Stage gates exist to stop two failure patterns. The first is committing to a well before the subsurface case or the design is mature, which produces redesigns, delays and overruns. The second is designing in isolation, where drilling, completions, subsurface and operations each do their part without the interfaces being checked until the rig is on location.

Gates work when the deliverables are real and the criteria are enforced. A gate that is passed because the rig is already contracted is a formality. Organisations that hold gates properly spend more time in planning and less in execution, and the net effect on schedule is usually positive because fewer things go wrong at the rig.

The last phase matters as much as the first. Post-well reviews that capture what actually happened, why, and what should change, are what make the next well better. Where they are skipped, the same problems recur well after well, and the lessons learned database fills with observations nobody reads. This course covers the full cycle including that closing step.

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

• Describe the phases of the well delivery process and the purpose of each.
• Define gate deliverables and decision criteria at each stage.
• Assign roles, accountabilities and approval authorities.
• Plan and conduct assurance activities, including peer and design reviews.
• Run drill well on paper and risk review sessions.
• Build well delivery schedules and integrate them with rig and contract plans.
• Plan contracting, procurement and long lead item delivery.
• Apply execution control, reporting and management of change.
• Plan handover from drilling to completions and operations.
• Conduct post-well reviews and operate a lessons learned cycle.

The course is instructor-led and process-based. Participants work through a well delivery case from opportunity to post-well review, preparing gate deliverables, conducting review sessions and making gate decisions. Real well programmes and review documents are examined, including projects where gates were bypassed and what followed. Participants are encouraged to bring their own processes for discussion.

Organisations sending participants to this training will:

• Deliver wells with fewer redesigns, delays and overruns.
• Make assurance happen before commitment rather than after.
• Clarify roles, accountabilities and decision authority.
• Improve integration between subsurface, drilling, completions and operations.
• Build a lessons learned cycle that actually changes practice.

Participants will:

• Understand the well delivery process and your role within it.
• Be able to prepare and assess gate deliverables.
• Be able to run design and peer review sessions.
• Be able to plan and control well delivery schedules.
• Be able to run post-well reviews that produce change.

• Drilling and well engineers
• Well delivery and project managers
• Subsurface and completion engineers
• Procurement and contracting staff supporting wells
• Operations and HSE staff involved in well delivery
• Team leaders and technical authorities

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.