| International Well Control Forum |
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Introduction |
| page last updated 24 January 2010 |
The search for common standards in well control training and certification in Europe began in 1982 with the formation of a European Union committee representing National Energy Ministries, Industry Trade Associations and Trade Unions. Their recommendations, which were published in a 1984 report, included the introduction of a standard training syllabus and certification programme for drilling personnel. European Well Control Forum Working Party The report prompted the agencies involved in well control certification programmes across Europe to consider the development of a common programme for operators and contractors. In 1989 a working party was formed with nominees from seven European countries. The initial objective of the working party was to devise an assessment programme to measure well control skills and knowledge, which could be adopted by the industry in Europe to meet their existing voluntary or statutory certification requirements. Industry Support To ensure that programmes met industry needs, the Working Party sought the views of international industry organisations at all stages of its development programme. This included reviews of the draft standards and testing methodologies, attendance by industry observers at working party meetings, and round table meetings in various countries. European Well Control Forum During these reviews and discussions, the industry indicated a desire to take an active part in the management of the proposed organisation and the development of the Certification programmes. This was achieved by creating an industry membership organisation and this was registered at The Hague in December 1992. International Well Control Forum In the period from January 1993 to September 1994 the number of countries where the Certification Programme was accredited grew from the seven to sixteen, and most of these were outside Europe. In September 1994, the organisation was renamed International Well Control Forum - to reflect the enhanced geographical scope of the programme. Geographical Scope of Programmes On 1st January 1993 seventeen schools in Europe and seven schools in the United States were accredited to run the Rotary Drilling Well Control Assessment and Certification programme. By September 1994 the number of accredited schools had increased to 47 in 16 countries. Between October 1994 and December 2000 the number of accredited locations increased to over 200 in 70 countries. Over 3750 candidates were presented for the Rotary Drilling Well Control programme in 1993, the first year of the programme. By the end of 2008 the annual number of candidates for IWCF programmes had increased to 16,000. International Alliance for Well Control In May 1997, the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) and International Well Control Forum (IWCF) signed an agreement to provide an ‘Alliance’ programme covering well control training and certification. The two organisations spent considerable man-hours in joint committees reviewing and modifying their training curriculum and certification syllabus to ensure compatibility. The revised curriculum and syllabus was delivered to IADC and IWCF members in 1997. The programme, to provide a single international training and certification syllabus commenced on 1st June 1998. Accreditation is open to organisations that have both IADC WellCAP and IWCF Accredited Centre status. Well Intervention Pressure Control Following a survey among IWCF member companies and other interested industry organisations during 1995/96, a sub-committee comprising IWCF Members, Service Company representatives and members of the International Coiled Tubing Association was established to develop a certification programme covering Pressure Control during Well Intervention activities. IWCF members and the service industry representatives reviewed and approved the proposals during 1997. The programme commenced on 1st April 1998. Programmes under Development IWCF is currently developing an Introductory Rotary Drilling Well Control Certification programme and a Workover Well Control Certification programme. Quality Assurance Standards ISO 9001 The IWCF Quality Management System was accredited to the ISO: 9001/1994 standard on 4th October 2000 and to the updated ISO 9001/2000 standard on 1st January 2003. Information on the programme is available from the IWCF Secretariat or from the IWCF website. New Assessment Methodology Following substantive discussions with Members, Assessors and Branches and a wide-ranging ‘Pilot Testing Exercise’ a more in-depth Practical Assessment Grading methodology was introduced to the Rotary Drilling Well Control certification programme on 1st January 2000. Electronic Question Bank During 1999, the Forum commissioned the development of a software database application capable of storing the current question banks and automatically generating complete test paper sets. While the software was under development the IWCF commissioned an in-depth review of the Rotary Drilling Well Control question bank by independent well control consultants. The English language version of the revised Rotary Drilling Well Control question bank database was completed at the end of 1999. Following pilot testing the programme was introduced in the United Kingdom in February 2000. The programme has now been translated and is operational in the following sixteen languages, and in API, Bar/Litre and S.I. Units: -
The English language version of the Well Intervention Pressure Control question bank database was introduced in February 2001. The programme has now been translated and is operational in the following languages, and in API, Bar/Litre and S.I. Units:: -
The Well Intervention database is currently under translation to Hungarian. In 2005, IWCF invested over £100,000 in an online version of the database. This programme enables National Branches to maintain direct database translations, and generate test material locally. |