At the request of major oil companies and service companies, Murchison Drilling Schools (MDS) was founded in 1977 by Bill Murchison. During Bill’s last 7 years in Iran, he was asked to start a training program for the Iranian oil consortium.  He put together a training manual and program that was not only highly effective but also very well received by contractors and service companies as well as the operators. When Bill left Iran in 1977, the operating and service companies asked him to start his own business so that they could continue sending their drillers, toolpushers, foremen and engineers to him for training. Bill moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and put together the Operational Drilling Technology and Advanced Well Control Course. MDS has been training people on a worldwide basis since that time.

One of the keys to the success of MDS has been the combination of good operational practices and the use of case histories. Bill kept very good notes throughout his career and has been able to help men and women learn valuable lessons from his first hand experiences. MDS Instructors use both current and older case histories in maintaining this approach to teaching.

Another key to the success of MDS has been hiring highly qualified and experienced drilling personnel. MDS Instructors are able to share both knowledge and experience with students. Students are able to ask questions and glean from the first hand experience of the instructors.

Another key that has helped MDS to be highly successful has been its approach to well control and other drilling problems.  Instructors teach drilling problems such as well control the same way that the hole is drilled.  They approach each section of the hole differently, explaining the problems and solutions that are unique to that section of hole. Thus, well control and other drilling problems are covered several times during the course and students gain a better overall understanding of drilling problems.

In addition to classroom instruction in well control, students do eight simulator problems. The simulator work includes: Driller’s Method in a horizontal well with a swabbed-in kick, Wait and Weight Method, the Volumetric Method, and Lubrication Method. Students do both surface and subsea work and also learn to revise plans because of changes in the hydraulic system.
MDS has a new Well Control Center with four separate simulator rooms. Each simulator room has an Instructor assigned to it and one of the most modern simulators available. Students are divided up into groups and have carefully supervised simulator work.

MDS also created comprehensive check lists for simulator work. The check lists have helped students become more organized and diligent in their well control work. Instructors have a similar check list to the student check list and use it to objectively evaluate and grade the work that each student does.

Another key to the success of MDS has been the use of workshops and homework. Class workshops are followed up with homework assignments that cover the same material covered in class. MDS provides a conference room at the hotel for the students to work on the homework together.  Students are required to complete many homework assignments. This helps them apply the things that are taught and also helps to extend the course into areas that are not covered in lectures. Problems that are missed are reviewed with students each day, to make sure that concepts are clearly understood.



Murchison Drilling Schools has kept weighted averages on the initial and final tests given in our drilling course for thirty years. This benefits companies in that they can see how their students stack up against the industry going in and coming out of the course. Murchison Drilling Schools sends an evaluation to the company at the completion of the course.  Companies that send a minimum of ten students per year also receive company evaluations (Excel Spreadsheet) showing all the work that their personnel have done during the course of the year.

In 2005, MDS began giving out an award to the top ten percent of students that go through its Operational Drilling Technology and Advanced Well Control Course each year. The award is called the Top Achievement in Drilling Supervision, or TADS for short. At the end of the year letters and certificates are mailed out to winners of this prestigious award and their respective companies. Their pictures are also posted on the MDS website: www.murchisondrillingschools.com.

For more information about Murchison Drilling Schools or to enroll someone in one of the courses offered at MDS, visit our website: www.murchisondrillingschools.com. We welcome the opportunity to participate in your training program.

ABOUT BILL MURCHISON

Bill Murchison is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in well control and drilling technology. He has 50 + years of experience in the oil industry, working in some of the most difficult drilling conditions in the world. His work experience also includes 15 + years in the Middle East. Bill is also a successful author. His published books include: Murchison Drilling Manual, Rules of Thumb For The Man On The Rig, Well Control For the Man On The Rig, Lost Circulation For The Man On The Rig, and Tales From The Oil Patch.

Bill continues to teach the Operational Drilling Technology and Advanced Well Control Course. He not only teaches but he also continues to learn about new technology. He stays current with all the modern technology through trade journals and discussing it with all the students who come through the course.


THE SUCCESS OF MURCHISON DRILLING SCHOOLS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO:

• Teacher-student interchange to identify the student's problem areas, strengths and weaknesses.
• Supervisor of every facet of the drilling operation is taught, including personnel, communicating, technical and operational skills
• Homework and workshops that reinforce the lectures
• A case history approach, which makes the technology realistic
• Extensive student testing, which assists teachers in program development 
• A conscientious approach to teaching, in contrast to the "rubber stamp diploma" approach
• The use of a simulator in all phases of the course
• Utilization of rig-experienced teachers
• Supervisor of every facet of the drilling operation is taught, including personnel, communicating, technical and operational skills
• Specialized textbooks, which zero in on rig operational problems and are understandable at all educational levels
• Confidential personnel evaluations, which are the logical product of the course 
• An operational approach to teaching practical drilling technology
• Total student involvement in lectures and workshops
  

Students leave the course "keyed up" and more self confident in planning rig operations. This enhances drilling optimization.

Contractors and operators know that Murchison training sessions are taken seriously and are not just vacation-type seminars. Our school has earned a reputation as a work school, where the student is deeply involved in drilling operations.