News Cuttings
Darren Sutherland, Scott Farmer honored with IADC Exemplary Service Awards
Darren Sutherland, VP – Europe and Africa at Borr Drilling, and Scott Farmer, Well Engineering Manager at H&P, received Exemplary Service Awards on 10 June at the IADC World Drilling Conference in Amsterdam in June.
The awards recognize individuals for their outstanding contributions to IADC and their commitment to improving and advancing safety, training and technology.
Mr Sutherland has twice served as Chairman of the IADC North Sea Chapter (NSC) and has been a contributor to many IADC conference program committees.
In addition, Mr Sutherland has been at the forefront in driving awareness of mental health in the energy industry. As NSC Chair, he helped spearhead the chapter’s efforts to develop the Mental Health and Well-Being Charter in 2023. The charter created a shared framework that organizations can adopt to build work environments conducive to strong mental health.
Mr Farmer currently serves as Chairman of the IADC Geothermal Committee. He helped formulate and author the IADC Geothermal Well Classification Guidelines, which were published in February. Mr Farmer is also a program committee member for the IADC Geothermal Drilling Conference.
IADC’s Brooke Polk named Emerging Leader at 2025 OTC
Brooke Polk, IADC VP – Accreditation Operations, was recently named a 2025 Emerging Leader by the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). The program recognizes young professionals with less than 10 years of experience in the energy industry who have demonstrated exceptional talent, commitment and promise as future leaders in the offshore energy sector.
Ms Polk was among 10 people recognized in a ceremony held at the 2025 OTC on 6 May in Houston.
IADC announces project to build enhanced KREW continuous learning system
IADC recently embarked on a project to rebuild its Knowledge Retention & Education for Our Workforce (KREW) continuous learning system. The overhaul, being undertaken in partnership with 3t Drilling Systems, intends to develop completely IADC-owned content that will help the industry with well control knowledge retention, while also creating a greater level of standardized content across the industry.
Key enhancements will include:
An IADC-branded app and web portal with 268 eLearning modules and 11 3D models across the Driller and Supervisor levels of the WellSharp curriculum;
- Direct user engagement and unique learning pathway intentions;
- The ability to link simulation exercises; and
- WellSharp sample assessments that are automatically delivered to users every four months throughout the two-year recertification cycle.
The new system is projected to be completed in Q1 2026.
New: IADC HSE Case Guidelines for Land Drilling Units
The IADC HSE Case Guidelines for Land Drilling Units was recently published. These guidelines provide the worldwide onshore drilling industry a tool to harmonize global HSE principles applicable to drilling units into a single methodology.
The framework assists regulatory bodies, drilling contractors and oil and gas producers in improving personnel safety and environmental protection. Content includes an introduction to the HSE case, HSE management for drilling contractors, rig description, risk management, emergency response and performance monitoring.
Click here to purchase the IADC HSE Case Guidelines for Land Drilling Units.
