As more oilfields are being exploited, oil and gas operators in Asia are increasingly looking into deepwater development that may offer alternative source of oilfields. Deepwater exploration is generally technically challenging, which calls for the need for new technologies or techniques to optimise oilfield exploitation. With capital investment in drilling and completions accounting for over 50% of total costs in oil and gas exploration and development, operators are looking closely into the various techniques that can successfully optimise their oil extraction activities.

While oil and gas operators have embarked on their deepwater exploration, there are concerns on environmental impact due to rigs construction, on top of issues on land clearance with the local communities. In view of this, vertical drilling method is no longer optimal, and operators are venturing into horizontal, multilateral and directional drilling techniques. The big question is however, how well operators are doing it and if these non-conventional drilling methods are yielding expected results.

Drilling performance remains a critical issue despite the use of high angle drilling techniques in the last two decades. The technicality and operational challenges remains, as these drilling pipes are constructed at various angles.

The 3-day interactive training course is specially designed for personnel involved in offshore drilling and completion activities. This advanced course will examine the different approaches taken to improve the performance of high angle drilling techniques. The training will also discuss the critical requirements required to plan, build and run successful deviated wells. This advanced training will expose participants to various ways to manage common problems associated with high angle drillings, the effective practices that operators should observe in hole cleaning, and the important factors operators have to take note to minimise problems from high angle operations.

Iain Hutchison is a chartered Mechanical Engineer with a B Eng (honours) from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. He consults in Drilling Engineering, specialising in high angle, complex and Extend Reach Wells (ERW). Currently Iain is the Director of the Engineering Department in Merlin ERD, an independent, professional engineering consultancy, who specialises in all aspects of High Angle, Complex and Extended Reach Drilling Engineering. Most of his 20 years in the oil and Gas industry has been with operators, with a short time reviewing Petroleum insurance losses for Lloyds of London and two years running the Asia Pacific region of a specialist ERW consultancy in the service sector.

Iain has worked around the world on a variety of projects from world record ultra long and deepwater ERD wells, to low cost land and jack-up projects.  Upon completing several notable projects in Australia with BHP, Woodside and most recently Apache Energy, Iain returned to Scotland where he provides advanced, high angle drilling engineering expertise to the industry.

For more information about the event, please contact Noni at +65 6732 3830 or by email.