TAB LE OF CONTE NTS
H E A LT H , SA F E T Y, E N V I R O N M E N T & T R A I N I N G
40 Mitigating drops risks through pipe screen replacements, red zone management
technology BY STEPHEN WHITFIELD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
IADC CONNECTION
42 IADC Chair Andy Hendricks: Moderated
46 News Cuttings
growth may create healthier business
environment for drillers in coming years
48 Wirelines
BY LINDA HSIEH, EDITOR & PUBLISHER
44 IADC Board of Directors elects 2023 officers
45 IADC: An association by our members,
49 Conference
Calendar 50 Editorial
Preview for our members
BY JASON MCFARLAND, IADC PRESIDENT
42 DEPARTMENTS
5 Drilling Ahead: Activity rebound puts
workforce challenge back at center stage
BY LINDA HSIEH, EDITOR & PUBLISHER
6 D&C News
51 People, Companies & Products
53 Advertisers Index
54 Perspectives: Stephen Foster,
Scandrill – Moving from US Army
to the oilfield opens new career
opportunities 7 D&C Tech Digest
8 News Briefs: Environmental, Social
54 BY STEPHEN WHITFIELD,
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
and Governance
9 Oil & Gas Markets
NOTE: Some articles feature QR Codes which can be scanned using
your smartphone to access web-exclusive, enhanced editorial on
DrillingContractor.org or in our Digital Reader.
JAN/FEB 2023
Volume 79 • Number 1
Drilling Contractor (ISSN 0046-0702), the official
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Vice Chairman
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Division VP North America
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Division VP International
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President Jason McFarland
A full list of IADC staff is available here: www.iadc.org/about/staff
JAN UARY/FEB RUARY 2023 • D R I LLI N G CO N T R ACTO R
DRILLING AHEAD • DEPARTMENTS
Activity rebound puts workforce
challenge back at center stage
BY LINDA HSIEH, EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Speaking with industry executives from
drilling contractor and E&P companies
over the past couple of months for our
annual “Critical Issues in Drilling &
Completions” Q&A’s, it’s apparent that old
challenges around recruitment and reten-
tion have resurfaced with full force as
drilling activity ramped up over the past
year. Companies are feeling the pinch from
a critical labor shortage, evident in the
increased presence of short-service
employees on drilling locations. Both oper-
ators and drilling contractors expressed
concerned around the potential impacts.
“One competent person cannot be
replaced by several less competent indi-
viduals. That will only drive up cost, and
the quality of the projects will suffer. I
think that’s the biggest challenge,” said
Tommy Sigmundstad, Senior VP Drilling
and Wells for Aker BP (Page 22).
The labor shortage is not only about the
immediate future, however. It’s a long-haul
challenge tied both to the public percep-
tion of oil and gas, and to the changes that
companies are willing to make to attract
the next generation. At Nabors, for exam-
ple, Senior Vice President Subodh Saxena
urges companies to think about allocating
their capital differently this time than they
have in past cycles (Page 28). Drilling con-
tractors have typically focused on build-
ing new rigs when the market picks up,
but that strategy leans too much toward
achieving short-term gains instead of
long-term sustainability.
In terms of addressing the workforce
challenge, more investments need to go
into improving safety and the general
well-being of employees, he said. “Today’s
workforce is very much willing and capa-
ble to work hard for their 12-hour shifts,
but when they are off, they want a reason-
able quality of living. At a minimum, this
means employers need to provide some
element of privacy in the living quarters,
as well as WiFi. Those investments need
to happen. If we don’t do that, we will
2023 IADC
HEALTH, SAFETY,
ENVIRONMENT & TRAINING
Conference & Exhibition
not be able to attract and retain those
employees because they see those things
as necessities, not luxuries.”
Differentiating with digital
The industry also continues to push
ahead in its automation and digitaliza-
tion journey. As in recent years, opera-
tors we interviewed this time – Petrobras,
Petronas, Pioneer Natural Resources and
Aker BP – all cited this as a key strategy
for cost reduction and efficiency improve-
ment. And the drilling contractors we talk-
ed to – H&P, Nabors and Seadrill – are all
working on finding new ways to leverage
digital innovations; they see this is the
next frontier for differentiation among the
competition. This means that upskilling rig crews
and drillers will be critical, as automa-
tion systems gradually take over repetitive
tasks and manual labor. “Going forward,
it’s going to be less about big muscles
and more about big minds,” said Simon
Johnson, President and CEO of Seadrill
(Page 10).
Another common thread this year is
around the need for more collaboration
between operator and drilling contrac-
tor. While supply chain bottlenecks and
inflation are global issues outside of any
one company’s sphere of control, leaders
say their impacts can be mitigated when
companies work together to plan ahead.
“Communication and transparency are
paramount, and that involves having con-
versations early and often,” said Bonnie
Black, VP Drilling at Pioneer (Page 14). “If
there is potential for our plans to change,
we communicate that with them. At the
same time, if our vendors are having chal-
lenges around supply chain or labor, there
is enough trust in our relationship that
they can tell us upfront, and we can try
to solve those issues together as early as
possible.” DC
18-19 APRIL 2023
H YAT T R E G E N C Y
HOUSTON WEST
H O U S T O N ,
T E X A S
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For more information,
contact IADC by phone at
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at iadcconferences@iadc.org
Linda Hsieh can be reached at linda.hsieh
@iadc.org. D R I LLI N G CO N T R ACTO R • JAN UARY/FEB RUARY 2023
5