Background
In April 2023 PETRONAS, Malaysia's national oil and gas company, awarded a three-year contract to Drilling Systems, part of the UK-headquartered 3t Energy Group, following a competitive tender. The contract brings the vendor's Drill the Well on Simulator (DWOS) service into PETRONAS' training and development programme for its drilling crews. Delivery is shared with a local partner, Eftech Energy Solutions Sdn Bhd (formerly Eftech Drilling Solutions Sdn Bhd), a Malaysian company working in real-time operations services and drilling digitalisation.
How the training works
DWOS is not a generic well-control course. Data from a specific well that PETRONAS is preparing to drill is interpreted and rebuilt as a simulated scenario, so the crew rehearses the job in front of them rather than a textbook example. Drilling Systems' digital twin technology replicates the exact rig environment, with the equipment and control systems customised to match the rig that will be used on that well. Crews practise safety-critical and non-routine operations in a risk-free environment before any of it happens offshore.
Delivered at the rig
The scenarios run on Drilling Systems' mobile On-the-Rig (OTR) simulator, a portable unit that takes drilling, equipment-operation and well-control practice to the crew instead of requiring travel to a fixed training centre. DWOS is positioned as a companion to the long-established Drill Well on Paper (DWOP) exercise that drilling teams already run: where DWOP reviews the well plan on paper, DWOS turns the same plan into a hands-on rehearsal on simulated controls.
Why Petronas bought it
The stated objectives are to mitigate drilling risk and human error, build technical competence, and improve the operational safety and performance of the crew before it reaches the wellsite. Drilling Systems argues that immersive learning technologies produce better knowledge retention and engagement than conventional classroom training, and that well-specific rehearsal adds confidence in a crew's ability to handle the particular hazards of the well they are about to drill. Both Drilling Systems executives quoted below frame the deal around risk reduction and crew competence rather than cost.
Programme at a glance
- Client: PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional Berhad), Malaysia
- Simulation technology: Drilling Systems, part of 3t Energy Group
- Local delivery partner: Eftech Energy Solutions Sdn Bhd
- Solution: Drill the Well on Simulator (DWOS), run on the mobile On-the-Rig (OTR) simulator
- Term: three years, awarded April 2023 through a competitive tender
Contract value, the number of simulator units and the number of crews trained were not disclosed by either party.
