Beyond the Classroom: Building the AWCC Well Control Industry Library
Some of the most valuable knowledge in the oil and gas industry does not come from a PowerPoint presentation.
It comes from technical manuals that have been carried from rig to rig, well-control case studies discussed between crews, old drilling handbooks covered in handwritten notes, investigation reports, engineering references and the experiences of people who have spent decades working on wells.
At Australian Well Control Centre, we believe that knowledge is worth preserving and sharing.
AWCC is establishing an Industry and Well Control Library for students, instructors and industry personnel — creating a dedicated technical resource where people can continue learning beyond their formal training.
More Than a Collection of Books
The objective is not simply to fill shelves.
We want to progressively develop a practical reference collection covering drilling operations, well control, pressure control, well intervention, drilling fluids, BOP systems, cementing, completions, workover operations, well integrity, human factors and the history of our industry.
Importantly, the library will also include material examining real well-control events and the lessons learned from them.
This is particularly valuable in well control because incidents provide an opportunity to understand how technical, operational and human factors can combine.
The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers maintains a Well Control Incident Lesson Sharing system specifically to allow the wider industry to learn from incidents and near misses and reduce the likelihood of similar events being repeated. Its well-control resources also address human-performance areas including situational awareness, communication, decision-making, leadership and teamwork.
Those subjects belong alongside pressure calculations and equipment knowledge.
Understanding the ‘Why’
Modern well-control training is necessarily structured.
The IWCF syllabus establishes defined learning objectives and measurable outcomes, with particular emphasis placed on safety-critical areas including barrier management, kick warning signs and indicators, secondary well control and appropriate responses to developing well conditions.
That structure is essential for maintaining an internationally consistent training and assessment standard.
But good technical development should not stop when the assessment finishes.
A student may learn what happens when formation pressure exceeds hydrostatic pressure. A reference library allows them to explore that subject further: Why did it happen on a particular well? What indications were available? What did the crew observe? What decisions were made? What barriers were available? What would we do differently today?
Those are the questions that turn information into understanding.
IWCF itself increasingly supports continuous learning through digital study aids, e-learning and technical learning resources before and after formal training.
AWCC wants the physical library to complement that approach.
Learning From the Industry That Came Before Us
There is another important reason for establishing the library.
The oil and gas industry has an enormous amount of knowledge sitting in the personal collections of experienced people.
Many senior drillers, toolpushers, drilling superintendents, engineers and well-control specialists have accumulated technical books, manuals and reference material throughout their careers. When those people leave the industry, much of that material can disappear with them.
AWCC would like to provide a home for some of it.
As the library develops, we will welcome appropriate donations of drilling, well-control and oil and gas technical books, historical training material and industry reference publications that experienced personnel believe could benefit the next generation.
Where appropriate, donated collections can also recognise the person who contributed them — allowing part of their industry experience to continue educating people long after they have left the rig floor.
Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning
The ultimate objective is bigger than a library.
We want students arriving early for an IWCF course to pick up a drilling reference and start reading.
We want a TURBO student to be able to see how the equipment they are learning about fits into the wider well construction process.
We want an experienced supervisor to find a case study that starts a technical discussion with another candidate.
And we want instructors to be able to point students toward reliable material when a classroom discussion creates a question worth exploring further.
The industry’s approach to well-control competency continues to evolve. IWCF’s Enhanced Well Control programme, for example, deliberately incorporates real industry incidents, scenario-based simulation, teamwork, leadership, situational awareness and decision-making into the development of experienced personnel.
That reinforces an important principle.
Well control should never be something we learn simply to pass an examination every two years.
It is a professional discipline that deserves continuous study.
AWCC’s Industry and Well Control Library will be a relatively small addition to our training centres when measured in square metres.
But if it encourages one more technical conversation, preserves the experience of another generation, or helps somebody understand why rather than simply remember what, its value to our students and industry could be considerably greater.