American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022 - 64

SpecialReport: Well Control & Insurance
in well control last year, insurance costs
are understandably higher. Moody indicates
that inflationary increases and the number
of claims directly impact cost. Understandably,
oil and gas companies can seize the
opportunity to work with insurance providers
and well control companies to welcome financial
incentives, but also the investment
in a full circle understanding of well control.
Risk
management is a tool for identifying
potential pitfalls that can lead to
catastrophic events. Moody says that by
partnering with Wild Well Control, oil
and gas companies can receive an invaluable
understanding of well operations
at all levels. Andrew Barry, senior vice
president of marketing for U.S. business
development and training at Wild Well
Control, credits the company's IEC-accredited
training program with well control
awareness classes that educate operators
on what can happen and how to avoid
potential risks.
He says the training piece is essential
to success. That service and others provided
through KAP come with discounts,
encouraging oil and companies to embrace
proactive behavior in understanding potential
factors that cause a loss of well
control and how to manage the risk
before conditions spiral into a loss-ofcontrol
situation.
" We are always the first proactive
call, " Barry says.
Audit Inspection Tool
With early detection supplying the
theme of well control risk management,
Cudd Well Control is also collaborating
with insurance companies to serve oil
and gas producers. Because auditing can
deter incidents, insurance companies have
displayed great interest in its abilities as
a tool for proactive behavior. They have
directed a significant emphasis on the
auditing feature to identify and mitigate
potential problems before they graduate
into well control incidents.
" Cudd's wellhead audit inspection platform
has received a great deal of interest
from the various insurance companies, "
says John Hatteberg, senior well control
engineer with Cudd Well Control.
In addition to identifying potential atrisk
issues, he says the importance of the
auditing tool originates from its ability
to be set up as a cloud-based database to
organize better and track data. Users benefit
from customization and can reap the
benefits of various features ranging from
taking pictures to checking pressures. Oil
and gas customers can supply API numbers,
and all data can be applied to each
number. As a result, the data recorded is
specific to each well, proving paramount
in tracking information on a well-bywell
basis.
Besides pressures, the auditing tools
allow valve function to be evaluated. Early
detection of potential valve failure can
mean the difference between a cost-effective,
preventative measure task of replacement
or a loss of well control incident perhaps
resulting in a blowout and fire. With costs
of well failure being drastically high, the
auditing tool boosts confidence by reducing
risk, making it attractive to both the oil
and gas industry and the insurance industry,
Hatteberg relates.
The traceability and tracking capabilities
allow users to identify trends that
can yield a negative and unwanted impact.
By identifying these issues early on, users
now find themselves armed with a mechanism
to imitate proactive response measures
to avoid disaster. Offering another
layer of service and protection, Hatteberg
explains that the platform categorizes
risks so that the user can prioritize response.
With this ability, severity or risk
can be quantified, and tailored response
measures levied.
According to Hatteberg, Cudd Well
Control developed the auditing software
in house, with an internal programing
team, and its customization feature allows
for best-case preparation in combatting
potential well control incidents.
" All information is stored in the cloud, "
he offers. " With security of information
always a critical issue, the platform
features a private and secure portal where
users access the information via a log-in
name and password protected interface. "
Having been in development for the
past two years, Hatteberg says, the company
launched a full-go application last
June. Its versatility proves evident in its
ability to be utilized on a smartphone,
PC or tablet.
In addition to mitigating well risk, the
Cudd Well Control's new cloud-based wellhead inspection platform provides automated
inspections of the surface of a wellhead and quickly identifies any problems with
corrosion, valve functionality and pressure. The new platform helps operators recognize
and mitigate potential problems before they can escalate into well control incidents.
64 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER
financial factor is certainly an incentive
for oil and gas operators to apply the
tool, Hatteberg continues. " The tool is a
streamlined system that enables users to
inspect and write wellhead audit reports
in under an hour as opposed to what
used to take several days to complete.
This automated solution allows operators
to inspect larger quantities of wells faster
and more accurately and have the audit
report at their fingertips immediately. "
he comments.
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2022

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