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Canadian Well Construction JournalThe Official PublicaTiOn Of The canadian assOciaTiOn Of drilling engineers
Volume 3 | Issue 1 | JANuARy 2011
6 Soft on tankSrOck sOlid brings cOllaPsible bladder Tanks TO The wesTern canadian Oil and gas indusTry
9 Leading the Wayas 2010 draws TO a clOse, hOrizOnTal surge was a key brighT sPOT fOr wesTern canadian drilling secTOr
10 RotaRy RevoLutionensign’s auTOmaTed drill rig, nOw being dePlOyed wOrldwide, rePresenTs a sTeP-change in rOTary drilling TechnOlOgy
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3 January 2011 Canadian Well Construction Journal
President’s MessageI expect everyone has survived another holiday season without great gains in weight and has a long list of new year’s resolu-tions. The Christmas break is welcome time off in our industry, the final year-end push to get flow through dollars spent or exit
volumes up leaves all of us burnt out and a little shell-shocked sometimes.In the past, I found the break a great excuse to remove myself from some of the family events
that occur over the break. Not my immediate family — I always make an effort for my wife and kids — but the extended family. There’s nothing like a great excuse (“I’m really burned out and just want to relax a bit with some peace and quiet,” or, “My rigs are running through Christmas this year”) to avoid a drive to Edmonton or wherever. So this year all the family came to Calgary, and the old saying that you can pick your friends, not your relatives, holds true for my family as it does for most. No matter what though, they are my family and I love them all dearly, and as it’s my family and not the in-laws who came, there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
My resolutions for 2011 are the usual: spend more time with family and friends, less time at work and lose a few pounds. I’ve never smoked, so don’t have to give that up and not going to start! To give up my lifestyle of fast cars, good food and fine wine is also going to be a non-starter, so looks like the gym is the only way I’m going to lose any weight. I have been faithful to the gym, but have only managed to move the weight around rather than lose it, and that battle gets tougher every year.
On the CADE front as president, one of the resolutions I am going to make an effort towards, and have been working on, is a larger profile with our students at SAIT and the University of Calgary. I have been spending time with the associations at both of these institu-tions and have found the students to be active, energetic and intelligent, attributes that our industry is going to be in short supply of at junior levels starting, well, now.
Students from both schools have been coming to our lunches and have presented at tech-nical lunches (Jarrett Dragani from U of C in October) and the CAODC/CADE Drilling Conference in May 2010 (Kyle Klam from SAIT). Both student associations have been sup-porters of CADE, so CADE needs to give back to the students. This does not require a lot of time and effort, just the desire to meet new graduates and inform them about our industry. This is an excellent opportunity to meet the new grads of tomorrow in an informal atmosphere.
In my practice, I have often hired students only because they have been friends or relatives of friends. How about informally meeting some of these people before they graduate and seeing what they are really like? And vice versa, how about showing off our companies and corporate cultures to attract the new grads? In this new environment, we are going to have to promote our companies to attract the new grads, and they are worth the time.
We are trying our best for a CADE/SAIT/U of C mixer on Jan. 27, and are looking for sponsors and mentors to help out. We expect over 200 students, and not just engineers and technologists, but geologists and geophysicists as well. It’s an excellent way to get our corporate name out there.
I would also like to thank Brett Krahn, Frank O’Neill and Eric Schmelzl for attending the student mixer for the Petroleum & Energy Society (PES) at the U of C held on Nov. 30. We all waved the CADE flag and met a lot of students. I’d also like to thank PES for the invita-tion to attend. The new batch of students coming out of these institutions are the future of our industry.
I am also going to remind our membership about the 2011 Drilling Conference, “Old Fields. New Ideas.” To be held at the Telus Convention Centre on May 12, 2011. We are calling for papers, and the deadline for abstracts is Jan. 31, 2011. Please visit the website at www.drillingconference.ca.
John Garden, P.Eng.President, Canadian Association of Drilling Engineers
table of Contents
featuRe StoRieS
soft on Tanks 6leading the Way 9Rotary Revolution 10enform safety Alert 13
depaRtmentS
Association News 4-5Upcoming Events 4Member Profile: Rita Clelland 11Stats At A Glance 14
Cover photo: Rock Solid Rentals
Canadian Association of Drilling engineers (CADe)800, 540-5 Ave. SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 0M2
Phone: 403 264-4311 | Fax: 403 263-3796
www.cade.ca
managing editor: Christian Gillis
advertising Sales: Nick Drinkwater
published by: JuneWarren-Nickle’s Energy Group
CADE’s mandate is to provide high-quality technical
meetings to promote awareness of the drilling &
well servicing industry. Through CADE, members
and the public can learn about the technical chal-
lenges and experience gained from our speakers,
who are most often CADE members themselves.
We invite you to join CADE and further your profes-
sional development.
past issues of Cadenews are available online.
Current issues of Canadian Well Construction Jour-
nal are available via email, to CADE members only.
CADE is not responsible for any opinion or statement
expressed in this publication.
4 January 2011 Canadian Well Construction Journal
Association/Membership News
Cade technical Luncheon ticket price increase
Members: $45Non-members: $55
Full tables of 10: $450Student: $15
Walk-up: $55GST Registration #R123175036
effective September 1, 2010, the following ticket price increases will take effect (prices include gSt):
Visit cade.ca for all ticket purchases
upcoming events
CADe Technical luncheonWednesday, January 12, 2011 The Westin, Calgary
CADe Technical luncheonWednesday, February 9, 2011The Westin, Calgary
CAoDC Annual luncheon & BallFriday, March 4, 2011Calgary TELUS Convention Centre
Cade technical Luncheon
speaker: Lars Callieou, 2004 Funniest New Comedian in Alberta
Topic: LaughterLars Callieou began his comedy career on May 18, 2003. It was an auspicious beginning at a pub named Fargo’s in Edmonton. For the first year the comedy world was much the same, and Lars spent it wondering what auspicious meant.
Then in June of 2004, Lars was named the Funniest New Comedian in Edmonton when he won the Comedy Idol competition. First prize was a trip to Toronto, where he competed again and was named the Funniest New Comedian in Alberta. Since then, he has been featured on Citytv, CBC Radio and on
his own weekly comedy radio show on CJSR 88.5 FM in Edmonton, which he hosts Wednesdays at midnight.He has opened for the likes of Mitch Fatel, Kevin Pollak and Aries Spears, and he has shared the stage with Russell Peters and Mike MacDonald.
(He’s good at sharing.) Ed magazine named Lars one of the top ten comedians to watch...if you’re already at a show...and he’s on it.The comedy world has taken notice...that it’s wallet is missing. Lars has an airtight alibi...he said the comedy world must have dropped it
while it was drunk. From his humble beginning in a pub to headlining his first club, Lars has received countless awards...well they would be countless if you
weren’t able to count higher than five. The awards are nice, but his goal is to be great at making people laugh. He’s well on his way to doing so.
editor’s note
Welcome to the January issue of the Canadian Well Construction Journal. We are welcoming in another year already and the winter drilling season is now upon us. I think most will agree that the 2011 winter drilling season may be the busiest in a number of years. Well, now that Christmas is behind us, we can all start looking forward to break-up.
Our feature story this issue is on a new system for on-site liquid storage, by writer Jacqueline Louie. The article looks at Rock Solid Rentals’ new portable reel tank bladder, designed for large volume liquid storage and the reduction in the need for steel tanks and transportation. We hope you enjoy the article.
The December technical luncheon finished up this year with a presentation by Javed Shaw on well control incidents: surface blowout and underground blowout case studies. We are kicking off the 2011 technical luncheons on the lighter side, with what always proves to be CADE’s most popular luncheon. The first luncheon of the year will be on Wednesday, Jan. 12, and features Lars Callieou, 2004 Funniest New Comedian in Alberta. We are continuing to review ideas for the 2011 Technical Luncheon Presentations. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any ideas for upcoming topics or issues you’d like to see presented at the luncheons. We hope you the membership will participate and continue to make these events interesting and successful.
If you have any issues you’d like to see covered, please email me and we will do our best to get the story.Don’t forget, we would like to publish any of your information and announcements on new products, new technologies and senior
personnel changes for publication each month. Please forward any announcements to us, as we would be excited to run them in our news feature section.
The planning is continuing for the 2011 CADE/CAODC Conference, so stay tuned for news and information on the upcoming event over the next six months. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to seeing you at the January luncheon.
Christian Gillis, Managing Editor, Canadian Well Construction Journal [email protected] | phone: (403) 265-4973
DateWednesday, January 12, 2011
Place The Westin, Calgary
Time 11:30 a.m. — Reception
12:00 noon — Luncheon 12:30 p.m. — Presentation
Canadian Association Of Drilling Engineers January 2011 5
Association/Membership News
Cade membership Renewals 2010-2011The CADE membership year is September to September. CADE members should have received an email and link to the renewal process and site. Please remember that the benefits of being a CADE member include APPEGA’s professional development hour, staying abreast of technological and industry advances, drilling conferences and a great opportunity to network. All renewals/applications received on or before November 1, 2010, will be included in the CADE 2010-11 Annual Directory (unless otherwise requested). Thank you for your support!
TITLE NAME TELEPHONE
President John Garden 403-265-4973Past President Patrick Murphy 403-266-7383Vice-President Eric Schmelzl 403-290-7699Secretary Tammy Todd 403 613-8844Treasurer Cecil Conaghan 403-667-9812Membership Chairman John Burnell 403-265-4973Education Chairman Mike Buker 403-213-3615 Social Chairman Dan Schlosser 403-531-5284CWCJ Editor Christian Gillis 403-265-4973Technical Chairman Jeff Arvidson 403-232-7100IT Chairman Graham Evans 403-808-9002Drilling Conference Liaison Kim Barton 403-693-7576Executive Member David White 403-699-5160CAODC Liaison John Pahl 403-292-7966
members on the moveNAME COMPANY TELEPHONE EMAIL
Mike (Bush) Dobrensky Accurate Drilling Systems Limited 403-202-0128 [email protected]
Chris Murray Horizon Drilling Inc. 403-503-3390 [email protected]
Welcome new members NAME COMPANY TELEPHONE EMAIL
Byron Agudelo MEG Energy Corp. 403-767-1489 [email protected]
Peter Christensen Devon Canada 403-232-7065 [email protected]
Eugene Dakin M-I Swaco 403-290-5345 [email protected]
Ali Farhat UWN 403-891-5353 [email protected]
Chris Flickinger Volant Products Inc. 403-770-7012 [email protected]
Angie Galenza SAIT 403-202-0524 [email protected]
Sonya King ConocoPhillips Canada 403-233-3126 [email protected]
Darren Kisinger Nexen Inc. 403-699-5167 [email protected]
Karen Mosca Nexen Inc. 403-699-5591 [email protected]
Tariq Muhammad SAIT 403-400-4083 [email protected]
Saqib Nazar OGCL 92-3122680420 [email protected]
Paul Saulnier Energy Resources Conservation Board 780-460-3809 [email protected]
Randy Wiens Student 406-565-0899 [email protected]
Alan Young A & L Consulting Ltd. 403-466-6995 [email protected]
Cade membership/Change of addressLog on to cade.ca to become a member or update your address using our online form.
Cade executive team 2010/2011
6 January 2011 Canadian Well Construction Journal
feaTure sTOry
SoftontankSRock Solid brings collapsible bladder tanks to the western Canadian oil and gas industry
By Jacqueline Louie
Alberta-based Rock Solid Rentals saw a need for lower transportation costs in the oil and gas industry. Its solution? A port-able, collapsible reel tank (bladder), which offers a liquid storage alternative to trad-itional steel tanks.
From its base in Vermilion, Rock Solid Rentals rents out a fleet of 22 bladders, which are designed for use in a wide range
of commercial and industrial applications. Each bladder measures approximately 47 feet wide by 100 feet long and five feet high when full, with a storage capacity of 600 cubic metres (the equivalent of 10 steel tanks).
According to Ryan Martin, Rock Solid’s operations manager, the bladders offer a more economical, as well as a greener solution for
liquid storage. Fewer trucks are required to transport them, resulting in less wear and tear on lease roads. “It eliminates the cost of all those trucks driving out there,” he says.
Made from heavy-duty polyurethane-coated fabric, the reel tanks can be used to hold a wide range of liquids, including diesel, fuel, bio-fuels and other hydrocar-bons, as well as grey water, potable water
Canadian Association Of Drilling Engineers January 2011 7
SoftontankSand other liquids. The bladders are suitable for year-round outdoor use, and in cold weather down to minus 50 degrees Celsius. They can be used for short or extended periods of time, and are transported using Rock Solid’s patented trailer system.
Currently, all bladders in stock are desig-nated to hold water only, although the com-pany has also seen a great deal of interest
from customers who’d like to rent tanks to store frac fluids.
The biggest benefit to customers, accord-ing to Martin, is reduced transportation costs. “That’s where the bulk of the sav-ings come from.” On a four-bladder job, he notes, Rock Solid would only need two trucks. In comparison, using conventional 400-barrel steel tanks for a similar sized job would require 40 tanks, and 20 trips by truck, plus additional trucking for matting and manifolding.
With the bladders, the further you are into the bush, the more cost-effective they are, Martin adds. One customer, for example, reported $100,000 in savings on a well located within a few hours of Grande Prairie, Alberta.
Another benefit to using the bladders is reduced environmental impact: fewer trucks going out into the field slashes greenhouse gas emissions and particulates emitted into the atmosphere.
The bladders are also easy to use. “We can lay out a tank and have it set up in about an hour,” Martin says, noting there is just one set of nozzles on the front of each tank, and no matting requirements.
Safety is another factor. The bladder tanks’ low profile means “you don’t have to worry about something toppling over.”
Rock Solid Rentals is a family-run busi-ness with additional outside investors based in Calgary, and is a division of the Rock Solid Group of companies in Vermilion, which offers nitrogen and coiled tubing services from branches in Creelman, Saskatchewan, serving the Weyburn and Estevan areas, and a sales office in Calgary.
The partners started Rock Solid Rentals two-and-a-half years ago, after a discussion about the significant transportation costs incurred by the oil and gas industry. As they
thought about the situation, they tossed around possible ideas on how to make things more efficient and more cost-effective.
After doing some research, they found that collapsible tanks had been used for years by the United States military to hold diesel fuel as well as potable water.
The partners found a bladder tank manufacturer in the United States to work with and modified those tanks to meet the energy industry’s needs. They also develop-ed a trailer to transport the tanks.
“The military has a lot of people and resources to move these tanks, but that’s not plausible in our industry — it’s so fast-paced. And, it’s hard to find manpower in the oil and gas industry,” Martin says, explaining why they decided to design a
trailer to haul the bladders. Rock Solid now has patents in Canada and the United States on both its bladder design and trailer.
So far, business has been going very well, Martin says. Customers who have used the tanks are located from north of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, to the Grande Prairie area, and from Kindersley and Estevan in Saskatchewan, into Manitoba.
This past October, oilfield consultant Glen Cantelo used a bladder tank to hold fresh water for a frac job on a well in the Daly field in southern Manitoba.
“It looks like the way to go,” he says. “I would definitely recommend it, and I cer-tainly plan on using it again.”
Cantelo found the Rock Solid Rentals system was better for heat retention, since it encompasses a smaller surface area than traditional steel tanks.
“It’s tough to measure, but in that tem-perature [minus 15 degrees Celsius], if we were using [steel] tanks we would have constantly had a hot oiler to maintain the heat,” he says. “As far as impact on the
Phot
o: Ro
ck So
lid Re
ntals
“it looks like the way to go. i would
definitely recommend it, and i
certainly plan on using it again.”— Frac consultant Glen Cantelo, on the use of a bladder tank during frac operations.
Canadian Association Of Drilling Engineers
8 January 2011 Canadian Well Construction Journal
lease goes, once you rolled it up, you couldn’t even tell where it had sat — so it’s low impact, compared to [steel] tanks.”
To date, Rock Solid’s main challenge has been with bringing a new product to market, and convincing potential custom-ers to give the bladders a try. Another chal-lenge has been the fact they are pioneering a new system.
“It’s a lot of trial and error,” Martin explains. “We are trying to continually improve our equipment in order to provide better service. We take feedback from guys in the field, and try to include their ideas in our next tank. The biggest thing has been trying to make adjustments on the trailer, to get in there quicker and safer.”
Devon Canada played a large role in the testing phase during the first winter the bladders were used, and has continued to use them since, renting up to 11 bladders at any given time.
Rock Solid has been making steady progress into the market, with much of its business coming from word of mouth. The company will set up the tanks for custom-ers, provide instruction on how they work,
and will return to pick them up after the customer is done with them.
Recently, Rock Solid partnered with an Australian company to distribute the tanks in both Australia and New Zealand.
“They are in the process right now, and are already talking to energy companies over there,” Martin says. “You can take this system anywhere you want.”
However, the biggest market is in the United States, which Rock Solid plans to enter within the next six months to a year.
“It’s a function of the company grow-ing faster than we can keep up,” Martin says. “We’ve had great success with it so far. The future looks very promising for this new technology, and Rock Solid
looks forward to continuing to grow and provide an exceptional service to new and existing clients.”
For more information, contact Ryan Martin at 1-888-723-0303, Ext. 3 or visit Rock Solid on the Internet at www.rocksolidcompanies.ca.
Phot
o: Ro
ck So
lid Re
ntals
“The future looks very promising for
this new technology, and Rock Solid looks forward to continuing to
grow and provide an exceptional service to new and existing clients.”
— Ryan Martin, Operations Manager, Rock Solid Rentals
Bladder tanks are easy to fill with custom manifolds, and leave little or no footprint once the job is done.
Canadian Association Of Drilling Engineers January 2011 9
Leading the WayAs 2010 draws to a close, horizontal surge was a key bright spot for western Canadian drilling sector
In a year that can best be described as a recov-ery from near-disaster levels in 2009, one seg-ment of Canada’s drilling industry has seen a spectacular rise — horizontal drilling.
When the final numbers finally come in, 2010 will likely show about 2,700 more licences were approved for new horizontal wells this year than in the previous record year of 2008. That should put the horizontal licence count around 6,700 for 2010 com-pared to the 2008 record of 4,019 permits.
Through the first 11 months of 2010, oper-ators licensed 5,926 horizontal wells, includ-ing a monthly high of 761 in November, more than double last year’s 11-month total of 2,848.
Of the total to the end of November this year, 4,484 of the horizontal wells were chas-ing oil or bitumen while 694 had natural gas listed as the target. This excludes British Columbia, which does not release informa-tion on the target objective. British Columbia licensed 573 new horizontal wells to the end of November compared to 2,950 in Alberta, 1,904 in Saskatchewan and 501 in Manitoba.
The top five operators licensing new hori-zontal wells over the first 11 months of this year were Penn West Energy Trust (380 permits), Crescent Point Energy Corp. (361), Canadian Natural Resources Limited (327), PetroBakken Energy Ltd. (262) and Husky Energy Inc. (246).
The most popular total depth zones for horizontal wells were the Montney (619 per-mits), the Viking (445), the Bakken (415) and the Cardium (402).
The January-November total this year for horizontal permits exceeds the 4,054 licences approved for normal conventional vertical wells targeting production oil, gas and coal-bed methane (CBM).
Directional licences to the end of November total 2,964, up from 2,769 over the first 11 months of 2009. The peak year for directional wells was 2006 when industry licensed 5,876 holes.
For the month of November, provincial energy departments and government regu-lators approved 1,851 new licences across Canada, a 5.5 per cent increase from the same month in 2009. Alberta’s licence count was barely ahead of last year and British Columbia’s total of 41 well assignments was far below the 115 permits assigned for November 2009. However, Saskatchewan and Manitoba remained strong: Saskatchewan had 406 permits (up from 280 last year), and in Manitoba 75 new licenses were approved (up from 37 a year ago).
The total of 1,851 licences for November pushed the 11-month total to 15,225, a 43 per cent increase from last year’s January through
November count of 10,616, but still the second lowest since the year 2000. The peak year was 2005 when over 27,000 new permits were issued.
To the end of November, Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board had issued 10,046 licences, BC Oil and Gas Commission has assigned 808 licences, Saskatchewan has authorized 3,715 new wells and Manitoba has approved a record 585 licences.
Alberta’s 11-month total includes 1,560 new oilsands evaluation core holes, 49 per cent more than were applied for and approved over the first 11 months of last year, indicating a revived interest in de-veloping the oilsands after all the 2009 delays and cancellations.
Oil and bitumen permitting will be at a decade high this year with 7,870 of the January-November permits chasing oil or bitumen deposits. By contrast, gas and CBM licencing this year looks set to fall below even last year’s disastrously low count. To the end of November, operators received only 4,542 licenses to drill new gas or CBM wells compared to 4,846 in 2009. At the peak, in 2005, over 19,100 licenses were approved for gas and CBM targets.— Reprinted with the permission of the Daily Oil Bulletin
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10 January 2011 Canadian Well Construction Journal
The next time you buy a car, imagine being able to collaborate with the vehicle’s design-ers beforehand, getting them to add the cosmetic and safety features you want and follow up with service that means it will operate the way you want it to in most driv-ing conditions.
That comes close to describing how Calgary-based Ensign Energy Services revolutionized the drilling and service rig business in Canada and worldwide, as it developed a custom-made model that meets customers’ needs beyond anything that existed in the past.
The company, Canada’s second largest land-based drilling contractor and its third largest well-servicing contractor, revolution-ized the industry in 2002 when it introduced its first Automated Drill Rig (ADR), which featured, among other elements, an innova-tion that allowed crew members to manage the rig’s operation from inside a heated or air-conditioned “control cabin.”
Now the company has 74 ADRs — over 25 per cent of its rigs — and currently has under construction six of the new ADR 1500 model for delivery in late 2010 and early 2011. It has also entered the directional drilling sector, custom-designing an ADR for that purpose, and is working on a proprietary Automated Service Rig (ASR), which will be introduced this year.
Ron Pettapiece, Ensign’s ADR product manager, says development of the ADR technology started in the mid-1990s and involved the investment of “many millions of dollars” before the company was ready to introduce its first model. It now has nine dif-ferent ADR models.
Initially, the ADR was developed to drill shallow gas wells in western Canada, but different models are now being deployed worldwide to drill wells, from long-reach horizontals to deep-formation gas and oil.
Ensign offers its own engineering, pro-curement and construction division that provides in-house engineering expertise, and collaborates with customers to design fit-for-purpose rigs. The ADRs can substan-tially reduce drilling costs for customers. Pettapiece, who has a mechanical engineer-ing degree, says Ensign and others in the
Canadian drilling industry have led the world in technological development, some-thing that was little noticed until recently.
The oilfield service talent in Nisku, located outside of Edmonton, where Ensign’s manu-facturing facility is, gives it access to technol-ogies and skill sets unique in Canada, he says.
“The talent level in Nisku is greater than anywhere else in the world.”
Modifications are being made to the basic ADR model on an ongoing basis, aimed at meeting customer demand, Pettapiece notes.
For instance, the first ADRs, the ADR 100 series, had a 100,000-pound hoist capacity. The newer ADR 1500 models, by comparison, have a hoist capacity of 750,000 pounds.
ADR 1500 and ADR 1000 series rigs are being deployed in the Haynesville and Marcellus shale areas of the United States, where they offer the mobility, safety and speed advantages of all ADRs and can also drill as deep as 18,000 feet, Pettapiece says.
Ensign recently custom-built an ADR 300 model, Rig 533, for Occidental Petroleum (Oxy), to be used at its Elk Hills oil project near Bakersfield, California.
Oxy wanted a rig that would have all the ADR characteristics but that could be moved quickly down California roadways, where
restrictions on industrial equipment highway transport are the stiffest in the United States. In addition, Oxy wanted the rigs to be flexible enough to operate on the “never-two-the-same” wellsites at Elk Hills and to occupy a small footprint (again because of California environmental concerns).
“The rigs in California can be moved in as little as six hours,” he says. That contract has been so successful, he says, the company will soon be announcing some new “major con-tracts” in the state.
Aside from better safety and time savings in transport and rig utilization, the ADRs can be operated with three-person crews, rather than the standard five or six, depending on the season.
Ensign is now operating ADRs in the United States, Mexico, Australia, Oman and Gabon, and worldwide interest in its tech-nology is growing, he says.
In most international markets, being able to deal with a company that will custom-design a rig is novel and he says word is quickly spreading that Ensign’s “safe, fast and efficient” technology is a vast improvement over what operators have known in the past.— Reprinted with the permission of JuneWarren-Nickle’s Energy Group.
by Jim Bentein
Ensign’s Rig 151, an ADR1500 series drilling in the Haynesville shale near Shreveport, Louisiana.
Rotary RevolutionEnsign’s Automated Drill Rig, now being deployed worldwide, represents a step-change in rotary drilling technology
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Canadian Association Of Drilling Engineers January 2011 11
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How did you come to your career in oil country tubular and line pipe sales?I have at this point 20-plus years of sales experience (I’ve sold new vehicles, industrial chemicals and international shipping, to name a few), but it took three years of direct oil and gas industry network-ing to gain enough contacts to be a good candidate for an oil and gas sales position. Previous to Global Steel, my first “downtown” sales position was with McClelland Oilfield Rentals. They had been newly acquired by an Ontario trust company at that time and re-structuring eliminated my position four months later, but it got my foot in the door. Pursuant to that I had an opportunity with Global Steel and it has been a fantastic fit.
What do you like most about coming to work each day?What I appreciate each and every day is the feeling of being a valued part of a cohesive and professional team in a very positive atmosphere. The company has doubled in size, as has our market share, and the growth potential is unlimited. I am fortunate in that the Spicers (Harold and Eric, the current owners of privately held Global Steel) foster open communication and they are natural men-tors. My personal integrity aligns with the company’s high ethical standards and that is very important to me.
What have been your biggest challenges as an account manager, and what lessons have you learned from overcoming those challenges?As a woman, people might expect me to say that oil and gas is a male-dominated industry, very true. However, I have worked in a number of male-dominated industries and I have found that
professionalism, product knowledge, good follow-up and perse-verance are the keys to my success.
Putting the pieces together can be a challenge as, to my re-gret, I do not have field experience. However, there seems to be no end of educated people willing to grab a pen and give me an industry lesson. We do not market a smart product, but drilling is a smart business and I am extremely interested in the challenges of the field.
As with all sales positions, making contact with prospective clients is a big challenge but is even more of a challenge in this extremely busy industry. If our potential clients returned all our calls, there would be no real work accomplished. But like every-thing else, perseverance and sometimes just timing are the keys to success. Whenever a prospective client will take a few minutes or have a coffee, it is truly appreciated.
What advice would you like to offer other women considering a career in the oilfield service and supply industry?I can only offer what has worked for me: know your product well. Be open to learning about the industry at large, rounding out your knowledge as much as you can. I took Petroleum Applications and Petroleum Industry Intro at SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) for a rudimentary overview of the industry. Join organ-izations that will afford you focused networking opportunities, but importantly also technical presentations to aid your learning curve. Attend show and shines, pick a couple of display products and ask for a tutorial. Join groups that do charitable fundraising. Always be professional, and never settle for being adequate.
member PrOfile
Rita ClellandAccount manager, Global steel
12 January 2011 Canadian Well Construction Journal
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GolD sIlVeR
Canadian Association Of Drilling Engineers January 2011 13
safeT y
Contact: Enform | 1538 – 25 Avenue NE | Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2E 8Y3 | E: [email protected] | T: (403) 250-9606 | www.enform.ca
DISCLAIMER: This Safety Alert is designed to prevent similar incidents by communicating the information at the earliest possible opportunity. Accordingly, the information may change over time. It may be necessary to obtain updates from the source before relying upon the accuracy of the information contained herein. This material is presented for information purposes only. Managers and supervisors should evaluate this information to determine if it can be applied to their own situations and practices.
Safety Alert (#30—2010)
Worker’s Fingers Crushed By Dump Bailer Landing Plate
description of incident:
➤ During a wireline operation, a cement dump bailer was being removed. The top three sections of a six-section bailer were removed using the wireline truck’s winch. The three remaining sections were suspended in the wellbore by a bailer landing plate. This landing plate was installed on the top section of the remaining bailer sections and was set on the top of the wireline blowout preventers (BOPs). During the operation, a miscommunication between the service rig driller and the wireline crew resulted in the blind rams being closed, flattening the suspended bailer. The blind rams were opened once the error was noticed and an attempt was made to pull the bailer out using the service rig winch line attached to the lifting handle of the bailer landing plate.
➤ The first attempt to raise the dump bailer failed, as the flattened shape would not fit through the wireline flange located above the ser-vice rig’s BOPs. The driller lowered the bailer into the wellbore and tried to raise it again through the wireline flange. When the bailer was raised a second time, it jammed in the flange, causing the lifting handle to fail. When the handle broke away, the landing plate carrying the load of the bailer sections dropped down, crushing a wireline worker’s fingers between the landing plate and top of the wireline BOPs. The worker went to hospital for treatment of severe injuries to three fingers.
What caused it:
➤ There was inadequate communication between the driller and wireline worker in regards to the closing of the blind rams.➤ The device used to raise and lower the cement dump bailer from the well is not designed for the task it was being used for and it is not
rated for the overhead load.➤ Workers did not recognize a task scope change and did not reassess the associated risks.➤ Workers did not recognize the hazards associated with lifting the flattened bailer or the crush hazard to the worker’s hand in the proximity
to the suspended load.➤ Safe work procedures were inadequate for the task of lifting the bailer.
Corrective actions:
➤ Lifting operations are to use only engineer-approved equipment.➤ Within the hazard identification process, establish tasks or operations that include clear communications as an influence of behaviour
and actions.➤ Emphasize worker competency verification and task scope change during hazard identification training.➤ Prior to initiating operations, review specific safe work procedures for planned tasks.
Incident Type: Improper Use of Equipment
Release Date: December 7, 2010
location: Alberta, Canada
14 January 2011 Canadian Well Construction Journal
Stats At A Glance
drilling Rig activity December 20, 2010
ACTIVE DOWN TOTAL % ACTIVE
Alberta 350 204 554 63%
Saskatchewan 86 49 135 64%
British Columbia 56 33 89 63%
Manitoba 12 4 16 75%
Western Canada Total 504 290 794 63%
Northwest Territories - 1 1 0%
Northern Canada Total - 1 1 0%
Quebec 1 - 1 100%
New Brunswick - 3 3 0%
Nova Scotia - 1 1 0%
Newfoundland - 1 1 0%
eastern Canada Total 1 5 6 17%
Canada Total 505 296 801 63%
Service Rig activity December 20, 2010
ACTIVE DOWN TOTAL % ACTIVE
Alberta 417 228 645 65%
Saskatchewan 157 39 196 80%
British Columbia 23 13 36 64%
Manitoba 11 5 16 69%
Western Canada Total 608 285 893 68%
Quebec - 1 1 0%
eastern Canada Total - 1 1 0%
Canada Total 608 286 894 68%
JouRNAl CoNTeNT
Information in this publication may be sourced through a variety of contributors. Members are encouraged to email their suggestions regarding articles, general content and statistical graphs and charts to: Dale Lunan at [email protected]
800
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2008 2009 2010
active Service Rigs in Canada November 2010
Canadian Wells Rig Released November 2010
Jan
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700600
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