COMPANY PROFILE

Aberdeen Drilling Schools (ADS) is a training company with facilities in Aberdeen (Scotland), Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Established in 1982, the company specialises in the design and delivery of operationally relevant short and long training courses and the production of related technical manuals and documentation for the petroleum industry worldwide.

ADS trains on average 1000 personnel worldwide per year in the theoretical and practical aspects of pressure control for drilling and well servicing operations, ensuring (through in-house and externally-validated assessment processes) that they are ready for field operations using specific equipment and systems.

ADS has developed and run company-specific in-house courses for many major clients over the years. For example, ADS currently runs in-house training programmes for BP: the “BP Advanced Well Control” course is aimed at enhancing the knowledge of the professional drilling and engineering staff.

Customised training in drilling practices and technology, cost reduction/unscheduled events prevention, safety, communication and leadership, are carried out on a regular basis for clients worldwide.

The company’s training services are complemented by an in-house ‘Technical Authoring’ function, comprising a Technical Writing Project Team and an internal Graphics/IT Department for the design, production and publishing of technical documentation.

ACCREDITATIONS

ADS and its personnel are accredited to the following petroleum industry organisations:
International Well Control Forum (IWCF)
International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC)
British Accreditation Council (BAC)

TRAINING COURSES AND FACILITIES

The following is a summary of the training courses, proprietary publications and training-related equipment currently available at ADS:

TECHNICAL TRAINING

• Well Control (during drilling operations)

- International Well Control Forum (IWCF) Well Control accredited courses

- International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) “WellCAP” Well Control accredited courses

- Advanced Well Control

- High Pressure High Temperature Well Control

- Horizontal Well Control

- Deep Water Well Control

- Slimhole Well Control

• Well Control (during well intervention/well servicing operations)

- Well Intervention Pressure Control (IWCF accredited)

- Workover & Completion Well Control (IADC accredited)

 

• Drilling Technology, Practices & Engineering

- Drilling Technology & Equipment (“Awareness” through “Advanced”)

- Casing & Cementing/Advanced Casing Design

- Extended Reach Drilling

- HPHT Well Engineering

- Deepwater Well Engineering

 

• Training in the Prevention of Unscheduled Events (during drilling operations)

- BP-licensed “Training to Reduce Unscheduled Events” (T.R.U.E.)

- Stuck Pipe Prevention

- Drill String Failure Prevention

PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING

ADS has developed and conducts generic and customised training courses in the following “soft-skills” areas:

• Effective Communication

• Leadership

• Team Building.

TRAINING PUBLICATIONS
(available for purchase)

‘Basic Drilling Technology & Equipment’ (reference manual for non-drilling personnel)

‘Well Control for the Rig-Site Drilling Team’ (IWCF Accredited) Manual & CD

‘Well Intervention Pressure Control’ (IWCF Accredited) Manual & CD

‘Workover Well Control’ (IADC Accredited) Manual & CD

‘High Pressure High Temperature Wells’ Manual & CD

‘Rig Site Modular Training: Stuck Pipe Prevention’ (developed in conjunction with BP)

‘Drilling Calculations’ Self-Study Modules

EQUIPMENT FOR PRACTICAL TRAINING

• 2 x DRILLSIM 5000 Rig Floor Drilling and Well Control Simulators

Two full-size simulators for drilling and well control operation in both offshore and onshore operational environments. Computer-operated and suitable for all stages of training from entry level to advanced drilling and well control engineering.

Working alone or in groups, trainees can execute “real-world” drilling or well control exercises created by an instructor. This develops the trainee’s problem-solving skills, which in turn helps reduce the risk of dangerous and expensive incidents occurring in the field.

• DRILLSIM 500 ‘Super Portable’ Drilling and Well Control Simulator

Portable simulator comprising four miniature consoles and a laptop computer. Used for training rig crews and drilling personnel at the well site or classroom.
The equipment represents rig floor panels and consoles and responds as it does in the field. Instructors use the simulator to recreate examples of known and potential emergencies in a controlled environment, which builds up the trainee’s confidence and troubleshooting skills, saving time, money and enhancing safety.

• 2 x DRILLSIM 50 ‘Mini-Portable’ Drilling and Well Control Simulators

The simulator hardware comprises a Drilling Controls Panel, Manifolds Panel, Remote Choke Panel and BOP Panel. The equipment represents the rig floor panels and consoles of the DRILLSIM 5000. Instructors can use the simulator for refresher training at the well site or certification under the International Well Control Forum (IWCF) program.

• Schlumberger “SideKick” Advanced Kick Simulator

ADS is unique among training providers in holding a licence from Schlumberger to operate the “SideKick” software package for training applications.

“SideKick” gas-kick simulation software is an advanced kick simulator, suitable for simulating gas kick development, well control events and wellbore hydrodynamics. The application is intended to simulate the conditions leading up to a blow-out. It can also be used as a fully transient dynamic under-balanced drilling simulator.

• High pressures validated to 15000 psi (extrapolation used at higher pressures)

• High temperatures validated to 350°F (extrapolation used at higher temperatures)

• Vertical and deviated wells (validated to 90°)

• Oil and water-based mud capabilities

• New physical model for gas rise in non-Newtonian drilling mud

• Computation of wellbore elasticity and its effect on pressure changes

• Enhanced algorithms for gas migration and frictional losses in slim holes, including high-speed pipe rotation and decentralised pipe

• Multi-zone influxes

• Drilling with a rotating BOP

• Annulus (parasite string) and drill pipe gas injection for underbalanced drilling

• Fluid loss to the formation via filtration