Rate of penetration gets the attention, but it is rarely where the days go. Flat time, meaning connections, tripping, casing running, cementing, waiting and trouble, usually accounts for most of the section time, and it is where the best crews separate themselves. A rig that makes consistent connections and trips at a steady, controlled speed saves more hours than one that drills fast and then spends two days fishing.

Hole cleaning underlies most trouble. Cuttings beds in deviated sections cause pack-offs, stuck pipe, high torque and losses, and once a bed forms it takes effort to remove. Flow rate, rotation, pipe movement and mud properties all contribute, and crews that treat hole cleaning as a continuous responsibility rather than a calculation have far fewer problems.

Recognition speed matters as much as prevention. Pack-offs, losses, kicks and washouts all give indications before they become serious, in pressure, torque, flow and pit volume. A crew that notices and reacts within minutes turns an event into an inconvenience; one that notices an hour later turns it into a sidetrack. This course covers the practice and the recognition together.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Select and optimise drilling parameters in real time.
• Evaluate drilling performance using rate of penetration and specific energy.
• Apply hole cleaning practice in vertical, deviated and horizontal sections.
• Apply tripping practice, including surge and swab control and back-reaming decisions.
• Apply consistent connection practice and reduce flat time.
• Evaluate bit and bottomhole assembly performance and manage vibration.
• Carry out casing running and cementing operations at the rig.
• Recognise the early indications of hole problems and respond correctly.
• Complete drilling reports and measure drilling performance.
• Apply a structured approach to reducing non-productive time.

The course is instructor-led and practice-focused. Topics are taught using real drilling data, including parameter logs, torque and drag records and daily drilling reports, with participants diagnosing what happened and what should have been done. Field cases cover both well run sections and sections that went wrong. Participants are encouraged to bring their own well data for discussion.

Organisations sending participants to this training will:

• Reduce days per section through better drilling practice.
• Reduce non-productive time and trouble costs.
• Improve hole cleaning and reduce stuck pipe incidents.
• Improve consistency of practice between crews and rigs.
• Improve the quality of drilling reporting and performance measurement.

Participants will:

• Be able to optimise drilling parameters at the rig.
• Understand hole cleaning and how to maintain it.
• Be able to apply good tripping and connection practice.
• Be able to recognise hole problems early.
• Be able to measure and improve drilling performance.

• Drilling engineers
• Rig site supervisors and company representatives
• Drillers and senior rig crew
• Toolpushers and rig managers
• Service company field engineers
• Graduate engineers working at the rig site

Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.

Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.