News Cuttings
Steve Brady named 2019 IADC Contractor of the Year at Annual General Meeting
Steve Brady, Valaris, was named the 2019 IADC Contractor of the Year during the IADC Annual General Meeting in Austin, Texas, on 8 November. Mr Brady served as IADC Chairman in 2018, dedicating his term to outreach, competency and advocacy.
“Steve has been a longtime and great supporter of IADC,” said Jason McFarland, IADC President. “From his work on the RAPID-S53 project to his year serving as our Chairman, he has championed the interests of drilling contractors and IADC, and it was an honor to present him the award.”
The Contractor of the Year award is sponsored by National Oilwell Varco (NOV). It was established in 1998 to recognize an individual drilling contractor’s outstanding lifetime achievement in technical innovation, safety and economic efficiency within the drilling industry. The prestigious award is the only one reserved exclusively for drilling contractors. All recipients are nominated and selected by other drilling contractors who are IADC members.
In his acceptance remarks, Mr Brady talked about industry collaboration on well control, and the success he experienced in this area while working on the RAPID-S53 project. He also encouraged those in the room to work together to achieve zero well control incidents, to embrace continuous training programs for the workforce to address knowledge decay and gaps, and to commit to an uncompromising policy on well control. He ended his remarks by thanking NOV, IADC and his family.
Mr Brady joined Valaris – then Ensco – in 2002 and was appointed to the role of Senior Vice President, Eastern Hemisphere, in December 2014. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Western Hemisphere, and Vice President, Europe and Mediterranean, as well as General Manager, Middle East and Asia Pacific, and other leadership positions in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Prior to joining Ensco, Mr Brady spent 18 years in various technical and managerial roles for ConocoPhillips in locations around the world. Mr Brady holds a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from Mississippi State University.
IADC attends CNPC Technical Seminar in China
Chit Hlaing, IADC Assistant Regional Director for the Asia Pacific, attended the CNPC International Technical Seminar in Tianjin, China, in October. Hosted by CNPC Oilfield Service Company, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp, the event highlighted the company’s latest technical achievements and offered a forum for attendees to exchange ideas on technical innovations and applications.
Mr Hlaing also met with Qin Yonghe, President of CNPC Oilfield Service Company, and VPs of its subsidiary drilling contractor companies. The meeting focused on how IADC can work together with drilling contractors in the region to address issues such as workforce development and sharing of best practices.
Martin Flojgaard recently joined IADC as a representative for the Australasia region. He succeeds Derek Morrow, who retired in late December. Mr Flojgaard has more than 37 years of international experience in drilling operations, FPSOs and vessel operation. He has been instrumental in startup drilling operations in Australia and the Caspian for a number of MODUs. His experience as Managing Director and Area Manager for Maersk Drilling Australia will be a valuable resource for IADC and its member companies in the Australasia region.
WCI names two new board members
Two members were recently named to the Well Control Institute (WCI) Board of Directors. Dale Bradford, VP – Western Hemisphere Offshore for Murphy Oil Corp, has joined as an operator representative, while Steve Haden, Senior VP of Project Management for Halliburton, has joined as a service company representative.
Willingham, Macmillan recognized with IADC Exemplary Service Awards
During the 2019 IADC Annual General Meeting in Austin, Texas, Kathy Willingham, Vice President Human Resources & HSE at Cactus Drilling Company, and Robin Macmillan, Senior Vice President for Business Development for National Oilwell Varco, were recognized for their contributions to IADC with Exemplary Service Awards.
Ms Willingham has devoted her career to the oil and gas industry. In 1981, she joined AnSon Gas Corp, an E&P company that included Anadarko. With a spin-off in 1996 of Anadarko, she began working with Bayard Drilling. Following a sellout, she moved to Continental Resources.
Ms Willingham then helped to start Nomac Drilling before being recruited in 2003 to help establish Cactus Drilling. She helped to guide the company from an initial staff of 30 through a period of growth to its current position as the largest independent drilling contractor in the US.
Mr Macmillan holds a degree in geology from the University of Leeds in England. He has worked in many countries, including eight years in Latin America. He joined drill bit company ReedHycalog in 1991, working in several positions before being appointed as President in 2008.
Mr Macmillan has published technical papers on drilling automation, drill bit design and managed pressure drilling and holds a patent on drill bit design.
He previously chaired the IADC Advanced Rig Technology Committee, has moderated several technical webinars for SPE and is a member of the International Society of Automation.
Seadrill’s McGavin to lead IADC Supply Chain Committee
The IADC Supply Chain Committee recently elected Greg McGavin, Vice President – Supply Chain for Seadrill, as Chairman. Members of the committee also approved the formation of a new subcommittee focused on conducting supply chain-focused industry benchmarking surveys.
For those who may be interested in contributing to these and other important initiatives, the group encourage attendance at its 2020 meetings. Meeting dates/locations will be posted on IADC’s website.
