Recent Changes in IWCF Tests

Recently I renewed my IWCF Supervisor Level well control certification, and here are some
observations from the test. First, the equipment test has changed considerably. There were not
any diagrams with parts to label. When I began taking IWCF many years ago, there were lots of
diagrams of annulars, rams, shear rams, IBOPs, kelly valves, accumulators, and diverters.
Learning the various parts of blowout equipment and how they work was good for me. I spent
twenty years as a professional golfer and I had never seen or used most of the equipment, so the
training was useful. But, re-memorizing all the various parts of the equipment every two years
for my test is not something that I will miss.

The IWCF has now replaced all of those equipment questions with lots of questions from the
various API standards. There are hundreds of pages of regulations in the API Standard 53
(Blowout Prevention Equipment Systems for Drilling Wells), RP 64 (Recommended Practice for
Diverter Systems Equipment and Operations), API SPEC 16C (Choke and Kill Systems), and
API Spec 16D (Specification for Control Systems for Drilling Well Control Equipment and
Control System for Diverter Equipment). Well control schools cannot go over every single
regulation in length, so I strongly recommend all IWCF candidates to get the latest versions of
the API standards and Recommended Practices and read them carefully before taking your
IWCF class.

John Breidenthal, our Manager at the Houston Training Center, and I recently had conversations
about what things need to be taught in a well control class. Well control centers cannot spend all
their time covering hundreds of pages of regulations in the classes. There are many other things
that need to be taught, such as the U-tube, Methods of Well Control, Causes of Kicks,
Recognition of Kicks, Shut-in Methods, Barriers, Drillout Considerations, Limitations to Control
Capability, Tripping (where 50% of kicks occur today), Drilling Fluids, Well Control Problems
and Solutions, Kill Sheets, Horizontal Well Control, etc. Training providers must make sure that
people leave with an excellent understanding of well control principles, not just equipment. In
addition, a significant amount of simulator time is required in well control classes. Therefore, not
everything can be covered in detail. So, my recommendation for everyone getting ready to take
the IWCF class is to read the various API standards and recommended practices before taking
the class.

Ever since the Macondo, there has been much more emphasis given to barriers, testing and
verification of barriers, and documenting those barrier tests. The API Standard 53 goes into
detail about the various ways that we must test and document the various barriers. They state
how often they must be tested, how to test the barriers, how to know if the test is good, and how
to document it. I encourage IWCF candidates to brush up on Inspection Tests, Function Tests,
Pressure Tests, and Hydraulic Chamber Tests. Get familiar with the tables for Initial Tests and
Subsequent Tests. Become familiar with the test pressures that the various components must be
tested to for both the Initial and Subsequent Tests.
Murchison Drilling Schools has recently added many of these API standards and recommended
practices into our Regulations chapter. We do not have the copyright privileges to give out all the
API documents, but we can mention some of the key regulations from the API documents.) We
will cover many of these in our classes, but we will continue to make sure that our training is
balanced and thorough. Our objective is to give people a good understanding of well control, not
just the equipment.