Drilling Conference Covers Depth and Breadth of Industry

A preview of the 2014 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Fort Worth, Texas, will be the setting for annual drilling conference sponsored by SPE and the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC). The conference alternates between a US location and Amsterdam.

This year’s conference, set for 4–6 March at the Fort Worth Convention Center, will include one plenary and 18 technical sessions covering the depth and breadth of the drilling industry.

The first day of the conference kicks off with a welcome address and an awards session. Welcome speeches will be delivered by 2014 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference Chairman Kevin Neveu, 2014 IADC Chairman Jay Minmier, and 2014 SPE President Jeff Spath. The 2014 SPE Drilling Engineering Award will be presented to Rolv Rommetveit, managing director of eDrilling Solutions, who has extensive technology development experience in the fields of well control, drilling hydraulics, managed pressure drilling, and drilling process automation.

The opening keynote address will be given by Doug Suttles of Encana on the topic of “What Are the Critical Issues in Today’s Energy World?”

Technical paper sessions on the first day will cover such topics as drilling dynamics, underbalanced and managed pressure drilling, drilling contracts and management, casing and riser integrity, and drill bit innovation.

The second day of the conference will feature a plenary session on “Eventually That Which Is Unconventional, but Successful, Becomes the Conventional.” Panelists will discuss the growth in unconventionals production, challenges to further commercialization of resources, technological advances, the strain on capital and talent, and public perception. The session moderator will be Kevin A. Neveu of Precision Drilling. Panelists will be Jeffery Lee Flaherty, Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co.; Karl Blanchard, Halliburton; and Michael Power, Chevron.

Technical paper topics on the second day of the conference include tubulars, cementing, directional drilling, automation, and deepwater drilling. Among the technical sessions on the conference’s last day are wellbore strengthening, safety, case studies, and drilling technology.

Several training courses will be held both before and after the conference.

For more detailed information on the conference, please go to www.spe.org/events/dc.