ADS rewards excellence - £250 personal cheque for a perfect 100% pass mark in the "Principles and Procedures" paper of the IWCF Well Control paper.
 
 
DUNCAN IS A REEL EXPERT WHEN IT COMES TO P&P
  Congratulations to Duncan Bowers, our most recent addition to ADS’s exclusive “100 Club”, having scored 100% on the Principles and Procedures paper of the IWCF Well Control exam.

After starting out his career in the industry as a trainee Driller in 1981, Duncan quickly climbed the ladder and went on to work as a DSV on a variety of rigs for over 17 years, followed by a few years spent as a Field Drilling Supervisor. After pursing a role in HSE, Duncan is currently working as a Senior Safety Practitioner in a Joint Venture, courtesy of a NEBOSH Diploma he achieved through distance learning.		  
In Duncan’s 31 years within the Oil and Gas industry, he has had the opportunity to work in a number of countries throughout his career including; Brunei, Gabon, Thailand, Vietnam, Tanzania, UK, Dutch North Sea sectors, Egypt and is presently working in Kazakhstan. Married with 2 children, both now grown up and finding their own feet, Duncan now resides in the Scottish Highlands with his wife. Given that he last sat his IWCF Well Control exam over 10 years ago, Duncan can only put his success down to hard work and the time he spent revising. A keen golfer, and an enthusiastic sea fisher, Duncan plans to reward himself by spending his £250 winnings on a couple of well-deserved fishing trips where he will be out of any phone network the next time his company are short of someone to go offshore. 
 
DAVE IS 'SOMEBODY WHO CARES'
  Congratulations to an old friend of Aberdeen Drilling School, Dave Cormack, who recently scored 100% on the Principles & Procedures paper of the IWCF Well Control exam. Dave is the author of "The Roughneck's Guide To Drilling Calculations" and in a long and varied career in drilling has been involved in Well Control training on four continents, has personally worked with people at all organisational levels and currently serves on the International Board of IWCF. He said that given his books are specifically aimed at preparing candidates for the maths they will encounter on well control school it would not be appropriate for him to personally accept the £250 prize that ADS awards to Well Control candidates for achieving a perfect score.
Dave generously offered to match the ADS award, making a grand total of £500, which was then presented to one of Aberdeen’s local charities, Somebody Cares. 		   
  Dave, whose family have previously donated to Somebody Cares, personally met the founder, Jenny Taylor at our ADS premises to hand over the cheque. The charity which started in 2002 and is entirely funded by donations, provides food, furniture and clothing to people who are in desperate and urgent help. It is hard to believe over 18,000 families in the oil capital of Europe live on less than £50 a week, but thanks to generous supporters such as Dave, and founder Jenny, Somebody Cares "will make Aberdeen unqiue in the land in the way it takes care of its own". More information can be found on Somebody Cares by visiting www.somebodycaresuk.org.
 
100% P&P achiever uses winnings to bring the family together
   
Frans, who recently scored 100% in his Well Control P&P paper, boasts extensive experience within the oil industry and has worked aboard for over 30 years. Since 1976, Frans has worked for Shell in the UK, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Brunei and twice in Egypt, working his way through the ranks from Assistant Driller to Drilling Manager. Retired from Shell in 2008 at the age of 55, he settled in Belgium and enjoyed life for a few years until he sought to take up some part time employment. After un-retiring himself in the end of 2010 with the plan of taking up short and interesting projects, Frans had since worked in London, Iraq, Congo and Mumbai.
Happily married, Frans and his partner have 4 daughters aged 26 to 32 whom have all flown the nest and the prize will be spent on a nice family dinner when they can get everyone home at the same time. Outside work, the garden takes up much of his time and when the "honey do" list is finished there is a laith and a milling machine in the cellar with an unfinished little engine next to it which he personally designed and hopes to bring to" life" sometime soon.
  
IT’S OPERA AT THE BOLSHOI FOR P&P WINNER ALEXANDRE
Alexandre Bouvet, a recent £250 winner for achieving the perfect 100% in his IWCF Principles & Procedures exam at ADS, is currently working as a drilling engineer for TOTAL E&P Russia, in Moscow. Although he is based in Moscow, operations are an oil field located 25 miles north of the arctic circle where, according to Alexandre, you can see the northern lights if you’re lucky, and freeze when the temperature reaches -58deg F if you’re not!
He started his career in 2005, working for TOTAL E&P UK, in Aberdeen. He subsequently moved to Yemen, working as a drilling supervisor, followed by Congo (also as drilling supervisor) and came back to the UK (Aberdeen) for two additional years as a drilling engineer. Alexandre has been in Moscow since 2010, but regards it as “always a pleasure to go back to Aberdeen” as he did when he attended the IWCF Well Control course at ADS.
Alexandre is French, 30 years old and “not married yet”. Away from the drilling scene, he enjoys sports (ran a marathon in Milan, and practices kite-surfing), going to concerts & operas (“which is quite easy in Moscow”), discovering new places, and dancing the tango.
As for the £250 he received from ADS – this should fund some trips to Moscow’s famous Bolshoi theatre which recently reopened.
 
CHAMPAGNE CELEBRATION FOR NOBLE WELL CONTROL WINNER
  Congratulations go to Erik Boon who wins £250 from ADS for scoring 100% on the Principles & Procedures paper of the IWCF Well Control exam. Erik is now part of the exclusive ADS100 Club alongside his Noble George Sauvageau colleague Stephen Brown!
Erik started working for Neddrill in 1986, and is now currently OIM on the Noble George Sauvageau.
Outside of work Erik enjoys sports, working on his house, computers, and travel.
A married family man, with 3 daughters (one of whom attended high school in Grand Bay, Alabama), Erik used some of his prize money to buy a bottle of champagne to celebrate his achievement. As Erik was so confident of winning the prize he started spending it before he had won, by having lunch at a nearby Italian restaurant in Aberdeen (he says he only comes for the 3-day refresher so he doesn’t gain too much weight!). The rest, according to Erik, was used on “sponsorship”, i.e. the expensive business of having 3 daughters!		  
Erik Boon
 
OUTDOOR LIFE SUITS WELL CONTROL WINNER
  Congratulations go to Ant Whittle who has achieved a perfect 100% score in the Principles & Procedures paper of the IWCF Well Control exam at ADS, entitling him to ADS’s £250 prize, plus automatic entry to our exclusive “100 CLUB”!

Since joining Shell International as a Well Engineer in 1994, Ant has worked in planning, contracting, operations and supervisory roles in Holland, Shell’s Iran Project, Nigeria and now in Aberdeen. He is currently the SWE for the Brent Bravo and Brent Delta Platform Rigs working on the Brent Decommissioning project.

Ant is married to Katie (a project engineer also with Shell) and they have two young daughters.

Away from work, Ant is a self-confessed avid Manchester United and F1 fan (not necessarily at the same time, we hope!). He also enjoys outdoor pursuits including swimming, cycling and skiing. Ant’s idea of the ideal holiday is to plan vacations around experiencing new and varied cultures and scenery. As for the £250 he receives from ADS for his Well Control achievement, there is a camping trip planned to America later this year, so he reckons that it will most likely end up in the till at Tiso or Craigdon Mountain Sports!
   
Ant Whittle
 
WELL CONTROL KNOWLEDGE FOR A GOOD CAUSE
    Congratulations to Don Nellis, a recent new addition to the ADS’ “100 CLUB”, reserved for IWCF candidates who score a perfect 100% on the Principle & Procedures paper of the IWCF Well Control exam.
A much-travelled drilling professional with a career spanning 40 years, Don is a well known figure in the worldwide drilling community. His time in the industry has involved 10 years with various drilling contractors, 9 years as a Drill Rep with Shell, and 20 years with BP, with postings including the North Sea and Azeri sector of the Caspian.  
 
Now semi-retired, Don is keeping active with part-time work as a competency assessor for various drilling disciplines, and also works as a relief Drilling Manager/Regional Drilling Manager for an independent operator in South East Asia. 
 
Away from work, he enjoys golf and swimming, and with homes in Thailand and Malaysia, there is ample opportunity to pursue both activities. When asked why “home” is no longer the UK, Don’s reply is:  “Old bones like the sunshine!” The photos show him “hard at work” on the beach and golf course!
 
 
Don has very generously asked for the £250 reward he would receive from ADS for his P&P achievement to “go to a good cause”. The charity selected for this is UCAN, an Aberdeen-based organisation which raises awareness of urological cancers and improves support and quality of life for individuals and their families who are affected. More information about UCAN can be found by visiting www.ucanhelp.org.uk
 
LEWIS REACHES THE PEAK OF WELL CONTROL PERFECTION
  Congratulations go to Lewis Steven who wins £250 from ADS for scoring 100% on the Principles & Procedures paper of the IWCF Well Control exam.
Lewis has been working in the oil industry since 1994 after graduating in Mechanical Engineering from Aberdeen University. His operational career started with Santa Fe Drilling and he has been with Shell for the last 11 years.
He has mainly worked in Europe (UK and Norway) with a spell in the Middle East. Lewis is currently working as Drilling Supervisor on the West Navigator Drillship in Norway, assigned to the Ormen Lange project, drilling and completing gas production wells which currently provide 20% of the UK's gas requirements via subsea pipeline from Norway.
When not working, Lewis enjoys travelling and outdoor pursuits such as climbing and snowboarding. He says the £250 prize will come in useful for his next trip to Chamonix in the French Alps		  
Climbing Chamonix August 2006
 
EVERTON FAN DAVE SCORES WELL CONTROL GOAL!
Dave McCarroll joins ADS’s excusive “100 CLUB”, having achieved the maximum score in the Principles & Procedures paper of the IWCF Well Control exam. Currently working for Ensco as Toolpusher in the central North Sea, Dave started offshore with Penrod drilling. His drilling career has spanned 20 years offshore working on jack-ups in the southern and central North Sea, Irish Sea, Holland and Denmark.
 
Career highlights have included working overseas in Singapore shipyard then Malaysia (with local crews) and southern Australia.
 
Home for Dave is Liverpool with wife Nicola and their three children  Jamie (17), Jessica (13) and baby Charlie (3).
 
Dave lists as one of his interests watching his football team, Everton. He is also a DIY enthusiast and spends as much time with the family as work will allow. His idea of a good day out is visiting his favourite places in north Wales.		  
The photo shows Dave and his boys in Florida.
 
As for the £250 prize from ADS, Dave is “sure the wife and kids will decide what to spend it on, and will probably get their way!”
 
NEW ARRIVAL MEANS BUSY TIMES AHEAD FOR WALTER!
  Walter Allan is a recent addition to the ADS “100 CLUB” and wins £250 for the achievement of obtaining a perfect 100% score on his IWCF Well Control P&P paper.
Walter started work in the oil industry in January 1980 as a roustabout in the North Sea with Jebsens and progressed through Lauritzen, Diamond, Ensco and Atwood Oceanics to Operations Superintendent in Australia, the Far East, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. He left Atwood in 2007 and presently works as Drilling Supervisor on a consultancy basis – over the past three years on a land rig, semi-subs, jack-up, drillship and production platform in Egypt, Africa, India and Trinidad.
Home for Walter is in France where he and his wife and enjoy cycling during the summer, skiing in winter and, needless to say, they manage to find time for “wine tasting” all year round!
On the same day as his IWCF exam, Walter and his wife received news from their daughter of their imminent grandparenthood. He reckons this will mean more time being spent back home in Scotland - and he has already kissed goodbye to the £250 prize!
The photo shows Walter with his wife and daughter (taken when on an assignment in Israel).
 
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WHEN YOU AIM FOR PERFECTION!
 
G.H.M. (Gerardus) Burger is the latest addition to the ADS 100 CLUB, receiving a prize of £250 for a perfect 100% score on his IWCF Well Control Principles & Procedures exam.
Father to three children - Nathalie (18), Meryl (18) and Richard (16) - Gerardus started in the oilfield in 1982 as a roughneck for Neddrill and joined Shell in 1997 as a DSV. He is currently working in Qatar drilling development wells for the Shell Pearl GTL project.
He has mainly worked offshore on drillships, semi’s and jackups but also has desert experience (in Egypt and Oman). Highlights of a varied career in drilling include some special projects: he worked on the first UBD well for Shell Egypt, and the current wells in Qatar where they have the rig on a high airgap and perform SIMOPS on temporary work-platforms, cutting the well times in half.
Gerardus's attitude in work is to continuously look for improvement, both in performance and safety. "I start to enjoy a new idea if others say it is not possible. Whenever I leave the industry I would like to say that I have contributed to some new ideas and improvements."
Gerardus has generously opted to donate his £250 reward from ADS to the humaniarian orgnaisation Médecins Sans Frontieres, in recognition of "the tremendous work they do under difficult circumstances".
   
       
   
Away from work, Gerardus enjoys hiking and plays acoustic guitar. At least once a week he and his family take a 20km hike through the Dutch forests. He takes weekly guitar lessons and plays all kinds of popular music (at the moment he's working on pieces by the Dutch guitarist Harry Sacksioni).
Gerardus has been a regular visitor to ADS for courses and exams since 1985.
  
       
 
RICHARD LIMPS TO THE "P&P" FINISH LINE!
 
 
Congratulations to Richard I. Smith of BP who joins the ADS 100 CLUB, reserved for drilling people who have achieved a perfect 100% score in the “Principles & Procedures” in the IWCF Well Control exam and earn a reward of £250 from Aberdeen Drilling School.
Richard is BP Clair Wells Team Leader.  He has been with BP for 25 years this year, mainly working in the drilling discipline in Aberdeen, with spells in London, Anchorage and Stavanger.  
The proud father of three children (the youngest, Juliet, is pictured), Richard enjoys cycling (commuting) and playing tennis, although he dislocated his knee cap on the Monday night of the well control course playing tennis, so won't be picking up a tennis racket for quite a few weeks now!  He reckons the £250 prize from ADS will likely be spent on physiotherapy and taxis!
  
 
POSITIVE THINKING IS HANS' SECRET TO SUCCESS
Congratulations to Hans Nijssen who joins the ranks of those who have achieved a perfect 100% score in the “Principles & Procedures” in the IWCF Well Control exam and a reward of £250 from Aberdeen Drilling School.
Hans (51) is a father of 5 children. As a mechanical engineer (Bsc), he joined the Shell International 'trainee-driller' programme in 1980 and, after obtaining the necessary experience combined with the Shell certificates Round-1 and 2, decided to leave the company in 1986 and go his own way as a consultant drilling supervisor.
His first DSV job was for PDO (Shell Oman) in 1988. Since then he has worked for a wide variety of operators (Shell, BP, Total, Gaz de France, Wintershall) in about 12 different countries. At present he's working for Shell Libya as Senior DSV on their first remote HPHT well in the Libyan desert using the KCAD T-202 rig which was recently upgraded in Dubai. An interesting aspect of this project is the fact that they will be using the MPD (Managed Pressure Drilling) technique in the reservoir.
   
Hans Nijssen and son
Hans sums up his attitude to life and work: "My job takes me everywhere around the world where I would like to work. Besides being an enthusiastic and positive thinking (rig)team builder, I love the responsibilities that come with the function of 'Day Rep'. The same enthusiasm I found with both of my instructors at the Aberdeen Drilling Schools, Dave Pollock and Blue Rapley. Thanks, guys, for your professional support." The £250 reward will be donated to a good cause.
  
 

“MANAGING PRESSURE” IS GRAHAM’S SECRET FOR PERFECTION
IN WELL CONTROL EXAM!

  
Congratulations to Graham Boyce of Halliburton, who joins the ADS “100 CLUB”, having achieved a rare 100% on his IWCF Well Control “Principles & Procedures” paper and earning himself a £250 reward.
After completing a degree in Geology, Graham started in the oil industry in 1990 working as a Mudlogger based in the North Sea. He worked in a variety of positions before taking an MSc in Drilling Engineering at Robert Gordon University in 1998.
He is employed by Halliburton as a Technical Advisor for Underbalanced and Managed Pressure Drilling. He is currently working in India, responsible for Managed Pressure Drilling in a HPHT field in the Bay of Bengal and Underbalanced Drilling in a fractured carbonate field off the west coast of India.
Graham enjoys travel and in the last ten years has worked in many different countries including Australia, Algeria, Mexico and Thailand.
Married to Lynne with two sons, Josh and Dan, the Boyce family home is in North Yorkshire, between the Dales and the Moors. On days off work he enjoys DIY, working in the garden and walking with the family.
And what about the £250 reward from Aberdeen Drilling Schools? This will go on “a new bike for Josh and some outdoor toys for Dan”.  		   
Graham Boyce relaxing in Sukhothai, Thailand
 
THE DRINKS ARE ON JAMES AFTER WELL CONTROL ACHIEVEMENT!
         
  Congratulations to James Meeke who joins the ranks of those who have achieved a perfect 100% score in the “Principles & Procedures” in the IWCF Well Control exam and a reward of £250 from Aberdeen Drilling School.
James is a Drilling Engineer with SPD, a provider of well engineering services to the oil & gas industry, with headquarters in Dubai, UAE and offices in Aberdeen and Doha, Qatar.
James graduated with a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from U.Q. in Australia in 2001. He worked for service companies in the Middle East and North Africa for 4 years before joining SPD. For the past two years, James has been working for SPD as a Drilling Engineer based in Dubai. This entails a variety of drilling engineering and supervisory work. He is currently working on an exploration project offshore Mozambique.
In the spare time that his job allows, James enjoys travelling, reading and bushwalking.
When asked how he will use the £250 prize, James said he intends to “Shout the guys in the office some drinks, and see what’s left after that!”		    
 
   
DEEP JOY FOR SHELL WINNER IAN
  CONGRATULATIONS go to Ian Hammill, another £250 winner for gaining a 100% score in the ‘Principles and Procedures’ paper of the IWCF Well Control exam.
Ian is currently working as a Drilling Supervisor, for SNEPCo, a Shell company operating in Deepwater Nigeria. He is assigned to the Sedco 702. He has worked for Shell since graduation, initially in The Netherlands and subsequently in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea before transferring to Nigeria in 2006.
Ian’s interests include preparing and competing in trials cars, going to the gym and riding his bicycle.
When asked how he plans to use the £250, Ian said: “I have recently moved house in Gloucestershire and will put the prize towards some improvement work.”		    
Ian Hammill
 
   
DOUBLE PERFECTION FOR NOBLE MAN!
Special congratulations go out to Stephen Brown of Noble Drilling who is the first person to receive our £250 reward twice for obtaining the perfect 100% score on his IWCF Well Control “Principles & Procedures” paper on two consecutive occasions! Stephen was first welcomed to the “ADS 100 CLUB” for this achievement in 2005 and he has recently repeated the feat. Here Stephen tells ADS about his life and work.
ADS: What’s your background?
SB: “I have worked for Noble for 10 years and am now an Assistant Rig Manager on the jack-up Noble George Sauvageau on contract to Altinex & Dong Energy in the Danish sector of the North Sea. I’ve worked offshore since the early eighties for several companies both on semi-submersible & bottom-supported rigs - Jebsens Drilling, Lauritzen Offshore, Ensco & Noble.”
Stephen Brown, Noble Drilling
ADS: What about your home life - any hobbies?
SB: “I try to stay reasonably fit (for someone of my years - 56) so go to the gym when I can. I enjoy the cinema & have a small boat in Cornwall that, this year, requires a little investment (new engine) so the money from ADS will come in handy there. I’m married with one daughter who is at University.”
ADS: Any tips for IWCF Well Control candidates?
SB: “I hate to make suggestions regarding exam technique as I guess everyone has their own system but my approach (to the written papers) for what it's worth is to: take the time allowed for the test; pass over any question I'm not sure about and go back to it at the end (sometimes the direction of the question becomes clearer on a second - or third - reading). Double-check the arithmetic, especially on the Kill Sheet question. Finally, have a little luck as there is usually at least one question with (to me) two apparently plausible answers!”
 
   
P&P PERFECTION IS MUSIC TO ALISTAIR‘S EARS!
         
Congratulations to Alistair Sprott, who joins the ranks of the ADS “100 CLUB” having achieved 100% on his IWCF Well Control “Principles & Procedures” paper and earned himself a £250 reward.
Aberdeen-based Alistair came to drilling from a general engineering background around 11 years ago, initially joining Shell in Aberdeen, and following their Round 1 and 2 training programme for the 2 1/2 years. During this time he worked on the Sedco 704 and Brent Alpha as trainee DSV. On completion of his training he had a spell in the office as the well design engineer for the Brent Alpha, before going back offshore to the Brent Alpha as DSV for a couple of years.
When the platform was mothballed mid-2002, Alistair transferred to PDO in Oman, where he worked as DSV in Exploration and HPHT development for the next four years. In July 2006 he returned to work in the UKCS, taking a position with BP, working on the new Magnus extension project, drilling new ERD wells from splitter conductors.
When on his time off, Alistair enjoys travelling, and (closer to home) mountain biking in the forests around Aberdeen. He is also currently learning to play the guitar, and intends to use his £250 cheque from ADS to stock up on some new guitar equipment!		  
£250 winner Alistair Sprott gets the bit between his teeth!
 
 
WALKER RIDES TO WELL CONTROL SUCCESS!
David Walker has been working in the oil industry for the past 18 years, starting as a roustabout for Kenting Drilling Services on Wytch Farm Oilfield in Dorset. After progressing to Driller, he ventured overseas to spend some time in Africa, Bangladesh and the Middle East. Since being overseas, he has moved from Driller to Senior Toolpusher, working for various companies along the way.
David has just secured a position with a brand new company called Larchford Limited who have purchased a new cyber-based hydraulic land rig to begin a long term drilling contract onshore UK for Star Energy.
Aside from “spending too much time working”, David lives in Hampshire with “gorgeous girlfriend Hannah”, and spends his time doing motorcycle track-days and generally enjoying what free time is available to him.
David becomes the latest recruit to the ADS 100 CLUB, membership of which is reserved exclusively for IWCF Well Control candidates who score a perfect 100% on the Principles & Procedures paper of the Well Control exam and earn a personal cheque for £250.
David Walker enjoying a quiet break from work
 
EXPLORING OUR PLANET IS “TRUE REWARD” FOR P&P WINNER
 

Congratulations to another new addition to the ADS “100 CLUB”, Johan Jansen, who has received £250 from ADS for a perfect 100% score on his IWCF Well Control “Principles & Procedures” paper!
Johan has been working as a Drilling Supervisor for Shell for a number of years. He started off as an Assistant Driller in the northern North Sea in 1987, and since then has been lucky enough to travel to various parts of the globe. He has worked on land rigs in the desert of Oman, the “cloud forests” in Northern Argentina and the rice paddies of Thailand. These experiences alternated with offshore work in Denmark, Namibia, Brunei and Norway.
Over the last couple of years, Johan has had the pleasure of working on semisubs in the UK sector in the North Sea again - back to where he started! He is, however, quite happy to say that he will soon be leaving the high-tech world of the North Sea to go “back to basics” in Africa! Johan is looking forward to working in the rainforests of Gabon for the next few years - a new country to explore, not just in a professional sense but also meet its people, and enjoy its nature and wild life. According to Johan, these are the “true rewards” of working in countries that are off the beaten track. Wherever he has worked he has always taken the opportunity to travel the country – whether it be exploring the mountains and deserts of Oman, camping on the plains of Namibia, crossing the mountains of the Argentinian Andes, or driving from Oman to Holland

    
Johan Jansen of Shell (with friends) in “exploration” mode
 
WELL CONTROL REWARD IS “PARFAIT” FOR LEIGH!

Leigh Foster of BP is another recruit to the ADS “100 CLUB”, having achieved 100% on his IWCF Well Control Principles & Procedures paper and winning himself £250 from ADS.
Leigh has been in the oil business as drilling engineer/supervisor since 1981, initially working for BP, then ARCO and, since 2002, BP again.  He has used ADS for his Well Control refresher since about 1990 and says he finds the course format “useful, enjoyable and convenient”.  He is currently working on a semi-sub in the Caspian Sea, drilling template wells on the Azeri field, and enjoying the practical challenges of being “at the sharp end” again. 
His previous work assignments have taken him from the UK to the US, Africa, the Middle East and south-east Asia.  He developed his French language skills on assignment in Algeria, and put them to good use recently when he and his wife took on a property in southern France.  Leigh is a keen windsurfer, cyclist and skier, and this location offers plenty of opportunities to do all three.  He has two (“large and still growing!”) teenage sons.
   
Some like it hot: Leigh Foster (BP) at work
Leigh plans to donate part of the £250 prize to the British Heart Foundation, and to use the rest to take his family out for a meal.
 
THE ACCIDENTAL DRILLER!
Congratulations from Aberdeen Drilling School to Ron Wood, a Drilling Supervisor with BP’s BKR Rhum Development Team, whose perfect 100% score in the “Principles & Procedures” paper of the IWCF Well Control exam entitles him to a £250 reward - and membership of the Drilling School’s exclusive “100 CLUB”! Ron has kindly given ADS some highlights of a very interesting life in the oilfield and how he got there:
Family:
Ron lives with the love of his life, Julie. Between the two of them, they have six children - James (23), Alex (20), Iysha (12), Calvin (15), Jordan (11) and Nathan (13) – and a grandchild Spencer (2). 
Route to the oilfield:
Born and raised in the Blackpool area, Ron left school at 16 and started his working life as a dustman for Wyre Borough council. This job lasted 3 months during the summer of 1974. In Sept 1974 he joined ICI as an Apprentice Fitter, training up to repair pumps and compressors, etc. He completed his apprenticeship in 1978 and became a Mechanical Fitter.  Before leaving ICI in 1983 he worked as a Mechanical Design Engineer, having gained his HNC in Mechanical Engineering.
Ron joined Shell International as a trainee driller quite by accident! The job ad he read in the newspaper asked for a Mechanical Engineer - not a Driller. However, the application form stated “Trainee Driller” so, after some thought, he decided to apply for the job – he was, after all, “used to drilling holes in steel!” During the first interview, the “Driller’s” job and the possible travel involved sounded quite interesting so he decided to give it a go. 		 
Sitting on the dock of the bay: P&P winner Ron Wood (BP)
He started with NAM in Holland “roughnecking”, then worked as an Assistant Driller with QGPC Offshore in Qatar before becoming a Driller with PDO in Oman. Ron came to the North Sea in January 1989 as a nightshift Drilling Supervisor working on the Sedneth 701, West Stadrill and finally the Tern platform. He was promoted to dayshift supervisor within the year and worked for Shell on various Semis, mainly on HPHT wells in CNS and then on platforms from 1992 until 1995.He left Shell in 1995 to work as a consultant Drilling Supervisor, consulted for Amerada Hess and BP Exploration until BP offered him a staff position in November 1998. Since joining BP Ron has worked on the ETAP project, Miller platform, various Southern North Sea projects, West of Shetlands, Angolan Deepwater Exploration in Blocks 18 and 31 and the Devenick / Rhum HP/HT exploration / development projects. He will be returning to Angola later this year (2005).
Interests: “Keeping Julie and the kids happy”
Football (supports Blackpool Football Club)
Windsurfing (but only on holiday these days)
Avid collector of soul music records.
Dislikes:
Prejudice, racism and greed
“Being in the red!”
Memorable moments while working in the oilfield:
Trying to get a Kelly cock stabbed while the well was blowing out up the drillstring in Oman
Tackled a kick on the North Cormorant after having only been on the rig 20 minutes! A well started to flow while running sandscreens and then had to strip in to bottom to kill the well
Watched the Iranian Rostan platform burning in the Arabian Gulf after it was bombed in about 1985/6 whilst working offshore in Qatar
Played football for England against Scotland live on TV while working in Qatar in 1986 (expatriate match)
Had his record collection confiscated at the Oman / Abu Dhabi border when moving country. Managed to get them back after some time
Passing his Shell Rounds 1 + 2 and, of course, also getting 100% in his IWCF exam at Aberdeen Drilling School!		    
 
PETER “RIDING HIGH” ON WELL CONTROL SUCCESS!
    Congratulations to another new addition to the ADS “100 CLUB”, Peter Mayo of BP, who has received £250 from ADS for a perfect 100% score on his IWCF Well Control “Principles & Procedures” paper. If that wasn’t enough, Peter actually scored a straight 100% across all three parts of the IWCF exam!
Peter is currently Drilling Superintendent with BP for the Magnus field.  Magnus has a challenging programme of extended reach drilling using conductor sharing wellheads drilled from four new slots.
He started in the industry in 1983 with Shell in Holland but soon moved to Aberdeen working on Shell's Dunlin platform and the Stadrill.  In 1988, he came onshore and worked in new field developments and later in support of the Brent south subsea development.  He left Shell in 1994 and worked as a consultant in support of North Sea and East Irish Sea projects.  In 2001, he joined BP supporting the West of Shetland drilling programmes.
Peter had thought he might find the IWCF examination difficult because he was just doing the refresher course, but he says “The past papers and guidance provided by Aberdeen Drilling School really helped”.  He reported “a great sense of achievement” to get 100% across all three tests.
His passion is for mountain biking “but only going downhill or over jumps”.  As for the £250 prize? Peter told ADS: “It would be nice to think that the prize money would go to some new flash components for the bike, but with four expensive kids to support, I think it will go their way in some form or other!”		  
Peter Mayo with his mountain bike
 
A THOROUGHLY GOOD ACHIEVEMENT!
Congratulations to another new addition to the ADS “100 CLUB”. Mike Thorogood of BP has received £250 from ADS for a perfect 100% score on his IWCF Well Control “Principles & Procedures” paper. What makes Mike’s achievement even more notable is the fact that this was his first time to take the IWCF Well Control course and exam!

Mike is a Drilling Engineer with BP at Wytch Farm in Dorset, UK. His first experience of the oil industry was a holiday job working as a Roustabout. This proved decisive in motivating him to embark on a career in the industry. He joined BP after finishing his studies and has been working there for the past 20 months as a Drilling engineer, both offshore and - currently - in the office.
  
As for the £250 ADS prize? Mike is not married and says that “living the single life” will allow him to spend the money on his car. A case of “Making hay while the sun shines”, we suspect...?!
 

VERMEER MASTERPIECE DISCOVERED AT ADS!
    Congratulations to Marco Vermeer, another addition to the ADS “100 CLUB” gallery! Unlike his namesake, the renowned 17th century Dutch painter, Marco’s achievement on this occasion is “scientific” rather than “artistic”, as he attained a perfect 100% score on his IWCF Well Control “Principles & Procedures” paper in March, 2005.
Marco is a Drilling Supervisor, presently working for Wintershall in the Libyan desert drilling exploration and appraisal wells. He startedÊhis career in the oil industry with Shell in 1982. After an extensive hands-on training programme, he was posted to Brunei (Borneo) in 1985, where he and his family subsequently spent some seven years. This was followed by six years in Oman and one year in Aberdeen. During this period, Marco moved up through the ranks from Assistant Driller to Senior Well Engineer. In 1999 he left Shell and has since been working as a Consultant Drilling Supervisor.
 
FROM ABERDEEN TO IRAN (VIA THE GREAT WALL)!
November 2004
Ian Ross
The latest member of the ADS “100” CLUB, and winner of £250 for a perfect score in the IWCF Principles & Procedures paper, is Ian Ross. Ian is based in Tehran, Iran, as Operations Manager for OMV Iran, a subsidiary of the Austrian energy company, OMV AG.

OMV Iran are presently drilling the first well in an oil exploration campaign onshore west Iran - between the city of Ahwaz and the Iraq border - using a Chinese drilling rig from Great Wall Drilling Company. Needless to say, the project has many aspects which are challenging and interesting!

Ian started in the oil industry in 1979 with the British National Oil Corporation (BNOC – subsequently Britoil), later worked as a consultant for companies such as Enterprise Oil, Carless Exploration, Clyde Petroleum, British Gas, and then spent many years working for Ultramar and later LASMO in the UK, the Netherlands, Libya, and Indonesia, before joining OMV.

Throughout his time in the oil industry, Ian has always done his regular Well Control exam at Aberdeen Drilling Schools. He enjoys his return visits to Aberdeen, taking the opportunity to see old friends and enjoy the hospitality of the city.
Land Rig - West Iran
 
Ian regards it as “an honour” to be able to join the ADS “100” club and be awarded the prize from Aberdeen Drilling Schools for his result in the Well Control exam. The money has been shared between donations to the recent BBC 2004 “Children In Need” appeal; a local Iranian charity helping the survivors of the Bam earthquake tragedy in eastern Iran; and a “moderate celebration” after the Friday well control exam!  
 
P&P PERFECTION FOR BP BAKU BOYS
  Congratulations to Tim Wrighton and Dave Fisher of BP Baku who both achieved 100% in the IWCF Well Control “Principles & Procedures” exam paper at the end of a recent Well Control course run for BP in Baku by Aberdeen Drilling School.
The perfect “P&P” scores have earned Tim and Dave a £250 reward each (Aberdeen Drilling School offers a “Reward” incentive for what is regarded as the most difficult part of the IWCF testing). ADS “coughs up” on average only half-a-dozen times a year (from 500+ candidates), so to have two in one week was highly unusual – and a credit to the BP delegates’ knowledge and application.
Tim and Dave first met on Forties in the mid-90s where they were both offshore Drilling Engineers, then Operations Drilling Engineers in the office. In 1997 Tim moved to work on the West of Shetland fields and Dave to ETAP. Both are now in Baku.
 
   
Tim Wrighton & family
Tim - a Senior Drilling Engineer on the Shah Deniz HP gas field – has been married to Lynn (a Midwife) for 13 years. They have two children, son Ben and daughter Alix, and their dog (Jess) completes the family.
When asked how he would spend the £250 prize-money, Tim diplomatically advised that he would be “taking professional advice” from his wife!
Aberdeen Drilling School’s Well Control Instructor who taught the 5-day course, said he was “delighted” to hear of two £250 winners on the same course. ADS’s accountant was said to be “unavailable for comment”!		  
 
GARDENING AND GOOD FOOD IS REWARD FOR P&P PRIZEWINNER!
Congratulations to Martin Grauland of Maersk Oil Qatar who joins the illustrious ranks of the “ADS 100 CLUB”!
Martin successfully negotiated the IWCF Well Control Principles & Procedures paper with a perfect 100% in April 2004 to earn himself a cash prize of £250 courtesy of ADS.

A Rig Supervisor with Maersk Qatar, Martin’s home base is Morigny-Champigny, France. He is planning to use the £250 award to buy some plants for his garden that he is presently re-doing, and to take his wife out for a dinner at their local Michelin-star-rated restaurant.
Martin Grauland on the job
 
STENA MAN WINS WELL CONTROL PRIZE

Congratulations to David Walker of Stena Drilling who recently joined the ranks of ADS’s exclusive “100 Club”, having scored 100% on the Principles and Procedures paper of the IWCF Well Control exam, and wins himself a £250 reward from ADS for his achievement.
David has been working in the oil and gas industry for ten years, all of which have been with Stena Drilling. After completing his studies at Strathclyde University, he joined Stena as a steward on the High Seas Driller. Rapidly rising up the ranks, David currently works as an Assistant Driller on the Stena Tay. Operating for Shell, he has travelled with the rig through Brazil, Trinidad, currently completing operations in Egypt and heading onto Palermo for its first five-year inspection.
David is thirty years old and lives in the Aberdeen area. In his spare time he enjoys various outdoor pursuits, including wakeboarding, snowboarding and downhill mountain biking. Travelling also takes up a huge proportion of his time. As for the £250 prize? This is likely to come in handy on his forthcoming travelling vacation in Australia.
 
 
David Walker of Stena Drilling
 
MINDING YOUR P’s & P’s

John Penhale, a Drilling Advisor with Amerada Hess, is the latest addition to the "ADS 100 CLUB". John recently scored a perfect 100% on the "Principles and Procedures" paper of the IWCF Well Control exam, receiving a personal cheque for £250 from ADS to mark this achievement. Indeed, his overall score for the three parts of the IWCF test was 298% out of a possible 300%.

The £250 P&P "gauntlet" is thrown down every week at ADS. Many candidates simply enjoy the challenge and the added spice of "going for it".

  
John Penhale, Drilling Advisor,
Amerada Hess
View from behind the office (Hess Thailand)
 
RUSSIAN WINTER - SHALL BE NO PROBLEM FOR P&P WINNER!
 

A recent addition to the ranks of the “ADS 100 CLUB” is Norbert Jamot, a Drilling Engineer with the operating company Wintershall Noordzee B.V..
Norbert holds a Master of Petroleum Engineering from the IFP in France. Immediately following his studies, he joined Wintershall as a DE. Since then, he has spent the last six years working for Wintershall in different locations: three years in the field in Libya, Germany, the Netherlands and Dubai. This was followed by a transfer to the office in Libya and then back to the Netherlands where he has been based for the last 3 years.

   
He is currently on his way to a new posting in Moscow where he will begin planning some new operations in West Siberia. With the Russian winter approaching, we suggest that the £250 prize money which Norbert received from ADS for his Well Control achievement would be well spent on a fur hat and thermals!