPD Product Champion at Patterson-UTI since 2020. He is a member of the IADC Underbalanced Operations & Managed Pressure Drilling Committee and was elected Co-Chair of the IADC MPD Subcommittee in 2024. He has contributed to multiple IADC Accreditation programs, including the RigPass Accreditation Program Update, RigPass and Basin United blended Accreditation Program.

Mr Womble is VP and Global Accounts Director for SLB, having held numerous positions throughout his 36-year career. He served as IADC’s Division VP Drilling Services from 2018 to 2020 and is beginning another two-year term this January. He has contributed to multiple IADC conferences and served as a member of the Advisory Committee for the IADC/SPE International Drilling Conference.

Mr Faure retired from his position as Deputy General Counsel at Transocean in 2024. He joined the IADC Contracts Committee in 1997 and served several terms as VP Offshore and three terms as the Committee’s Chair. During his service, he oversaw the committee’s revisions to the IADC Standard Form Drilling Contracts, participated in the committee’s filing of amicus curia briefs in court cases of importance to the drilling industry, and served on the Program Committee for the IADC Contracts & Risk Management Conferences.

First seminar held for Mental Health in Energy initiative

The first official IADC Mental Health in Energy seminar took place on 30 October in Aberdeen, Scotland. The event brought together industry professionals dedicated to fostering a culture of mental well being within the energy sector. Attendees had the opportunity to collaborate, network and exchange ideas on how the industry can collectively enhance employees’ mental well being. The initiative originated from efforts undertaken by the IADC North Sea Chapter. 

IADC Student Chapter at University of Wyoming visits industry facilities

In November, the IADC Student Chapter at the University of Wyoming visited NOV and Taktikal Directional facilities in Casper, Wyo. 

At NOV, the students got an inside look at a range of completion tool technologies, including liner hanger systems, packers, frac plugs and toe sleeves, among other things. Students also learned about motors, power sections, bearing assemblies, and the customization options available to tailor the right BHA for each job. 

Taktikal Directional showcased its MWD tools and walked the group through its operations. Students learned about the process for disassembling, inspecting and ensuring each tool is ready for the field. They also learned how MWD hands in the field use and interpret the tool’s parameters to successfully execute jobs.

IADC holds student competition at Drilling Middle East

IADC organized its first DrillTech Arena competition for students in December in conjunction with the 2024 IADC Drilling Middle East Conference in Muscat, Oman. Nine teams from seven universities tested their knowledge of IADC trivia and technical drilling questions. Participating teams included students from Sultan Qaboos University, as well as from the IADC Student Chapters at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM); Suez University; the University of Boumerdes; Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU); Maharashtra Institute of Technology; and Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad.

The KFUPM Student Chapter team won the competition, while the PDEU Student Chapter team took second place. 

IADC PTI, UMBB Student Chapters collaborate on technical meeting

The IADC Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) Student Chapter and the IADC University of Boumerdes (UMBB) Student Chapter jointly hosted a virtual technical session on 5 November. 

Imed Eddine Chaguetmi, former Chair of the IADC UMBB Student Chapter, was the session speaker and provided insights on the topic of directional drilling. Olanayo Philip of the IADC PTI Student Chapter moderated the event.

In a social media post, the PTI Student Chapter noted that the meeting “provided valuable insights into a vital area of our field, strengthening bonds between PTI and the University of Boumerdes and fostering shared knowledge.”