WELL CONTROL READINESS
Digital solutions bolster
well control training as
drilling workforce evolves
Simulators, virtual and hybrid classes, and microlearning among
ways training providers are adapting to students’ changing needs
BY STEPHEN WHITFIELD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
W ell control training courses play a critical role in the
development of skilled rig crews in the drilling indus-
try. The ability of rig personnel to respond quickly and
efficiently to well control events can save significant time, money
and potentially lives.

The fundamentals of well control training have been the same
for decades – recognizing the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid in
the wellbore and the formation pressure, as well as the different
lines of defense to prevent lost circulation and potential blowouts.

However, well control training providers understand the need to
Highlights
Training experiences via simulators are
not only more immersive but also can be
more basin-specific, simulating downhole
environments very similar to what crews
might see in the field.

Training providers are working to ensure
their teaching methods are effective not
only in classrooms but also when delivered
in a virtual or hybrid environment.

Adaptive learning, microlearning and
continuous instructor training are among
other key focus areas of improvement.

26 adapt to the changing industry, incorporating more digital tech-
nologies into their classrooms and embracing the virtual e-learn-
ing courses that became prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As operators and drillers continue to focus on digitalization, well
control instructors are following suit.

“Our world is changing at an accelerated rate, and it’s going to
be necessary to ramp up our training capabilities if we’re going
to equip our students with the skills needed to succeed,” said
Ken Smith, VP of Well Control Training at Wild Well Control.

“The evolution of technologies and the rapid demographic shifts
are going to make this essential. In-person training is going to
continue to be valuable as it reinforces core learning methodolo-
gies and provides opportunities for collaboration, but I think the
future of training will reflect a digital design in both presentation
and delivery.”
The industry is also adapting to a new workforce of younger
personnel with more diverse backgrounds. The people coming
into the industry today grew up with technology in a way their
predecessors did not, and they respond to different methods of
teaching. Well control instructors are constantly looking for new
ways to reach their students, whether it’s through Zoom classes,
specialized coursework or advanced simulators.

However, even as the nature of well control training changes,
instructors know that the concepts of well control are still the
same. “We talk about automation, but if it all goes pear shaped, you
still have a human being on a choke. It’s about understanding
the basic concepts. Once the concepts have been learned, we can
adapt to technology,” said Scotty Hooper, Head of Well Control
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023 • DRILLING CONTRACTOR




WELL CONTROL READINESS
Above: To accommodate the needs of an evolving workforce,
Well Control School began offering training courses that al-
low for a mix of both in-person and remote students in the
same class. These classes utilize PowerPoint presentations,
rather than traditional whiteboards, to more easily share
notes with both types of students.

Right: Another new element in WCS’ training efforts is the in-
corporation of physical and cloud-based simulators. They
can model pressure, temperature and rheology, among
other things, and provide a training experience where stu-
dents can freely make mistakes and learn from them.

Instruction and Development at Well Control School (WCS). “As
the equipment evolves, the technology level of the people evolves,
but what doesn’t change is the basic understanding of the con-
cepts behind what they’re doing. Anybody can turn a valve, but
why am I doing that? The way we might do the job does change,
but the concept doesn’t.”
Training in the virtual age
WCS, an affiliate company of Cudd Well Control, has leapt head-
first into the digital ecosystem. In April, the company announced
it was incorporating physical, portable and cloud-based simula-
tors from Applied Research International (ARI) into its in-person
and online training courses.

ARI’s drilling simulator models pressure, temperature, rheology,
drill cuttings transportation and filter cake formations. It also
models drill string dynamics, including effects like drill string
whirling, vibration, twist, stick-slip and bit bouncing. Instructors
can configure the geographical profile of the well, including
adjustments for rock hardness, rock porosity, rock permeability
and formation pressure.

“With these new simulators, the student is actually learning
something, not just operating software and watching a video. It
goes along with our basic philosophy of enveloping the student
in well control. That’s what we do with our curriculum, and now
it’s coming through simulations,” said Dana Varisco, President of
WCS. Mr Hooper described the simulators as a means to present
well control lessons in a different manner than the conventional
methods of having students read from a textbook or look at an
instructor diagram on a whiteboard. Instead, the simulators pro-
DRILLING CONTRACTOR • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023
27