Announcement

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Announcement
Experiential Based (Hands-on) Well Control
Training
A Training and Research Initiative at the
Petroleum Engineering Research and Technology
Transfer Laboratory (PERTT Lab)
Funded through the Louisiana Applied Educational
Oil Spill Research and Development Program
(OSRADP)
Applications are now being accepted for
Hands-on Well Control Classes. Ten of these
single day classes will be offered at the PERTT
Lab facility on the Baton Rouge Campus of
Louisiana State University between March and July
of 2003. The classes are offered to Louisiana
residents, employees of Louisiana based
companies, employees of companies working in
Louisiana, and employees of companies that work
offshore of Louisiana in the Petroleum Extraction
Industry and Petroleum Extraction Service
Industry as part of a state funded research and
training program administered through the
OSRADP. There is no enrollment fee for qualified
students to attend. The class is intended to
familiarize individuals working in the drilling
industry or the drilling service industry with
the basic well control techniques required for
effective blowout and oil spill prevention.
Limited OSRADP Sponsored Classes Offered
The general application period began on December
1, 2002 and will end on February 1, 2003.
Applications post marked (or received) after the
February 1, 2003 application deadline will be
considered on a first come first serve basis if
space is still available after the open
enrollment period. Personnel working in the
drilling or drilling services sector of the oil
and gas industry are qualified to attend if they
(1) reside in Louisiana, (2) work for a
Louisiana based company, (3) are working in
Louisiana, (4) are working offshore of Louisiana,
OR (5) are being trained by a Louisiana based
company. More information about OSRADP and other
sponsored training opportunities can be obtained
via the internet at www.osradp.lsu.edu
Contact Information
Interested parties can contact the LSU PERTT Lab
for more information and to obtain application
packets. Send correspondence to LSU PERTT Lab,
Dept. of Petroleum Engineering ATTN Hands-on
Well Control Training 3516 CEBA Building Baton
Rouge, LA 70803 Primary Contact Darryl
Bourgoyne, PERTT Lab Director Principle
Investigator John Rogers Smith, Assistant
Professor Ph 225-578-8458, Fax [phone]
Email WCT_at_LSU.edu Web Address www.
PetE.LSU.edu/WCT/training.html
The PERTT Lab is an extension of the Craft and
Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering at
Louisiana State University
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Description
Hands-on Well Control Training
Program Intent
The primary focus of these OSRADP sponsored
classes is to provide practical, hands-on
training with realistic kicks in real wells using
rig equipment to supplement conventional well
control training. The goals of this program are
threefold. The first is to reduce the frequency
of blowouts and related spills by providing
training that increases the participants
understanding of, and confidence in, applying
sound well control procedures. Second, it will
provide a wider range of oil and gas drilling
companies and drilling service companies
accessibility to full-scale, hands-on well
control training. The final goal is to test and
improve experiential based techniques for
training drilling industry field personnel basic
blowout and spill prevention methods.
Consequently, class participants will be required
to complete a simple pre-class well control skill
assessment survey. The pre-class assessments
along with required post-class assessments and a
voluntary three-month content retention survey
will be used to evaluate and compare the well
control teaching methods used in the class.
Course Content Summary
The one-day course will focus on providing field
drilling personnel with practical hands-on well
control experiences using full scale equipment
commonly used to control kicks and prevent well
blowouts. Students attending the class will
receive instruction while controlling pressurized
gas kicks in a full scale training well. A key
part of each students learning experience will be
the class time he/she spends operating the
drilling choke, operating the triplex pump,
making key well control decisions, and observing
other students doing the same tasks. The primary
emphasis will be on the practical procedures for
identifying and controlling kicks using the
drillers method. The content of the course is
aimed at individuals with some drilling
operations training and experience, but little or
no well control training and experience.
Individuals who currently work as assistant
drillers and/or derrickmen are examples of the
targeted audience for this course. Another target
audience for the course is individuals with well
control training but little or no practical well
control experience. This group includes personnel
just starting work as drillers, tool pushers,
operator representatives, and drilling engineers.
Individuals who work in supporting roles during
drilling operations would also benefit from the
course. Examples of these supporting positions
are rough necks, shaker hands, mud loggers, mud
engineers, and cementers. More experienced
individuals (like seasoned drillers, tool
pushers, operators representatives, and drilling
engineers) whose job responsibilities include
training subordinates to perform key kick
prevention, kick detection, and blowout
prevention tasks may also be interested in
attending the class to gain valuable insight on
how to train and evaluate their less experienced
subordinates and co-workers.
LSU PERTT Lab, Craft and Hawkins Department of
Petroleum Engineering 3516 CEBA Building, Baton
Rouge, LA 70803 Ph 225-578-8458 Fax
225-578-8433
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Course Outline
Hands-on Well Control Training
Class size will be limited to 12 enrolled
students for each scheduled class. Three of the
twelve student positions will be reserved for
individuals with significant well control
experience. It is anticipated that mixing a few
experienced personnel into each class will
enhance the overall class quality. Students will
receive practical instruction with actual
equipment and instruments on fundamental well
control tasks including measuring pre-recorded
information, kick identification, flow checks,
hard shut-in procedure, record-keeping during
control, and implementing the first circulation
of the drillers method of well control.
Special emphasis will be placed on practicing
proper operation of the choke and the pump during
start-up, kick circulation, and shut-down with
each student receiving at least twelve and an
average of over twenty minutes of time operating
the choke and a similar amount of time operating
the pump. Hands-on activities will be
complemented with discussion, class exercises,
and practice calculating kill weight mud and
initial circulating pressure. Mandatory
reporting procedures for oil spills will also be
reviewed. The hands-on exercises will
typically begin with an introduction to the
facility, the flow system, and the planned
operations for the day, similar to a pre-tour
meeting for a drilling rig. We will then measure
slow circulating rate pressures and other
pre-recorded data and then detect and shut-in an
actual kick in each of two exercises. In the
first exercise, which is a gas or water kick in
an actual well, each individual student will
practice pump start-up, choke and pump
operations, and pump shut down. The primary
purpose of this exercise is to give every
participant practice operating real equipment
during control of a threatened blowout. In the
second exercise, the group experiences a large
gas kick in a 5800 foot deep well and takes turns
operating the pump and the choke and recording
data as the kick is removed from the well. The
primary purpose of this exercise is to show
participants the real sequence and magnitude of
events occurring during a realistic kick. It
also builds confidence that the procedures being
taught will work successfully. Pre-class and
post-class Skill Assessments will evaluate each
enrolled students ability to perform fundamental
well control tasks and allow assessment of the
effectiveness of the specific exercises and
methods used in that students training. Note
that this course is intended to supplement more
conventional and comprehensive training, such as
provided by IADC WellCAP courses, with practical,
hands-on experience controlling a kick.
Consequently, it is not intended to replace such
courses and carries no industry accreditation or
certification.
Course Schedule
All classes will be held at the PERTT Lab
Facility located on the LSU Campus at 2829
Gourrier Lane, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
730 am 830 am
PERTT Lab facility opens (doughnuts, coffee,
juice available). Class begins. Morning Break
Lunch orders taken for students interested in
eating lunch on site. Lunch (students can dine
offsite if they prefer) Class Resumes Class Ends
1130 am 100 pm 500 pm
LSU PERTT Lab, Craft and Hawkins Department of
Petroleum Engineering 3516 CEBA Building, Baton
Rouge, LA 70803 Ph 225-578-8458 Fax
225-578-8433
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Schedule of Class Offerings
Hands-on Well Control Training
Key Application Dates
February 1, 2003
Priority Enrollment Application Deadline
February 3, 2003
Open enrollment period begins. Enrollment
applications accepted on first come first serve
basis until remaining class space is filled.
February 10, 2003
Enrollment Letters mailed out to applicants
Class Dates (Phase I)
March 2003
Friday 3/14/03 Class 0303A
Friday 3/28/03 Class 0303B
April 2003
Friday 4/4/03 Class 0304A
Friday 4/11/03 Class 0304B
Friday 4/25/03 Class 0304C
May 2003
No Classes Offered
June 2003
Monday 6/16/03 Class 0306A
Tuesday 6/17/03 Class 0306B
Wednesday 6/18/03 Class 0306C
Thursday 6/19/03 Class 0306D
Friday 6/20/03 Class 0306E
Additional Classes (Phase II)
After July 1, 2003 additional classes may be
scheduled as part of the OSRADP Well Control
Training Program if there is sufficient interest.
An enrollment fee of 250/student will be charged
to attend additional OSRADP supported classes
through December 31, 2003. Contact the PERTT Lab
for additional information.
LSU PERTT Lab, Craft and Hawkins Department of
Petroleum Engineering 3516 CEBA Building, Baton
Rouge, LA 70803 Ph 225-578-8458 Fax
225-578-8433
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Student Enrollment Application Guidelines
Experiential Based Well Control Training
Priority Enrollment Application Deadline -
February 1, 2003
Applications post marked before February 1, 2003
will receive priority consideration for class
enrollment. If more enrollment applications than
available class space are received before the
deadline, students will be assigned enrollment
based on (1) employment in the oil and gas well
drilling and drilling service sector, (2)
position and job duties, (3) Louisiana Residency,
(4) Louisiana based employment, (5) employment
and/or work activities in Louisiana and the Gulf
of Mexico. If necessary, class space will also be
portioned based on student employer. Enrollment
Applications from students with the same employer
will be prioritized based on when the application
was post marked. In the event all of the
available class space is not filled, Open
Enrollment will begin on February 3, 2002.
Applications received during the open enrollment
period will be considered on a first come first
serve basis until the remaining class space is
filled.
Student Attendance
Submission of an enrollment application is a
commitment for class attendance. The OSRADP
sponsored classes are intended to benefit the
public by providing high quality well control
training to a wide range of drilling and drilling
support personnel. In addition, the effectiveness
and benefits of the well control training methods
will be evaluated and the results of this
research published. In the event a student
enrollment application is accepted and the
student cannot attend the class as scheduled, an
alternate for that students class slot should be
provided by the student. If an alternate is not
provided, a nominal 250.00 Empty Seat Donation
should be made by the student (or the students
sponsoring employer) to the PERTT Lab to defray
the cost of holding additional classes should it
be necessary to do so in order to complete the
training commitments for the program.
(cut here)
Hands-on Well Control Training Application
Request Form
Name
Company
Address
Phone
Fax
Email
Number of Application Packets Requested
Mail or Fax this form to LSU PERTT Lab,
Hands-on Well Control Training Craft and
Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering 3516
CEBA Building, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 Ph
225-578-8458 Fax [phone] Email
WCT_at_LSU.edu
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Special Thanks
Experiential Based Well Control Training
This Hands-on Well Control Training Initiative
sponsored by the Applied Educational Oil Spill
Research and Development Program would not be
possible without the past and continuing support
of Diamond Offshore. The course content offered
by the PERTT Lab through this program has in
large part been developed, tested, and refined
through on going collaborative training efforts
funded by Diamond Offshore for their 4-day
Fundamental Well Control Classes. For more
information about this unique and valuable
training program offered at the LSU PERTT Lab,
contact Darryl Bourgoyne. Substantial support for
on going training and research efforts at the LSU
PERTT Lab has been provided by Halliburton.
Without Halliburtons generous support, this
Hands-on Well Control Training Initiative would
not be possible. MI-Swaco has also provided
invaluable support to training and research
efforts at the LSU PERTT Lab which make this
Hands-on Well Control Training Initiative
possible. On-going product testing efforts
conducted for MI-Swacos Assisted Well Control
(AWC) project have provided valuable insights for
improved Hands-on Well Control Training
techniques. Other LSU PERTT Lab supporters
Include
ABB Vetco Gray Baroid Drilling Fluids Cameron Chev
ron-Texaco Exxon-Mobil FMC Hornback Specialty Co.
Kinley Caliper Minerals Management
Service Patterson Rental Tools Patterson Truck
Line Roy Phatz Sullins Memorial Fund Supreme
Contractors Schlumberger
Recognition should also go to Allen Kelly, a
former director of the PERTT Lab, now with
Unocal. His past efforts and leadership as PERTT
Lab director provided the foundation on which
this training initiative is based. Allens
continued interest in improving well control
training has been instrumental in sustaining the
LSU PERTT Labs work in the area of full scale
well control training.
Finally, the faculty and staff working at the
PERTT Lab would like to express our condolences
to the family of Jim Sykora. Jim passed away on
December 17th of this year and his loss is
profoundly felt. Jim was the first director of
the PERTT Lab, back when it was called the
Blow-out School. He worked closely with Phatz
Sullins, Dr. A.T. Bourgoyne, Jr and many others
to create and operate this unique facility at
Louisiana State University.
LSU PERTT Lab, Craft and Hawkins Department of
Petroleum Engineering 3516 CEBA Building, Baton
Rouge, LA 70803 Ph 225-578-8458 Fax
225-578-8433