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Basic Drilling Technology - BDT

Discipline: Well Construction/Drilling
Level: Basic
Instructors who teach this course:
  • Mr. James Bobo
    Mr. James Bobo
    X
    MR. JAMES E. BOBO retired from ConocoPhillips as a Principle Drilling Engineer. Mr. Bobo has served in various management and project leadership roles in drilling, production, gas processing, and gas gathering and information systems throughout the basins in the lower 48 states. In addition, he has served in key facilitator roles for well control operations in Papua New Guinea, Nova Scotia and high-pressure/high-temperature operations throughout the lower 48 states. Bobo is actively involved in society-level efforts related to continuing education, licensure, and professional development, along with the technical advisory boards for several universities. He earned his BS degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa.

    Courses:

  • Mr. Richard S. Carden
    Mr. Richard S. Carden
    X
    MR. RICHARD S. CARDEN has taught drilling, horizontal drilling and underbalanced drilling seminars in the United States and internationally for more than 20 years. He has authored numerous technical papers on directional drilling and underbalanced drilling. He was a contributing author to the "Underbalanced Drilling Manual" published by GRI. He worked for Grace, Shursen, Moore and Associates (GSM) as a drilling completion consultant both domestically and overseas. While at GSM he was a wellsite consultant drilling and completing wells in the field; including: geothermal wells, deep/high-pressure gas wells, air drilled wells, directional wells, and horizontal wells. He also worked as a Drilling and Production Engineer for Marathon Oil Company in the Rocky Mountain region. He earned a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering from Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology in 1977.

    Courses:

  • Mr. Mark S. Hackler
    Mr. Mark S. Hackler
    X
    MARK HACKLER is currently serving as the Houston Regional Director for Files & Associates. He has more than 32 years of work experience. His technical background and work experience qualify him as an expert in the areas of drilling project management, project planning and engineering practices. Areas of particular interest, education, and research include project management, organizational learning, process improvement and engineering services. He has served in roles from a Project Drilling Engineer to a Project Manager. Responsibilities have included project management and drilling engineering service efforts for domestic and international energy organizations. His experience includes implementing project management and organizational learning efforts for projects and teams by developing and evaluating work processes to manage and improve performance. Additionally he has been responsible for delivering over 50 well construction training courses and over 300 operational drilling workshops. Mr. Hackler has also managed full implementations of corporate well construction and planning processes. Additional experience includes well planning, operations and post analysis and improvement efforts for projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea, China, Angola, Peru, Brazil, Columbia and Venezuela. Most recent experience has included well planning and operational support for both conventional and horizontal drilling programs. Mr. Hackler has been a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) since 1983 and is also a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI). Mr. Hackler holds a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering & Technology from Oklahoma State University.

    Courses:

  • Dr. Donald D. Schmidt
    Dr. Donald D. Schmidt
    X
    DR. DON SCHMIDT was directly involved with drilling fluids research and supervised research in all aspects of drilling technology during his 30-year career working for Amoco Production Company and Dowell, as well as the Dow Chemical Company. He prepared and presented training courses in drilling fluids technology while at Amoco and also gave courses on various management topics. Since retirement, Don has consulted in the Drilling and Construction industries on drilling fluid technology. He is a former Chairman of API Committee 13 on Drilling Fluids specifications and test methods. His industry awards include the American Petroleum Institute Citation for Service Award and recognition as co-author of the best paper in Drilling Engineering in 1995. He received a Bachelor's degree from Wabash College and a PhD in Physical and Inorganic Chemistry from Oregon State University.

    Courses:

  • Mr. Robert (Bob) V. Westermark
    Mr. Robert (Bob) V. Westermark
    X
    MR. ROBERT (BOB) WESTERMARK is a seasoned engineer with international and domestic experience. He has worked both on and offshore including underbalanced, horizontal, multilateral, coalbed methane, and geothermal drilling wells operations. As a team leader, he has run successful drilling and completion alliances and partnering programs. Mr. Westermark has also managed a research drilling test facility and two US Department of Energy multi-million-dollar projects. He is retired president of Grand Directions, LLC, drilling low cost horizontal wells for the parent company Grand Resources, Inc. and other partners. Mr. Westermark has authored and co-authored over 24 technical papers and he has been the instructor for numerous public and in-house courses, ranging from basic drilling classes to casing design and well control. In addition, he has taught advanced topics including horizontal drilling and multilateral completions. In this capacity, he communicates clearly with all levels of students, field and office employees, management, third party contractors and partners, and the public. He received a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering from Montana College of Mineral Sciences and Technology.

    Courses:

  • Mr. Larry Wolfson
    Mr. Larry Wolfson
    X
    MR. LARRY WOLFSON has 34 years' experience in planning and supervising well construction, including ERD, slim-hole and sub-sea wells. He received a BS in mechanical engineering from California State University Northridge, an MS in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa, and he is a registered petroleum engineer in California.

    Courses:



  • About the course
  • Designed For
  • You will learn
  • Course Content
This basic drilling technology course addresses the technology used to drill wells from a fundamental view point. Equipment and procedures involved with drilling oil and gas wells are described for those who are interested in understanding the drilling process regardless of academic background. During the first day, the overall drilling process is presented along with definitions and descriptions of drilling equipment. This provides the vocabulary to understand the drilling process. During the remainder of the week, the various components and procedures are discussed in greater detail with explanations of the basic science concepts which guide these processes. Subjects include descriptions of drill bits, directional drilling, drilling fluids, solids control, cementing, casing, well bore stability, well control, measurement-while-drilling techniques, stuck pipe, lost circulation, and well bore hydraulics. Some technology enhancements are included to improve understanding of drilling operations for all participants, with or without a science background. A discussion of clay mineralogy helps understand well bore instability and drilling fluids. A discussion of pressure and pressure effects helps explain many of the procedures and problems associated with drilling wells. Rocks behave differently under pressure and understanding this behavior helps in understanding drilling performance.

Some discussions of the art and science of drilling include mathematical explanations for those involved with the engineering aspects of drilling operations; however, the concepts and intent of these mathematical equations will also be explained in simple terms. After all various components and procedures are discussed, the information contained in morning reports is explained and used as a summary of the course content.


"Course was tailored to the classes' needs and not just delivered from a syllabus. This is an excellent way to give people what they need to develop a basic understanding of the drilling industry. Reinforced my basics very well and identified my weak areas where I need improvement." - Drilling Supervisor, Canada


"The instructor made learning the different sections of the drilling site to be very interesting. It was very important to understand the importance of each and how they effect drilling." - Procurement Associate, United States


"The instructor has so many years of drilling experience, yet also stays very up-to-date. He is great about answering questions and providing great visual tools for learning." - Operations Tech, United States
Petroleum and production engineers, completion engineers, geoscientists, managers, technical supervisors, service and support personnel, entry level drilling engineers, drilling operations personnel, drilling office support staff.
  • About drilling equipment and how it is used
  • Drilling terminology and abbreviations
  • Keys to planning a successful well
  • Common drilling problems and how to avoid them
  • How to read a morning report
  • Technology behind information in a morning report
  • The overall drilling process and equipment
  • The language of drillers - understanding their terminology
  • Understanding the abbreviations and acronyms associated with drilling
  • Rig equipment and types
  • Types of drill bits
  • MWD
  • Drill strings
  • Drilled solids management
  • Mud tank arrangements
  • Drilling fluid properties
  • Well control
  • Cementing
  • Casing design
  • Hole problems (stuck pipe, lost circulation)
  • Well control
  • Directional drilling operations and tools
  • Safety
Related courses
View the Progression Map
Basic Petroleum Engineering Practices - BE
Basic Petroleum Technology - BPT
Basic Drilling, Completion and Workover Operations - BDC
Download Progression Map

Basic Drilling Technology - BDT
Discipline: Well Construction/Drilling
Level: Basic
Duration: 5 days
Instructor(s): James Bobo, Richard Carden, Mark Hackler, Donald Schmidt, Robert (Bob) Westermark, Larry Wolfson
This basic drilling technology course addresses the technology used to drill wells from a fundamental view point. Equipment and procedures involved with drilling oil and gas wells are described for those who are interested in understanding the drilling process regardless of academic background. During the first day, the overall drilling process is presented along with definitions and descriptions of drilling equipment. This provides the vocabulary to understand the drilling process. During the remainder of the week, the various components and procedures are discussed in greater detail with explanations of the basic science concepts which guide these processes. Subjects include descriptions of drill bits, directional drilling, drilling fluids, solids control, cementing, casing, well bore stability, well control, measurement-while-drilling techniques, stuck pipe, lost circulation, and well bore hydraulics. Some technology enhancements are included to improve understanding of drilling operations for all participants, with or without a science background. A discussion of clay mineralogy helps understand well bore instability and drilling fluids. A discussion of pressure and pressure effects helps explain many of the procedures and problems associated with drilling wells. Rocks behave differently under pressure and understanding this behavior helps in understanding drilling performance.

Some discussions of the art and science of drilling include mathematical explanations for those involved with the engineering aspects of drilling operations; however, the concepts and intent of these mathematical equations will also be explained in simple terms. After all various components and procedures are discussed, the information contained in morning reports is explained and used as a summary of the course content.


"Course was tailored to the classes' needs and not just delivered from a syllabus. This is an excellent way to give people what they need to develop a basic understanding of the drilling industry. Reinforced my basics very well and identified my weak areas where I need improvement." - Drilling Supervisor, Canada


"The instructor made learning the different sections of the drilling site to be very interesting. It was very important to understand the importance of each and how they effect drilling." - Procurement Associate, United States


"The instructor has so many years of drilling experience, yet also stays very up-to-date. He is great about answering questions and providing great visual tools for learning." - Operations Tech, United States
Designed For:
Petroleum and production engineers, completion engineers, geoscientists, managers, technical supervisors, service and support personnel, entry level drilling engineers, drilling operations personnel, drilling office support staff.
You Will Learn:
  • About drilling equipment and how it is used
  • Drilling terminology and abbreviations
  • Keys to planning a successful well
  • Common drilling problems and how to avoid them
  • How to read a morning report
  • Technology behind information in a morning report
Course Content:
  • The overall drilling process and equipment
  • The language of drillers - understanding their terminology
  • Understanding the abbreviations and acronyms associated with drilling
  • Rig equipment and types
  • Types of drill bits
  • MWD
  • Drill strings
  • Drilled solids management
  • Mud tank arrangements
  • Drilling fluid properties
  • Well control
  • Cementing
  • Casing design
  • Hole problems (stuck pipe, lost circulation)
  • Well control
  • Directional drilling operations and tools
  • Safety
Instructors:

MR. JAMES E. BOBO retired from ConocoPhillips as a Principle Drilling Engineer. Mr. Bobo has served in various management and project leadership roles in drilling, production, gas processing, and gas gathering and information systems throughout the basins in the lower 48 states. In addition, he has served in key facilitator roles for well control operations in Papua New Guinea, Nova Scotia and high-pressure/high-temperature operations throughout the lower 48 states. Bobo is actively involved in society-level efforts related to continuing education, licensure, and professional development, along with the technical advisory boards for several universities. He earned his BS degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa.

MR. RICHARD S. CARDEN has taught drilling, horizontal drilling and underbalanced drilling seminars in the United States and internationally for more than 20 years. He has authored numerous technical papers on directional drilling and underbalanced drilling. He was a contributing author to the "Underbalanced Drilling Manual" published by GRI. He worked for Grace, Shursen, Moore and Associates (GSM) as a drilling completion consultant both domestically and overseas. While at GSM he was a wellsite consultant drilling and completing wells in the field; including: geothermal wells, deep/high-pressure gas wells, air drilled wells, directional wells, and horizontal wells. He also worked as a Drilling and Production Engineer for Marathon Oil Company in the Rocky Mountain region. He earned a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering from Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology in 1977.

MARK HACKLER is currently serving as the Houston Regional Director for Files & Associates. He has more than 32 years of work experience. His technical background and work experience qualify him as an expert in the areas of drilling project management, project planning and engineering practices. Areas of particular interest, education, and research include project management, organizational learning, process improvement and engineering services. He has served in roles from a Project Drilling Engineer to a Project Manager. Responsibilities have included project management and drilling engineering service efforts for domestic and international energy organizations. His experience includes implementing project management and organizational learning efforts for projects and teams by developing and evaluating work processes to manage and improve performance. Additionally he has been responsible for delivering over 50 well construction training courses and over 300 operational drilling workshops. Mr. Hackler has also managed full implementations of corporate well construction and planning processes. Additional experience includes well planning, operations and post analysis and improvement efforts for projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea, China, Angola, Peru, Brazil, Columbia and Venezuela. Most recent experience has included well planning and operational support for both conventional and horizontal drilling programs. Mr. Hackler has been a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) since 1983 and is also a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI). Mr. Hackler holds a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering & Technology from Oklahoma State University.

DR. DON SCHMIDT was directly involved with drilling fluids research and supervised research in all aspects of drilling technology during his 30-year career working for Amoco Production Company and Dowell, as well as the Dow Chemical Company. He prepared and presented training courses in drilling fluids technology while at Amoco and also gave courses on various management topics. Since retirement, Don has consulted in the Drilling and Construction industries on drilling fluid technology. He is a former Chairman of API Committee 13 on Drilling Fluids specifications and test methods. His industry awards include the American Petroleum Institute Citation for Service Award and recognition as co-author of the best paper in Drilling Engineering in 1995. He received a Bachelor's degree from Wabash College and a PhD in Physical and Inorganic Chemistry from Oregon State University.

MR. ROBERT (BOB) WESTERMARK is a seasoned engineer with international and domestic experience. He has worked both on and offshore including underbalanced, horizontal, multilateral, coalbed methane, and geothermal drilling wells operations. As a team leader, he has run successful drilling and completion alliances and partnering programs. Mr. Westermark has also managed a research drilling test facility and two US Department of Energy multi-million-dollar projects. He is retired president of Grand Directions, LLC, drilling low cost horizontal wells for the parent company Grand Resources, Inc. and other partners. Mr. Westermark has authored and co-authored over 24 technical papers and he has been the instructor for numerous public and in-house courses, ranging from basic drilling classes to casing design and well control. In addition, he has taught advanced topics including horizontal drilling and multilateral completions. In this capacity, he communicates clearly with all levels of students, field and office employees, management, third party contractors and partners, and the public. He received a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering from Montana College of Mineral Sciences and Technology.

MR. LARRY WOLFSON has 34 years' experience in planning and supervising well construction, including ERD, slim-hole and sub-sea wells. He received a BS in mechanical engineering from California State University Northridge, an MS in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa, and he is a registered petroleum engineer in California.


In-House Course Presentations
All courses are available for in-house presentation to individual organizations. In-house courses may be structured the same as the public versions or tailored to meet your requirements. Special courses on virtually any petroleum-related subject can be arranged specifically for in-house presentation. For further information, contact our In-House Training Coordinator at one of the numbers listed below.
Telephone 1- 832 426 1234
Facsimile 1- 832 426 1244
E-Mail inhouse@petroskills.com

Public Course Presentations
How to contact PetroSkills:
1-800-821-5933 toll-free in North America or
Telephone 1-918-828-2500
Facsimile 1-918-828-2580
E-Mail registrations@petroskills.com
Internet www.petroskills.com
Address P.O. Box 35448, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74153-0448, U.S.A