ADIA April-May 2019 (Conference)

April—May 2019 COAL SEAM GAS Spotlight on state of play SKILLS RELIEF Win on visas in Goldfields

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Volume 38, No 2 Contents April/May 2019 Australasian Drilling Spotlight on coal seam gas extraction page (Incorporating Australian Drilling and The NZ Driller is the official journal of The Australian Drilling 18 Industry Association Limited and The New Zealand Drillers Federation Inc.) Registered by Australia ADIA NEWS page Post NBG 0073 Australian National Library ISSN Trade headwinds slow activity........................ 6 1320-6524. More needed to improve confidence.......... 8 20 Win on visas in Goldfields............................. 10 Reproduction in part or whole is not permitted Busy agenda for committee..........................12 Building bridges in Qld gas fields without the written permission of the Chief Magazine readership expands.......................14 Executive Officer of The Australian Drilling Industry DRILL 2019: registrations open.....................15 page Association Limited. CSG industry hamstrung................................ 16 SONIC DRILLING 44 The Association accepts no liability or responsibility New tech making sonic super...................... 28 for opinions expressed in this magazine, or for The power and the passion........................... 29 Quiet achiever: Peter Pacey any loss or damage arising from any inaccurate Meeting need for speed.................................30 information contained in any article or TECHNOLOGY & TECHNIQUES advertisement. New depths in geothermal.............................31 Drilling down on PDC bits............................. 34 Editor PCD bit selection and care............................ 35 Jamie Wade Safety for high-pressure zones.................... 36 Phone: + 61 (0) 435 945 868 Gong for core scanner................................... 39 Email: [email protected] MEMBER NEWS Premises, truck range expanded.................. 38 Advertising Enquiries GRE pipe a game changer.............................40 Australia, New Zealand, Asia, North America Manufacturing at Feaver pitch...................... 41 Wade Business Media – Jamie Wade NZDF NEWS 12 Caravel Way, Halls Head, WA 6210 Cautionary tales on safety............................. 42 Mobile: + 61 (0) 435 945 868 Difficult times.................................................... 43 Email: [email protected] Web: www.wadebusiness.com.au Europe, Africa, Middle East Fabio Potesta Mediapoint and Communications SRL Corte Lambruschini-C SO Buenos Aires 8 Int 9, 16129 Genoa, Italy Email: [email protected] Web: www.mediapointsrl.it Design & Printing Vanguard Press 26 John Street, Northbridge WA 6003 Phone: +61 (08) 9328 1388 Email: [email protected] Subscriptions ADIA WA Office 5 Profit Pass, Wangara, WA 6065 Phone: +61 (0) 8 6305 0466 Email: [email protected] Web: www.adia.com.au • Diamond Products • Water Swivels • Core Barrels • Hoisting Plugs • Overshots • Recovery Tools • Drill Rods & Casing • Adapter Subs • SolidGrip Wrenches • Wedges Delivering value for over 22 years through quality, innovation and customer service. Visit newlandassociates.net.au to see the full range | +61 8 9039 8500 | Kalgoorlie & Perth Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 3

ADIA CONTACTS AUSTRALIAN DRILLING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED Administration Board of Directors Life Members Head Office PRESIDENT +61 (0)413 608 034 Bob Adams Chief Executive Officer: +61 (0)427 058 258 James Colby Peter Hall Peter Jacobs Stan Gricks Mobile: +61 (0)413 608 050 Geraldine Langtry Email: [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT John McAvan Web: adia.com.au Mike McDermott Todd Symons John McLean Western Australia Alan Ryan 5 Profit Pass, Wangara, WA 6065 SECRETARY +61 (0)427 089 448 Graeme Wallis Administration Officer Tony Walsh Vanessa Tedesco Tim Westcott Phone: +61 (0)8 6305 0466 • Three Rivers Drilling Pty Ltd Email: [email protected] DIRECTORS +61 (0)419 904 854 • Technidrill +61 (0)407 352 011 Australasian Magazine Editor & Andrew Gilbert +61 (0)413 608 018 Advertising Representative: Marc Adams +61 (0)404 871 587 Jamie Wade Andrew Elf Email: [email protected] Sally Forgan Web: www.wadebusiness.com.au Kerry Brydon +61 (0)416 242 881 NEW Members • Ken Neal • John Dolley (Lockyer Drilling) • Gavin Corley • Luke Walsh (Easternwell) Publications For Sale Surcharges for MasterCard, Visa and Amex apply Contact Vanessa Now available! Phone: +61 (0)8 6305 0466 The Drilling Manual (fifth edition) Email: [email protected] [All prices are + GST and are in $AUD, but do not include postage] Order from ADIA; adia.com.au or (08) 6305 0466. ADIA member price: $233.75 plus GST ADIA non-member price: $275 plus GST This is a revised version of Contact ADIA for confirmation of price Drilling: The Manual of Methods, and shipping details Applications & Management (fourth edition). AUSTRALASIAN MINING SERVICES PTY LTD IS YOUR ONE STOP SUPPLIER Our products and services include: � Core trays (plastic and zinc) � A comprehensive range of Diamond Drilling products � Rock tools � Australian Distributor for HAYDEN Diamond Drilling products � Down the hole hammers (DTH) and bits � Australian Distributor for DRILLERS EDGE products � Rotary Drill (Blast Hole) Tricone Bits – Large Diameter � All series of Core Barrel, Core Barrel parts & Accessories to suit � Water Well Tricone Bits – Small to Large Diameter � PDC bits, Ridgid wrenches, FMC BEAN pump parts � Rotary drill pipe, subs, deck bushing � Kempe Diamond Drills and spare parts � Technical support www.austms.com � Drag bits, adaptor subs Head Office Perth WA • Tel: (08) 9454 3444 • Fax: (08) 9454 3400 FOR QUALITY DRILL CONSUMABLES Kalgoorlie WA • Tel: (08) 9021 2400 • Fax: (08) 9021 2433 AT THE BEST PRICES IN AUSTRALIA Singleton NSW • Tel: (02) 6571 3155 • Fax: (02) 6571 3677 Townsville QLD • Tel: (07) 4728 3433 • Fax: (07) 4775 1933 4 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

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ADIA NEWS CEO’s REPORT Trade headwinds slow activity Peter Hall Chief Executive Officer Irecently had the opportunity to attend PDAC is by far the largest convention of its type in the world with around 1000 the Prospectors and Developers exhibitors and more than 20,000 visitors over four days. Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention in Toronto in early March. The robustness and ability to withstand be similar. Maintenance costs will also contamination was always the weak- be higher due to the mobile carrier that PDAC is by far the largest convention of link, but the componentry now available will require regular servicing and periodic its type in the world with around 1000 has advanced a long way to addressing repairs. exhibitors and more than 20,000 visitors this, which is encouraging to see as over four days. automation and a “hands-off” approach The other noticeable trend is the large is clearly the way of the future. number of firms providing software and The exhibitors comprised a large data aimed at making exploration more selection of service and supply providers; I also believe that Australia can take the precise and defined. a “core shack”, which allows exploration credit for being the first to introduce companies to promote their leases to mobile rigs for underground use, as “Data mining” is used to describe a type potential partners; and an investors some of the early designs would date of prospecting performed before placing exchange, which encourages dialogue back 20 years or more. an exploration team on the ground. with potential investors. There was also This ability allows for digital processing a comprehensive program of technical The need for innovation to increase of previously gained information from forums and investor presentations. productivity and safety and to allow a lease and obtaining new data from contractors to become more competitive geophysical testing. The PDAC Convention runs annually, so drove introduction of these rigs. it is always a great opportunity to gauge Using these results to identify drill-ready attendee sentiment and what the outlook To witness this configuration of drill targets seems to be the way of is for the global exploration industry. rig now being built and sold within the the future. North and South American markets is With so much networking going on it a testament to their suitability for the job. As exploration targets get deeper, this does not take long to get up to up to will likely lead to more discoveries which speed with the forecast consensus. It is, however, the norm for these designs is good for all, but whether it will lead to to cost upwards of $1m, which can be more or less drilling is anyone’s guess at What we are seeing in Australia, with a double the price paid for a comparative this point in time. levelling off in exploration activity, is also skid mounted rig. a recognised global trend. If the global outlook improves later in Drilling contractors need to factor this the year, hopefully we will see more A lot of the global funding for the juniors into their tendering, as the increased investment return to the juniors and is raised on the Canadian TSX, and the investment needs to see higher rates bid they can turn that into more holes in the feedback from several Canadian drillers on the job. ground. is that the situation in North America has tightened considerably. This is being Productivity gains are likely when For more information, contact Peter at caused by trade frictions around the moving from site to site and setting up, ADIA on 0413 608 050 or world and concerns about world however, actual time to drill the hole will [email protected] growth rates, which are heading south as a result. Regardless of this, the drilling industry is getting on with things as usual and there were some outstanding exhibits and a wealth of information to learn from. A couple of notable things around the equipment on display were the continuing advances in electronics and automation on drill rigs, as well as the proliferation of mobile underground rigs on offer. While the ability to automate a drill rig is not new, having been around for more than 20 years now, it is clearly evident how much the electrical components have improved. 6 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

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POLICY More needed to improve confidence Warren Pearce CEO, Association of Mining and Explorations Companies (AMEC) Exploration is crucial for finding new “A number of changes could Co-funded drilling mines. And exploration requires programs are investment. attract investor confidence and used to attract private investment While attractive geology remains increase investment.” into Greenfields the key aspect for investment, the exploration, and policy environment that dictates how however, a number of changes could have proven exploration will take place can be the attract investor confidence and increase effective at make or break for many investors looking investment. stimulating greater to be a part of the next big discovery. exploration. Photo The first of these is reducing red tape and courtesy of AMEC. The Fraser Institute Survey includes increasing the efficiency around processes. 83 jurisdictions from all continents hindered by a lack of a skilled workforce except Antarctica, with the aim to rank Exploration is a high-risk activity. A to carry out this activity. these jurisdictions in an investment contributing factor making it high-risk is attractiveness index. lengthy processing times for approvals. While many co-funded drilling schemes This can have huge financial implication are being extended across states, and The purpose of the survey is to create for projects; it impacts on drilling and despite considerable investment in a comparison or report card for exploration programs, and on other training and local workforce, many governments to use to improve or alter service providers involved in the project. drilling companies are still struggling with their mining related policies to attract shortages of skilled drillers and offsiders. more investment to their jurisdiction. While some longer processing timeframes And the survey is highly influential. are unavoidable, there needs to be These drilling companies need to access clarity on these, as well as accountability the overseas labour market through the People and companies all over the world by government departments if these Short Term Strategic Skilled Occupations make judgements about their mining timeframes are not kept. List (STSOL) to access skilled and and resource investments based on this experienced labour, however, thanks to survey, which highlights the impact that Governments must not only create more recent changes, are no longer able to. policies and process can make. incentives, they need to change policy that can inhibit the incentives or work against Consequently, companies are turning away Strong consistent legislation supported by their purpose. A clear example of this work, and are unable to operate at full clear timelines, efficient processing times, problem can be seen in the drilling industry. capacity. This reduction in capacity has a and incentives can encourage investment. direct impact on the industry, on investment Co-funded drilling programs are used to confidence, and is counter intuitive to an Conversely, inconsistent and ad hoc attract private investment into greenfields incentive that promotes more drilling. It is policy, duplication of processes, and exploration, and have proven effective a clear case of the left hand not knowing conflicting policy can deter investment at stimulating greater exploration. At the what the right hand is doing. and directly impact exploration. same time, greater exploration is been If we want to find new mines and The results of the 2018 survey are not grow our economy, we need to surprising given the return of confidence in increase exploration. Exploration needs the mining and mineral exploration sector. investment, and investors want certainty and stability. Governments can provide Western Australia remains the most this stability though proactive measures. attractive investment jurisdiction for Australia, and ranks second overall in the We need regulatory reform, to attract world. This ranking is reflective of the investment for greater mineral exploration increasing clarity and stability in the policy and mining in Australia, which will environment. It can also reasonably be generate significant economic returns for interpreted that taking the gold royalty the economy. change off the table has played a large part in this increase in confidence. For more information, contact Warren on Both New South Wales and Victoria [email protected] rose slightly, however, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania all declined. The survey makes quite clear that many of our states are still performing poorly, 8 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

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ADIA NEWS Win for industry on visas in Goldfields ADIA has welcomed an agreement added for regions in which the efforts to reverse the exclusion of that will allow employers to sponsor DAMA covers. drillers and driller’s offsider from drillers and driller’s offsiders in the National Skilled Occupation Lists, said Goldfields region, as great news for the “The difficulty in finding drillers and this was great news for the drilling drilling industry. driller’s offsiders is well known within industry within the Goldfields region. the Goldfields region, so within The Federal Government along with consultation of the local community, Rick said the move will assist in driving the City of Kalgoorlie Boulder recently businesses and stakeholders the economic growth and fill critical signed off on a Designated Area positions of driller and driller’s offsiders employment gap within the Shires of Migration Agreement (DAMA) for the have been included in the agreement,” Coolgardie, Leonora and Menzies along Goldfields region. Federal MP for O’Connor Rick Wilson with the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. told Australasian Drilling. The Goldfields is one of the first Tim attended a Chamber of Minerals regions in Australia to enter a five-year “This means that under the DAMA, and Energy of WA event in Perth in agreement with the Commonwealth employers can follow normal March in which Rick and the Federal aimed at ensuring skilled migrants sponsored visa protocols to employ Minister for Resources and Northern contribute through employment in key these positions providing both parties Australia Senator Matt Canavan spoke. roles where Australian workers are meet the eligibility requirements.” not available. “Minister Canavan spoke at length about Standard sponsorship protocols exist his portfolio and the upcoming federal Covering 73 positions, up to 500 per including the fees, proof of genuine election,” Tim said. year will be able to be sponsored by attempts to fill positions with Australian employers in a range of industries residents first and minimum salary “He also fielded a number of questions including childcare, health, mining, thresholds. Visa applicants will still about how to encourage more people to engineering and construction. have to meet normal visa requirements study mining related subjects, fracking, including English testing, skills testing his passion for regional communities As part of this agreement, additional and age thresholds. to prosper from the resources sector positions that are not on the National and the need to only have state-based Skilled Occupation Lists have been ADIA secretary Tim Westcott, who has environmental approval agencies.” been instrumental in the Association’s - Jamie Wade ADIA secretary Tim Westcott [centre] at a Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA (CME) event in Perth in March with [L-R] Vimy Resources managing director and CEO Mike Young, Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) councillor Chris Reed, Northern Minerals managing director and CEO George Bauk, CME director policy and advocacy Rob Carruthers, Tellus Holdings chief operations officer and Michael Ingram, SMS Innovative Mining Solutions CEO Tony Monaghan, Federal MP for O’Connor Rick Wilson, Federal Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Senator Matt Canavan, Tawana Resources managing director of Mark Calderwood, Chevron Australia general manager - policy, government and public Affairs Kate Callaghan, Jason Mead, and Ausdrill chief operating officer - Australia Roy Coates. Photo: CME. 10 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

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ADIA NEWS Busy agenda for licensing committee ADIA was well represented at the National Uniform Drillers Licensing Committee’s (NUDLC) meeting in Brisbane in March where a review of training qualifications and a manual on drilling and constructing water bores were high on the agenda. Bruce Keogh (QLD), Kym Howard and lastly, construct multiple aquifer respond in writing to me with the details (QLD), Mick Hobin (VIC), Stan Gricks production bores. and justification. We can then add this (ADIA drilling representative), Kevin to the review. We expect the complete Dennis (SA), Mark Ballard (NT), John The second and third days focused on process to take about 12 months.” McAvan (ADIA WA) and Peter Hall (ADIA reviewing the Minimum Construction CEO) met for the Committee’s first Requirements for Water Bores (MCR) Another key issue on the Committee’s meeting of the year. reference manual. agenda was a matter regarding a restriction on licenses between different ADIA has resumed the Chair role for “The Committee publishes this highly jurisdictions. the Committee, with Peter taking on informative manual, and it is the go- the position, due to the impending to reference book for information and Peter said the states, in some instances, retirement of Kevin Dennis from SA. guidelines applicable to drilling and were issuing a restriction on licenses constructing a water bore in Australia,” when issuing a state conversion. “Kevin has been a very fine contributor to Peter said. the NUDLC over many years and we wish “An example given was of a contractor who him well in his retirement,” Peter said. “It is also recognised by all State had been drilling in Victoria under a Class 1 Regulators around the country and license and only drilling shallow monitoring A representative from PwC Skills for certain parts of it are legally enforceable.” bores less than 30m deep. When they Australia attended the meeting on applied in Queensland under the NUDLC day one to facilitate input from the The latest edition of the manual was national license system, they were given a committee for a review of the National published in 2012. restricted Class 1 license,” he said. Training Qualifications pertaining to waterwell drilling. “Aquifer protection is the main “Unrestricted licenses will not be issued in underlying aim of the publication, and it another state unless the applicant can show Units reviewed included: conduct rotary was identified that there is no need for a proof of experience in their home state.” drilling; perform cable tool drilling; major rewrite. The update will comprise construct monitoring bores; construct smaller amendments and update of For more information, contact single aquifer production bores; carry some diagrams,” Peter said. Peter Hall at ADIA on 0413 608 050 or out grouting and cementing operations; [email protected] “If you use the MCR and know of something that needs changing, please - Jamie Wade [L-R] Bruce Keogh (QLD), Kym Howard (QLD), Mick Hobin (VIC), Stan Gricks (ADIA drilling representative), Kevin Dennis (SA), Mark Ballard (NT), John McAvan (ADIA WA) and Peter Hall (ADIA CEO) in Brisbane for the National Uniform Drillers Licensing Committee’s (NUDLC) first meeting of the year. 12 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

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ADIA NEWS Readership expanded to explorers and miners Kyrstie Rankine ADIA Communications Officer Hi everyone! “Australasian Drilling’s mailout However, with recent growth in Australasian Drilling is the official other sectors, especially mining and drilling journal of ADIA and NZDF and sits at 1690 recipients and has exploration companies and other serves to inform the wider industry of industry consultants, we want to key industry events and updates. been steadily growing over the encourage drilling contractors to consider using Australasian Drilling to To ensure the magazine reaches the past few months.” also reach out to their customers and right audience, we recently conducted a improve the presence of their brand. review of our contacts and recipients. Exploration companies (AMEC) and And then, if you have customers you Queensland Resource Council (QRC) think would benefit from receiving a As of mid-March 2019 our Australasian make up the second largest portion, copy of the magazine, please let us Drilling mailout sits at 1690 recipients followed closely by individual members. know. and has been steadily growing over the past few months. The magazine has been growing in Don’t forget also that ADIA has member the number of mining and exploration logos that can be used on your While the majority of the readership companies it reaches. promotional material to signify that you lives in Australia, eight percent is are part of the association! overseas and includes recipients located With each magazine edition comes as far away as Europe and North another push for advertising; but our If you would like to know more about America. aim is to make sure that your advertising contributing to Australasian Drilling, is worth your while, and that your please contact Jamie Wade on 0435 Currently, our biggest growth in customers see your investment. It is for 945 868 or [email protected] readership is thanks to our current this reason that we’ve been conducting recipients, you, connecting us with this review and working hard to grow your industry contacts. This has been our readership to include everyone with fantastic for us, as we have been able an interest or connection to the drilling to reach people we might not have industry. otherwise come in contact with, and they now make up nearly a third of our Currently, most advertising in mailout! Australasian Drilling comes from suppliers displaying their products and Magazine distribution by industry sector services to a wider customer base. This is quite widespread, as can be seen in makes sense due to the large number of the graph below. contractors who receive the magazine. Contractors make up the majority of our mailout. Government bodies including regional councils like Association of Mining and Authorised Australian Factory distributor of NOV’s FiberGlass Systems Bondstrand, Star and the new redesigned Centron 4TPI thread design. All downhole products manufactured in API Q1 facilities with sizes that range from 50mm to 1000mm, temperature to 100 deg C and high pressure capabilities. T +61 0407 077 201 [email protected] www.compositepipesystems.com 14 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

DRILL 2019: DRILLING DOWN ON SKILLS DRILL 2019: registrations open Delegate registrations are open for ADIA’s DRILL 2019 conference and exhibition at the Darwin Convention Centre from 17 to 19 September. This edition of Australasian Drilling Registration includes access to Discounted accommodation rates includes the delegate prospectus all exhibitions and conference are available at a variety of locations with all details including accommodation presentations, the Welcome in Waterfront Precinct surrounding options. Cocktail Function sponsored by the Darwin Convention Centre. Sandvik on the Tuesday night and Delegates can register for the conference the Thursday Conference Dinner prospectus has further detail on how to and book accommodation at https:// sponsored by Metzke. access these discounts. inhouseevents.eventsair.com/drill-2019/ rego-general Territory Government, is not included in DRILL 2019 will feature presentations on standard registration and tickets much be updates on the training and skills sectors, Delegate registration includes access to all purchased separately. effective business management and the exhibitions and conference presentations, ADIA has also partnered with Darwin latest in drilling equipment technology the Welcome Cocktail Function sponsored Welcomes Delegates with discounted and trends. by Sandvik on the Tuesday night and the rates to a variety of tourist activities. The Thursday Conference Dinner sponsored by For more information, contact ADIA on Metzke. 08 6305 0466 or [email protected] Partner registrations are also made through the website. Partner registration includes the Tuesday and Thursday evening functions and a site-seeing tour of Darwin on the Wednesday. Please note that the Wednesday Offsite dinner, sponsored by the Northern Speakers from the following companies will be presenting at the conference: • Aqseptence (Johnson Screens) • Imdex Partner registration includes the • Australasian Drilling Institute • Itch Mining & Resources Tuesday and Thursday evening • Baroid • MinterEllison functions and a site-seeing tour of • Boart Longyear • MinEx CRC Darwin on the Wednesday. • Colleagues Matrixx • PwC Skills for Australia • Department of Environment, Land, • QTEC • Redfield Resources Water and Planning (DELWP) Victoria • Sandvik • Drilltechniques • Epiroc Drillers World 14.11.18 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 15

FROM THE EDITOR CSG extraction industry hamstrung The coal seam gas extraction industry has exploded over the past five years, but significant obstacles must be overcome to realise its full potential. Australia’s coal seam gas extraction (CSG) In this environment, it is highly unlikely in New South Wales, Northern Territory industry is estimated to be worth $13.5b we’ll see more billion-dollar LNG and Western Australia suggests that CSG in 2018-19. processing facilities being built in Australia extraction is more palatable, so long as it’s to process coal seam gas. far away from residential developments or Substantial investment has led to the agricultural activity. development of massive liquified natural gas The Federal Government’s push to divert (LNG) production facilities in Queensland, LNG output to the domestic market does The Liberal Federal Government has which accounts for most of the output not exactly encourage investors to finance been pretty vocal about wanting states capacity from CSG extraction. a large project. to remove bans to free up gas supply. However, these states remain unlikely The industry is expected to grow fairly well More worrying though are concerns about to do so and, given the Liberal National at about one percent year-on-year over the a gas supply shortage (see article on page Government is expected to lose the next next five years thanks to growing demand 18). On the upside for the drilling industry, election, we’re probably not going to see from Asia – particularly Japan. thousands more wells will be needed. much impetus to force those states to roll back those bans. However, rising gas output from other Bans on coal seam gas extraction are countries, particularly Qatar and the United unlikely to be withdrawn as public The opportunities for coal seam gas States, will subdue global price growth, opposition to fracking remains intense. development in Australia are great, but meaning that there might not be the same so too are the hurdles – for the time degree of commercial opportunities to That said, moves to limit CSG extraction being anyway. justify more growth in output. to areas far away from residential centres DESIGN – ENGINEER – MANUFACTURE – MAINTAIN Performance you can trust P: +61 (07) 3714 5700 www.hmi.com.au [email protected] PDC hole openers Drilling tools Recovery tools Stabilisers and subs Custom designed solutions 16 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

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ENERGY - COAL SEAM GAS Gas supply shortage looms Queensland faces the partial shut-down of a third of its barely decade-old $84 billion LNG industry by the middle of next decade due to a gas supply shortage, together with diversions to the domestic market. Dr Graeme Bethune, Chief Executive Officer, EnergyQuest writes. A looming gas shortage would cut output to four LNG production trains from the current six trains built on Curtis Island off Gladstone by three project owners. The shortage would cut output to “Maintaining current export levels The Queensland concerns form part of four LNG production trains from the a broader 130-page EnergyQuest report current six trains built on Curtis Island will require drilling an ultimate titled East Coast Gas Outlook to 2036. off Gladstone by three project owners. total addition of more than The Queensland CSG story is globally Underpinning the production noose unprecedented, going in under 20 years is an emerging forward reliance for 18,000 wells.” from producing virtually nothing to feedstock on gas reserve estimates nearly 1,400 petajoules (PJ) in 2018. that could fall well below delivery status as a major global LNG supplier, expectations, according to a new report but its LNG potential has been summed The three Australian east coast projects by EnergyQuest. up as “now is as good as it will get”. are all successfully producing, with China the biggest market (70 percent of 2018 All three projects rely on coal seam gas The findings above have emerged from Queensland exports) followed by Korea (CSG) sourced from the Bowen and EnergyQuest’s most intensive scrutiny (16 percent) and Japan (9 percent). Surat Basins. yet of the Queensland LNG sector’s exploration, production, supply, price However, two projects, the Shell- The report’s findings show that there and market risk outlook. operated QCLNG and the Santos- is now doubt of sufficient Queensland operated GLNG, are operating well CSG gas being available for the three EnergyQuest adopted a ‘ground up’ below capacity due to insufficient gas Gladstone plants to ever achieve full- approach to intensely analyse corporate supply and diversions to the domestic scale production. and government drilling data from market. In 2018, QCLNG averaged 87 ~10,000 Queensland CSG wells, percent capacity utilisation and GLNG The plants operated at only an average Reserves bookings for ~60 Authorities only 65 percent. 82 percent capacity in calendar 2018. to Prospect (ATP), 120 Production Licences (PL) and production data since Unfortunately, there are serious Crunch time is expected by 2025 and 2005 for 120 PLs. headwinds coming and the outlook is will be exacerbated by potential political less rosy as the industry over-reached pressure for Gladstone LNG operators by building three projects of six trains. to divert gas to the domestic market. Queensland will remain a significant Any Gladstone plant shut-down is not LNG exporter, one of the world’s expected to dampen Queensland’s new 18 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

ENERGY - COAL SEAM GAS largest, but with more like four trains Coal seam gas well in Queensland. The EnergyQuest report revealed that there is fully utilised, reducing medium-term now doubt of sufficient Queensland coal seam gas being available for the three exports to around 17 million tonnes per Gladstone plants to ever achieve full-scale production. annum (Mtpa). Only 56 percent of these booked Our new production forecasts suggest The three plants have a combined 2P reserves have demonstrated any a growing gap between Queensland- nameplate capacity of 25.3 Mtpa, but commercial productivity (Most Certain). based CSG demand (domestic and there is insufficient gas to run the plants This means 44 percent are in licenced export) from the middle of next decade, at capacity and also meet supply the areas which have not demonstrated with stresses on meeting domestic peak needs of the domestic market. commerciality, reinforcing the growing winter demand as early as 2023. forward uncertainty attached to CSG Building six LNG trains in Queensland reserves. While there is some scope to increase using CSG was bold and visionary but indigenous supply through exploration, ultimately a bridge too far. In the past year, more than 3,000 PJ of it generally takes a long time and these 2P reserves, and approximately involves significant exploration risks. We have to recognise that the capacity of 5,000 PJ of Best Estimate Contingent The scope for doing so is also limited the east coast’s CSG resource base to feed (2C) Resources, have been written off. by exploration restrictions in New South multiple LNG trains was largely untried. Arrow Energy’s Surat acreage is the Wales and Victoria. The emerging and critical shortages are major potential source of uncontracted resulting from the fact the CSG LNG 2P reserves, but 80 percent of this is in Dr Graeme Bethune led work on a projects were sanctioned on ambitious the Least Certain category. report into the market by Adelaide- estimates of Proved and Probable (2P) based independent energy consultancy, reserves, not Proven (1P) reserves that This is at a time the east coast LNG EnergyQuest. For more information, underpin conventional LNG projects. plants are operating below full capacity, contact Graeme on 0419 828 617 or compared with over 100 percent of [email protected] The emerging reserves risk is already nameplate performance at west coast evident. According to estimates LNG plants. published by the Queensland Government, Queensland 2P CSG The Queensland coal seam gas story is globally unprecedented, going in under 20 reserves peaked in June 2015 at 42,733 years from producing virtually nothing to nearly 1,400 petajoules (PJ) in 2018. PJ. Three years later, by June 2018, 2P reserves were down to 35,074 PJ, a drop of 7,660 PJ after only 3,570 PJ of production. Over 4,000 PJ of 2P reserves have had to be revised down. Rather than Queensland exports ultimately rising to 25 Mtpa, current export levels are likely to be as good as it gets and maintaining these will require drilling an ultimate total addition of more than 18,000 wells. EnergyQuest noted Santos GLNG had already negotiated down its offtake contracts from 7.2 Mtpa to 6.0 Mtpa and is yet to reach even this level. With dwindling production from southern gas fields, the political pressure on the LNG producers to divert gas to the domestic market is likely to intensify. Queensland CSG supplied 25 percent of east coast demand in 2018 and this is likely to increase. However, there are limits to how much gas can be diverted domestically. There are infrastructure constraints on the volumes of Queensland gas that can be diverted to the southern states. There are also the constraints of international LNG contracts. Historic factors EnergyQuest’s permit-by-permit assessment of Queensland’s 2P CSG reserves categorised them into Most Certain, Less Certain and Least Certain. Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 19

ENERGY - COAL SEAM GAS Building bridges in Qld gas fields As an independent statutory body, GasFields Commission Queensland has made significant progress in facilitating better relationships between landholders, regional communities and the onshore gas industry since it was established in 2013. Jamie Wade writes. GasFields Commission Queensland delivers face-to-face engagement in the form of workshops, forums and information sessions throughout regional Queensland to bring practical information and speakers with expert knowledge to those who seek it. Photo courtesy of GasFields Commission Queensland. GasFields Commission CEO The gas industry is currently starting to involved, as well as new groups of Carolyn Collins said the onshore operate in high-value cropping areas stakeholders.” gas industry in Queensland was in a of Queensland. completely different state of play these “It is important for the Commission days compared to the early days of “Not surprisingly, this is introducing to engage early with areas where the the ‘gas boom’ when frustration and a completely new set of relationship industry is likely to move into, tailor uncertainty was fueled by the pace pressures between landholders and the our communication on a case-by-case of the industry and lack of available gas industry that do not affect the much basis and address the unique concerns scientific information. larger grazing properties that exist in of each area.” areas, such as Roma, where the gas With the introduction of an improved industry has been operating for many Key issues regulatory regime in 2012, and the years,” Carolyn said. Commission’s work in consultation and Another function of the Commission information sharing, the foundations The groundwater systems in the is to advise government entities about have been laid for stronger, longer- Surat Basin have been the subject of the need for greater transparency lasting collaboration and partnership immense scientific research over the regarding sharing information between opportunities in the gas fields. years through the work of the Office landholders, regional communities and of Groundwater Impact Assessment, the gas industry. However, the work is not over yet. The The University of Queensland’s Centre industry continues to expand into new for Coal Seam Gas (CSG), CSIRO’s Carolyn said the Commission continued areas of Queensland, and with that Gas Industry Social & Environmental to work closely with all stakeholders to expansion comes new and unexpected Research Alliance, and more. improve the flow of key information challenges regarding stakeholder and data. relationships. While this region could arguably be labelled the most researched region The Commission also provides advice to “Each community affected by gas in Australia, said Carolyn, new areas of the Queensland Government regarding industry operations has its own unique gas development outside of the Surat the ability of landholders, regional set of concerns and priorities. Likewise, Basin haven’t received such focus and communities and the gas industry to each gas company operates differently, perceived gaps in scientific knowledge coexist in areas of regional interest as do individual development projects,” can create relationship tensions defined under the Regional Planning Carolyn told Australasian Drilling. between communities, government Interests Act 2014. and the gas industry. In most areas, relationships in the gas “The GasFields Commission’s vision fields are generally positive, balanced “New projects have recently been is to have informed and self-reliant and sustainable. In other areas, there announced that will provide gas communities in the gas fields,” exists significant issues and concerns solely for the domestic market. Carolyn said. that are not yet resolved. These operations introduce different challenges for the gas companies Negotiating agreements with landholders is an area that was 20 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

ENERGY - COAL SEAM GAS identified in an independent review of “GasFields Commission informed and access up-to-date the GasFields Commission as needing resources on the go,” Carolyn said. improvement. Queensland can refer drilling “We also provide practical printed Independent reviewer, Robert Scott businesses to local chambers of material to our stakeholders and are in noted that, “When it comes to the final stages of producing the Gas negotiating compensation in particular, commerce, economic develop Guide that will encompass everything there can be a real information a landholder needs to know about asymmetry between a landholder organisations and relevant gas development – from the release and a CSG company as a CSG of land tenure all the way through to company will have negotiated many government agencies that rehabilitation of the site.” such agreements”. are likely to provide powerful Drilling industry In response to recommendations that came out of this review, the business networks.” Carolyn said the GasFields Commission Commission is regularly consulting often liaised with drilling companies and with landholders, government and gas - GasFields Commission CEO other local businesses in the gas fields. industry to develop and recommend practical tools that aim to improve Carolyn Collins “Many gas companies have clear ‘buy industry practices, such as landholder local’ policies and the Commission has negotiations. “The Commission has a strong focus developed some useful information to on making accurate information and assist businesses to engage with the The Compensation Estimator is one data available to all our stakeholders. onshore gas industry,” she said. of the tools the Commission has Our challenge is to communicate developed to assist negotiations by this information effectively in a large “Our ‘Local content’ checklist increasing landholder understanding area of Queensland that has vastly contains opportunities made available of the compensation process. The different qualities of communications to businesses based in the local tool provides landholders with a step- technology.” community to provide goods and by-step process for understanding services to the onshore gas industry and and estimating their compensation “We achieve this through the their lead contractors.” entitlements if a gas company wishes to development of a wide range of operate on their property. communication tools to suit the needs “We can also refer drilling businesses of our varied audience.” to local chambers of commerce, “It’s accessible via the Commission’s economic development organisations mobile application – GasApp – which “We deliver face-to-face engagement and relevant government agencies that also acts as a vital source of information in the form of workshops, forums are likely to provide powerful business tailored for the particular person using and information sessions throughout networks.” it,” Carolyn said. regional Queensland to bring practical information and speakers with expert Carolyn said the GasFields Commission GasApp allows people to stay informed knowledge to those who seek it.” supports balanced and respectful about what is happening locally and business relationships between regionally in the gas fields by accessing The entire Commission is also equipped resource companies and landholders. a library of relevant information and to be completely mobile, so that staff This also extends to drilling contractors receiving targeted notifications directly can respond to areas of greatest need at which operate on private land on behalf to their phones. It also allows people to short notice. of the resource company that holds submit questions, concerns, locations the tenure. and photos directly to key government “Our online channels – website, regulators. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn Resource companies or contractors and YouTube – enable people to stay operating on private land must follow Communication is king mandatory conduct conditions set out in Queensland’s Land Access Code, and Carolyn said the Commission identified agreed conditions in a Conduct and that inadequate communications in the Compensation Agreement (CCA). early development of the CSG industry created fear and confusion among Drilling contractors wanting to know many gas field communities. more about working with the onshore gas industry in Queensland or building Robert Scott, noted a ‘…low level of successful working relationships in the knowledge by landholders of the gas fields are welcome to contact the complexities involved in CSG matters and GasFields Commission on corresponding low levels of self-reliance’. (07) 3067 9400. “Recommendations from this review The Commission’s website also hosts and our own major learnings have some valuable information, including resulted in the GasFields Commission a video series that shares insights adopting a priority policy of stronger from local businesses, community communication and education at all groups and training programs. Visit levels to demystify the gas industry and gasfieldscommissionqld.org.au > local- afford stakeholders the opportunity to business-insights. make informed decisions,” Carolyn said. www.adia.com.au 21 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019

ENERGY - COAL SEAM GAS Innovative bore sealing technology A Queensland research project has trialled an innovative new environmental technology which could further improve the way unused coal, mineral, oil and gas wells and water bores are sealed off. Aspecially engineered bentonite plug Centre for Coal Seam Gas and private been used in combination with the special is showing potential as an even more companies Nautec and Renviro. grout formulated by Nautec. The grout has effective and permanent seal of bores than DNRME managed the field operation been specially designed to flow into small the cement-based plugs used currently. with Dynamic Drilling (Aust) Pty Ltd cavities and cracks in rock formations and providing drilling services. The trial was provide a gas-tight seal. It was mixed on The plug’s development is the result conducted at an old coal exploration site by Renviro. of ground-breaking research made borehole just out of Chinchilla. possible by a large collaborative Director of The University of Queensland partnership which bought together a The bore had been marked for sealing due Centre for Coal Seam Gas, Professor broad collaboration of government, to higher than expected methane levels Andrew Garnett, said that the trial industry and technical specialists to recorded at the surface, making it ideal site successfully tested the main advantage work on the novel technology. for the trial. It was the plug’s second run in of the bentonite plug – its ability to ‘re- the field, following on from a successful heal’ after any physical disturbance. The research effort was led by The initial trial at a water monitoring well near University of Queensland Centre for the Shell/QGC’s Bellevue coal seam gas “Initial testing showed it actually Coal Seam Gas, a university-industry field near Miles, Queensland in 2016. increased in sealing performance during partnership between The University of the healing process,” Andrew said, “At Queensland, APLNG, Arrow Energy, The trial used approximately 500 plugs present, it is not an industrially-ready Santos and QGC/Shell. (each 19cm in length) to seal the coal replacement for conventional cement – exploration hole. It involved re-drilling but it has promise”. The plug has now been trialled thanks the coal borehole to its full depth of to a proactive partnership between the approximately 114 metres and filling it with For more information, contact Queensland Government Department the bentonite and a gas-tight impermeable the Centre on (07) 3346 4101 or of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy grout. It was the first time the plugs had [email protected] (DNRME), The University of Queensland Hard Metals Australia offers a comprehensive range of Horizontal Directional Drilling Tools n PDC Drill Bits n Wombat Hole Openers n Mud Motors n Trenching and surface profiling tools n Special or custom designed wear parts Call us to discuss your tooling needs. PGEURAFROARNMTAENECDE Hard Metals Australia Pty Ltd 40 Peter Brock Drive, Eastern Creek NSW 2766 P: +61 (0)2 9009 4455 | www.hardmetals.com 22 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

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ENERGY - COAL SEAM GAS Eastern gas business all well As a significant player in the coal seam gas drilling sector, Broadspectrum subsidiary Easternwell is seeing new projects approved and an increase in activity. Jamie Wade writes. The outlook for drilling contractor Easternwell’s Rig 101 operating in the Surat Basin. Photo courtesy of Easternwell. Easternwell is very positive, according to Broadspectrum chief executive for commence work in the Surat Basin capacity and ensure industry compliance resources Tim Phelan. in mid-2019. and reliability. An upgrade to the circulating system to give more volume “Our business is well set up for the more Further demonstrating Easternwell’s and more pump pending operational technically challenging coal seam gas technical capability, the company’s requirements is in the design phase. (CSG) drilling scopes because of the workshop team has upgraded quality of equipment that we have and Easternwell’s Advantage Drilling Rig 101’s The three new well servicing rigs (ALRx) the highly competent and experienced mast and drawworks to increase the are specifically designed for CSG members of our team,” he told hoisting capacity to 260,000 pounds, workover operations with integrated Australasian Drilling. increasing the rig’s capability to drill push-pull capabilities for working on depths to 3000m. live wells under pressure, a top drive “We have a strong opportunity to for increased rotary torque, enhanced support or manage drilling programs The team also installed new high- hands-free operations and a simplified beyond the rig operation because of pressure pipework and added a second rig up/rig down process. our supply chain and logistics and our shaker and mud system for increased training and recruitment capability.” fluid storage. The rig also received “Easternwell operates the largest extensive maintenance to all ancillary workover rig fleet in the CSG industry in Broadspectrum provides innovation equipment to improve operational Australia,” Tim said. solutions across the social, defence, property, infrastructure, resources and industrial sectors. Subsidiary Easternwell employs more than 1000 staff Australia- wide and specialises in drilling, well servicing and camp management services to the mining, minerals, oil and gas industries. “Our commitment to improving our performance and capabilities is evidenced by our world-class rig fleet,” Tim said. “We are experienced in developing new rig technology specifically suited to the Australian oil and gas industry underpinned by modular design principles for flexible and scalable configuration across diverse operations.” Easternwell’s energy business has four drilling rigs and 19 well servicing rigs at more than 90 per cent utilisation. Following strong investment in innovative technology and techniques over the last 10 years, Easternwell is poised to reap the benefits of growing demand for its services from clients including Chevron, Galilee Energy, Origin Energy, Santos, Senex Energy, Shell QGC and Tri-Star Petroleum. The company has built 16 new rigs in the last 10 years investing more than $186 million in new rig technology. Easternwell is building four new rigs to meet increased demand with the first rig, Australia’s newest well servicing rig – the Advantage Light Rig Extra (ALRx) – to 24 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

ENERGY - COAL SEAM GAS Projects “Clients demand highly efficient pressure, high temperature tight gas holes to plug and abandonment campaigns.” Easternwell provides a range of rig moves.” exploration, development and Safety production well drilling and well - Broadspectrum chief executive for servicing operations including initial Tim cited improvements in safety completion, flushby, workover, resources Tim Phelan through automation and the design of abandonments, snubbing and downhole hands-off technology to limit manual and intervention services. “The automated pipe handler, iron handling and reduce risk exposure roughneck, hydraulic elevators and for the drilling crew, as key trends in This includes the full suite of support slips and Blowout Preventer Handling technology and techniques over the last activities needed for successful are designed to improve efficiency and decade. operations in both conventional and reduce risk exposure for the drilling unconventional oil and gas. crew,” Tim said. “Rig and equipment packages are modular in design to provide greater A CSG exploration drilling project for Easternwell’s Ideal Prime Drilling Rig flexibility and improve logistic efficiency Santos from 2009 to 2013 was a large 106 – currently working for Tri-Star by reducing non-productive time during feather in the cap for Easternwell Petroleum in the Bowen Basin before rig moving, rig up/down time and reduce allowing the company to develop new mobilising to the Perth Basin for Strike transportation costs,” he said. innovative technology and to hone Energy – is a 1500 horsepower AC Triple invaluable technical skills. Drilling Rig for conventional gas wells. In CSG drilling, said Tim, the challenges are mainly around logistics and moving Easternwell designed, engineered and “The technology of the rig sets it rigs efficiently from one well to the next built three Advantage Drilling Rigs – Rig apart from other drilling rigs with safely and efficiently with as little non- 101, Rig 102 and Rig 103 – in Australia enhanced mobility, unparalleled control, drilling time as possible. specifically for this project which increased torque, enhanced safety and commenced in 2009. environmental features,” Tim said. “Clients demand highly efficient rig moves,” he said. “In some cases we are “At the time the rigs were an innovative “With a mast capacity of 750,000 pounds, broadening our services that we are and revolutionary advance in the CSG 1,600 barrel mud system and three expected to provide or subcontract, for drilling industry,” Tim said. 1,600 horsepower mud pumps, this rig’s example, wireline and cementing services.” capability extends from drilling deep, high “Their superior safety features and design “Where we may be on deeper wells for allowed for efficient and accurate project Coal seam gas 30-plus days, a typical CSG well takes delivery while minimising environmental is the largest three to four days to drill so we are disturbance and noise pollution.” drilling scope regularly moving the rig,” he said. in Australia by Easternwell’s Advantage Drilling Rig number of wells “Through a combination of our operations, 101 is currently working on a one-year and number engineering and projects teams we contract with Origin, upstream operator of rigs drilling continually work on improvements to our of Australia Pacific LNG, to provide those wells. rig move capability to reduce the time that drilling services in Queensland’s Photo courtesy it takes to move a rig.” CSG fields. of Easternwell. Tim said there was also an increased Rig 103 – currently working for Galilee focus on leadership competency at Energy – has a mast capacity of 180,000 Easternwell with the introduction of ‘Assist pounds and is capable of drilling CSG & Assure’, a leadership skills program production and coring wells as well as developed by Shell and supported by conventional gas wells to depths of Safer Together that focuses on engaging 1800 metres. the workforce through three strategies: (1) transition to work; (2) working safely; and (3) effective supervision - before, during and after work.” Maintaining competent crews, added Tim, was another challenge for the business and the industry given its cyclical nature. “In working with our customers we endeavour to establish longer term drilling arrangements to keep people engaged in the industry and to attract new people into the industry,” he said. “We operate a Registered Training Organisation to provide high quality and contextualised formal training and leverage on our drilling and workover operations to maintain consistent work for our rig crews and support teams.” Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 25

ENERGY - COAL SEAM GAS Drillers wanted for R&D The University of Queensland’s Centre for Coal Seam Gas is keen to work with a driller in R&D on predictive maintenance. Jamie Wade writes. Speaking to Australasian Drilling, A novel transparent well simulator developed at UQ allows researchers to see Centre director Professor Andrew what’s going on inside the well during testing. It is being used to trial a number of Garnett said his Centre wanted to technologies for the onshore gas industry. work with a driller to gather data on drilling rig parameters in order to Using special sensors and where we’d like to place instruments predict failures. algorithms Andrew’s Centre on a rig just to listen and see what the is looking to collect data then signals are in normal phase.” “We’d be very keen on talking to a analysing it to look for items that drilling contractor about researching could soon fail, for example, if a top “We’ve got a number of detectors on predictive maintenance or predictive drive is going to fail in a few hours rigs anyway, but unfortunately people analytics, because we know we’ve or days. have forgotten precisely how they work got the maths to do it and the right or what they were actually measuring.” sensors,” he said. analytics or detection of insipient failures.” The University of Queensland Centre for Andrew said his Centre had done some Coal Seam Gas, is a university-industry work on two types of analytics projects “We’d very much like to talk to some partnership between The University of with drill rigs and wanted to do drilling contractors, because we’ve got Queensland, APLNG, Arrow Energy further research. some ideas which are quite exploratory and Santos. The first was a drilling optimisation For more information, contact project that looked at existing, standard Andrew on 0437 991 802 or drilling data such as weight-on-bit, [email protected] torque, strokes per minute et cetera. “We’re talking about large amounts of data here that roll off the rig,” Andrew said. “Here we were looking at ways to use the data to optimise drilling parameters per whole section drilled or per formation drilled. We’ve had quite a bit of success from a very large dataset that we got from an operator.” The second type of project looked at drilling performance. “Here we’ve been looking at prediction of lithologies from drilling data,” Andrew said. “The next thing we’re wanting to look at is, one, determination of rock properties and, two, prediction of insipient failures.” Insipient failures are an imperfection in the state or condition of an item so that a degraded or critical failure might or might not eventually be the expected result if corrective actions are not taken. Using special sensors and algorithms Andrew’s Centre is now looking to collect data then analysing it to look for items that could soon fail, for example, if a top drive is going to fail in a few hours or a few days. “We’re looking for data-driven predictive analytics,” Andrew said. “Rotating equipment would probably be a good candidate for predictive 26 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

ENERGY - COAL SEAM GAS Southern states must lift their weight The gas industry’s peak body says governments in the southern states on the east coast should lift bans and moratoria, and get on with the job of environmental assessments and decision-making for gas projects. Jamie Wade writes. Australian Petroleum Production & More than $387 million was paid to landholders as at June 2017. The industry also Exploration Association director contributed $1.8 billion in royalties over forward estimates. external affairs, Matthew Doman, said Queensland’s industry continues to More than 27,000 people are do, how we do it and the benefits we do the heavy lifting in the east coast deliver,” he said. gas market while other states refuse employed directly and indirectly to produce the gas needed for their Opposition households and industry. in the industry that contributes Groups such as Lock the Gate have “The failure of NSW and Victoria to $3.9 billion in wages and salaries been very active and vocal in their facilitate the development of their opposition to coal seam gas extraction considerable onshore gas resources each year. and hydraulic fracturing, and Matthew is putting strain on states which do said their position was ultimately support resource development,” environment in the coal seam gas aimed at shutting down all fossil fuel Matthew told Australasian Drilling. extraction industry in Queensland production activities. had improved following introduction Matthew added that the ongoing threat of reforms to better align tenure “The group’s claims should be of market intervention by government requirements with operations. New understood in that context, and it is to divert gas from Queensland to dispute resolution mechanisms have notable that Lock the Gate has been southern states was a significant also been introduced for land access. forced to correct misleading statements concern for industry. on several occasions,” he said. Queensland has also established a Queensland’s coal seam gas (CSG) socialised financial assurance fund, “Queensland’s gas industry has industry accounts for most of the gas which will ensure taxpayers do not bear successfully worked alongside produced in the east coast market for the cost of rehabilitation. While the fund farmers and regional communities for use in manufacturing, power supply, was developed in response to concerns many years. Most of the gas used on households, fertiliser, food processing, related to the mining industry, it also Australia’s east coast is coal seam gas.” and plastics. covers petroleum and gas. Matthew said the community’s attitudes Queensland produced 1526 PJ of gas “Queensland regulation has evolved to coal seam gas extraction were in 2017-18. This compares to 1851 PJ over many years. While the state most supportive in the areas in which total gas consumed in the east coast continues to have some of the most it operates and that support has been market in 2017. The (CSG) industry extensive regulatory requirements steady for several years. contributes $9 billion in value added globally, some elements have been to the economy annually with 3100 refined to better suit industry operations “Concerns about hydraulic fracturing Queensland businesses benefiting, and/or community expectations,” and production practices have declined mostly in regional areas. Matthew said. significantly over time in Queensland and are now at a very low level,” he said. More than 27,000 people are employed APPEA is maintaining a policy agenda directly and indirectly in the industry focussed on ensuring access to “Accurate, accessible, and trusted that contributes $3.9 billion in wages resources, efficient and safe operations, information about how the industry and salaries each year. The industry and maintaining and improving the operates has informed community also contributes more than 50 gigalitres industry’s social license to operate, said perceptions and been a key driver of of clean water to beneficial use each Matthew. this shift.” year. More than $387 million was paid to landholders as at June 2017. The “APPEA is also committed to building For more information, contact industry also contributed $1.8 billion in community understanding of what we APPEA on (02) 6247 0960 or royalties over forward estimates. [email protected] “Many of the industry’s workers are based in regional communities,” said Matthew. “Regional areas with petroleum and gas development have lower unemployment rates than the state average.” “The industry supports and sponsors a variety of community programs in areas such as health and education.” Matthew said the regulatory Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 27

SONIC DRILLING New technology making sonic super Tighter regulations on emissions and demand for safer systems and diagnostic capabilities are driving the new wave of sonic drilling rig technologies. Jamie Wade writes. Sonic drilling is fast, safe, and can be Geoprobe’s 8150LS rig running a rapid rate in an effort to add safeguards utilised in a number of industries and DT45 weighted wireline system. Sonic to sonic rigs. While these controls can drilling applications, but its success also drilling has grown in popularity largely add a level of complexity to rig design, depends on good drill crews who know because it can be applied to a broad it does yield a much safer working how to operate their equipment safe spectrum of applications. Photo platform for the driller and operators.” and efficiently. courtesy of Geoprobe. “Machine controls also can also speed That is the key message to drilling Rig diagnostics, Mike said, was also up troubleshooting various issues on contractors from Geoprobe tools becoming more common. the rig. In some cases, the on-board engineer manager, Mike Carlin. diagnostics can point the driller or repair “With modern technology, machine technician directly to the problem.” “Sonic drilling has grown in popularity issues can be communicated to the largely because it can be applied to a driller right at the control panel. This is Mike said the development of tooling broad spectrum of applications,” he told very helpful when troubleshooting the racks and rod loaders, such as the Australasian Drilling. various issues that occur on any drilling Geoprobe indexing rack and integrated rig,” he said. rod loader, did not require drillers or “It can be successfully utilised in such operators to constantly lift tooling as it a broad scope of drilling conditions – “In some cases, the rig diagnostics is tripped in and out of the borehole. hard rock to soft sediments. This type of can be accessed remotely by the versatility has helped grow the industry manufacturer or service technician who “There is also some use of wireline to what it is now.” can be thousands of miles away. This sampling systems such as the Geoprobe also adds an additional level of service weighted wireline system which can “That said, there could be a learning and support to the driller and his crew.” add significant efficiency on some curve for new sonic drillers as drilling platforms and projects.” they learn how to operate sonic Technology equipment in these various conditions Demands and applications. It can be a rough In terms of how the latest sonic drilling honeymoon.” rig technology can boost productivity, When it comes to sonic drilling rigs, efficiency, environmental standards and Mike said, end users want options and In reflecting on recent trends and safety, Mike said that Geoprobe had seen versatility as well as good service developments in sonic drill rig more efficient tool handling which has and support. technology Mike highlighted three key increased productivity while reducing drivers of change in rig design. injuries and fatigue on operators. “Companies which invest in sonic equipment want to utilise their “Recently, there has been significant “This can be seen in some tool handling equipment in multiple industries such emphasis on engine emissions. This is systems that are integrated into as environmental, geotechnical, mining starting to create some challenges for machine functions which allow for and geothermal. Increasingly, rigs have manufacturers and drilling contractors faster and safer handling of drill stems available options like drop hammers, who have to comply with these and tooling,” he said. coring heads, rod handlers et cetera.” emission standards,” he said. “Machine controls are advancing at a Sonic rigs and most modern drilling rigs, “There have been deadlines tied to said Mike, have grown in complexity some of these emission standards over the last decade. which has created additional challenges for manufacturers and contractors. The “Control systems and even hydraulic time and resources required to meet systems today are not what they were these emission standards has left some 20 years ago. This has created a real companies struggling to keep up.” need to provide service and support to sonic customers who need to minimise Greater development of systems downtime,” he said. designed to minimise tool handling, Mike added, was another key driver. “There are plenty of customers who still repair and maintain their sonic “In some cases, “hands free” operations equipment internally, but there is a are required,” he said. “Obviously, growing need to provide this type of this is in an effort to minimise injury service support, especially to customers to personnel required to handle the with multiple rig operations.” tooling during the course of operations. There are also more safe guards built For more information, contact Mike at into the controls of the rigs as well that Geoprobe in the United States help to minimise the risk of injury while on +785-404-1105 or using certain machine functions.” [email protected] 28 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

SONIC DRILLING The power and the passion Passion and an understanding of resonance and its limitations are keys to getting the most out of sonic drilling rigs, according to the director of a Dutch sonic drilling rig manufacturer. Jamie Wade writes. Huug Eijkelkamp, of the Royal LargeRotoSonic EC sonic rig set up based on a CAT excavator allowing every type Eijkelkamp Group – a company of inclination needed. specialising in products and turn key smart sensoring projects for water and “As sonic drilling is often done with et cetera to deliver the best results in soil applications – is emphatic about drilling speed and sample quality.” the benefits of sonic drilling rigs. telescoping and different casing Huug highlighted a case where sonic “If you have any difficult drilling business diameters there is 100 percent drilling rig technology enhanced dam case, from drilling through steel, landfill, safety for a Dutch contractor. wood, rock and other obstructions, hands-off drill steel.” consider sonic drilling or sampling. The contractor assisted in the North This technology lets you think outside “We can provide our sonic rigs with of Sweden to map an earth dam the box and have success,” he told monitoring while drilling systems which 100m high. Australasian Drilling. measure up to 12 parameters including g-force of the sonic resonance. This last Previous attempts to take a sample in Sonic technology has revolutionised parameter can be correlated into many the dam through boulders and glacial drilling over the last 10 years in terms of other parameters such as hardness sediments were unsuccessful. However, commercial reliability, added Huug. et cetera.” using a sonic drill rig the contractor was “Our Eijkelkamp SonicSampDrill business able to sample through the dam with 6” “With an installed base of over 500 is working on a new type sonic rig which core – a special dual wall core barrel – sonic rigs, and with clients all over the will have an algorithm that will allow 30 metres into the solid rock below and globe working in mining, geotech, parameters such as sonic frequency, install inclinometers, sensors et cetera environmental, geo construction and amplitude, rotary speed, bit pressure in the rock and earth dam body. other markets, we see greater market acceptance for the technology.” For more information, contact Huug on T +31 313 880 291 or In reflecting on the trends and [email protected] developments in sonic drilling rig technology, Huug highlighted three main changes. “Firstly, as sonic drilling is often done with telescoping and different casing diameters, there is 100 percent hands-off drill steel. We have several manipulators handling different diameters drill pipe and casing,” he said. “The second key change is development of a sonic proof wire line system ‘SonicWireLine’ that we designed to avoid tripping time of the inner string. This system has been tested for an offshore submergible sonic rigs and will be commercially launched for onshore use.” “The third is the expansion of sonic drilling rigs for geo-construction applications. We have designed several sonic rig series for construction drilling. These rigs have a smaller footprint with more power that makes drilling three to four times faster. The rigs are also cleaner and safer.” Huug added that drillers were demanding more data from rigs and this was equally applicable to sonic drilling rigs. “The trend worldwide is data. We see the same thing with sonic drilling,” he said. Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 29

SONIC DRILLING Meeting the need for speed Recognition of the speed and ability of sonic rigs to drill through mixed soils and cobble without jamming up is rapidly growing. Jamie Wade writes. As the developer and patent-holder Those capabilities are pretty big on any Dodging a myriad of gas, water, of modern sonic drilling technology, driller’s list,” he said. telephone, sewer, fibre optics and Canadian mechanical engineer and other service lines in downtown president of the Sonic Drill Corporation “Sonic drilling technology offers the Manhattan, New York USA, an SDC and Sonic Drilling Ltd, Ray Roussy, has very unique ability to drill three to five sonic drill was used to drill more than been a pioneer. times faster, depending, of course, on 200 freeze-holes as part of a subway soil conditions,” he said. system upgrade in New York. In addition to numerous patents, he is also the patent holder for sonic “The technology also provides “When a single sonic rig was brought geothermal loop installation and sonic- continuous, high-accuracy core in, it was able to drill, case, loop and pile/sonic pile-anchor installations. With samples to 100m and beyond, and grout 23 geothermal holes in two weeks more than 35 years in the field, Ray operates without drilling mud. These flat. It was a stunning result, but pretty has won four awards and thousands factors allow projects to be completed typical for a sonic rig.” of dollars in prize money for his faster and, with 70 percent less mess, revolutionary sonic drilling technology. site clean-up is cheaper and quicker.” For those looking to purchase a sonic rig for the first time, do your due In reflecting on the evolution of this Sonic drilling technology, added Ray, diligence, Ray advised. relatively new technology, Ray said its has also proved itself in applications adoption was growing. where environmental sensitivities were “Some rigs are twice as powerful of concern. and have the benefit of being fully “Each year more holes are being drilled developed over decades of field-testing using sonic technology. Around the “The sonic drill is often specifically and development,” he said. world this field continues to expand as requested in government contracts due more machines are built and sold,” he to its non-intrusive abilities,” he said. “Ask for personal use testimonials before told Australasian Drilling. you invest in the technology to ensure “Because vibrations from the drill bit are that you have purchased the right rig.” “We’re also seeing a slow resurgence of not transmitted very far, penetrations geothermal again, despite fluctuating can occur into sensitive areas such as For more information, visit natural gas prices. With more critical eco-systems, unstable terrain or www.sonic-drill.com environmental consumer awareness, vulnerable situations where traditional many builders and homeowners are drilling would cause more harm or be looking for ways to reduce emissions impossible to complete. As such, it’s or create net-zero buildings with been used for projects such as dam geothermal being a large part of that.” remediation, nuclear site investigations and hazardous waste site reclamation.” The technology, added Ray, continues to evolve. Ray said that, on many occasions, his company’s sonic rigs, were called in as “We are very close to perfecting the “rescue rigs” to help save a project that use of a sonic drill to install solar panel has floundered, usually because of soil posts which reduces the installation conditions. time from one week to one day – a huge cost savings,” he said. In one typical example, three standard rigs had been working on a geothermal “We’ve also recently patented the extension to the Langara community sonic pile and sonic pile-anchor which college in Vancouver, Canada – a offer some substantial seismic benefits project that subsequently won an award along with other advantages in building for sustainable construction. construction.” “After nearly two months, the standard Looking further down the road, Ray rigs had only drilled 18 holes in total due anticipates the integration of artificial to ground conditions,” Ray said. intelligence to automate some drilling applications and remove repetitive aspects. Langara College Geothermal Extension The main benefit of sonic drilling Conventional Rig Sonic Drill Rig technology, said Ray, is its speed. Three rigs on site One rig on site “With sonic rigs in use around the world, the most positive feedback we received Two months drilling Two weeks drilling is the sonic drill’s blistering speed and its ability to drill through mixed soils 18 holes installed 23 holes installed and cobble without getting jammed up. 1 hole per 10 days 1-2 holes per day 30 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

ENERGY - GEOTHERMAL New depths in geothermal A drilling technology provider has achieved great success in Otaniemi, Espoo Finland by drilling to 4600m in what is said to be the deepest hole drilled in Finland. The geothermal project is part of The project required drilling geothermal deep-rock wells at Otaniemi, Espoo Finland. a wide-scale effort in Finland to INSET: Numa Patriot 185 & 125 hammers were used in drilling the deepest hole reduce the reliance on fossil fuels by in Finland. finding renewable sources. It is a critical effort fully embraced to move toward The project required Numa to design “The project required the design energy independence. and manufacture many specialty drilling and manufacture of many specialty components including custom porting drilling components including The project undertaken by Numa and adapters to facilitate proper air lift. custom porting and adapters to required the drilling of two holes to facilitate proper air lift.” support a new geothermal plant. Special stabilisers were also provided by Numa to further promote verticality For more information, contact Numa Upon completion of the project, one of drilling. vice president Dave Gorman in hole will be used to pump water down Connecticut, USA on +404.216.3700 or through the bedrock that will act like Numa President, Ralph Leonard said [email protected] underground heat exchanges. successful deep hole drilling had been the forte of Numa products for The heated water will be forced back many years. up the second hole to a heat plant system on the surface to provide clean, “Whether it is drilling to 5300m in West environmentally-friendly energy at a Texas or 4600m in Finland, Numa has the fraction of the cost of fossil fuels. It is DTH technology, expertise and service to estimated the heat plant will produce up get the job done right,” he said. to 40 megawatts of geothermal heat, which is up to 10 percent of Espoo’s Application: geothermal deep-rock wells heating demand. Location: Otaniemi, Espoo Finland Hammer: Numa Patriot 185 & 125 hammers The geothermal project utilised multi- Bit: conventional DTH bits with PCD and retainers stage, telescopic drilling methods to Hole size: 656mm to 305mm reach the desired depths. Depth: 4600m Formation: granite up to 520 MPa hardness The first stage used Numa’s Patriot 185 Rig type: Hydraulic HerrenKnecht German Double with 418 Ton Pull Back hammer and 26” (660 mm) retained bits with PCD carbide to drill down to 274m. The second stage used a 17.638” (448 mm) PCD bit to drill down to 2900m where the hole was cemented. The third stage used a Numa Patriot 125 hammer specially fitted with fully retained PCD drill bits to ensure strict hole diameter was maintained throughout drilling. Bit sizes from 12” to 12.500” (305 to 318 mm) were used in stage three until a depth of 4600m was achieved. Overall, Numa’s DTH products delivered an average rate of penetration of 10 to 25 metres per hour and drilled up to 300m per day in the hardest rock formations in Finland up to 520MPa hardness. It took Numa products only a few short months to reach the record-breaking depth which was estimated to take 70 percent less time than comparable deep hole drilling methods used in the past. As with many deep hole drilling projects, keeping a consistent hole diameter and verticality were critically important. Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 31

SKILLS Big change to awards and casuals Changes to a number of industrial awards could have a huge impact on the drilling industry. Itch associate advisor people and culture Anne-Marie James writes for Australasian Drilling. In an effort to combat the growing “What is new is the requirement term means you have a reliable source casualisation of the Australian of human capital. workforce, and the apparent job for employers to make insecurity that goes with it, the Fair These employees become more valuable Work Commission – Australia’s national employees aware of their rights as they contribute in an engaged and workplace relations tribunal – made committed way to the success of some changes to a number of awards in within the first 12 months of the business. October last year. employment.” Your payroll remains reasonably static, These changes could have a huge and you can plan for short-term casuals impact on the drilling industry, but you’d Although you must offer the ‘right to to cover planned leave periods. It also be forgiven for not knowing anything convert’ to casual employees, you also means increased retention of company about them. Many HR professionals have the ‘right to refuse’ if you can IP, site-specific experience, training costs didn’t even hear about the changes until prove in writing within 21 days that you and all the time and effort you put into after they happened. have reasonable business grounds to upskilling a worker. refuse the request and consult with the Several awards, including the Mining employee regarding these reasons. Additionally, casual workers are Industry Award 2010, now include significantly more likely to be involved in a clause which lays out the rights of What constitutes ‘reasonable business workplace accidents, so maintaining a casual employees to request to be made grounds’ is open to much debate, but in permanent workforce also means lower permanent employees – part time or full short, you need to be able to prove your LTIs and insurance costs. time – after they have been working for reasons are based on facts, which are 12 months on a ‘regular and systematic known or reasonably foreseeable. The cons basis’ with a reasonable assumption that they will continue for at least 12 months. The pros The most obvious change is that employers begin to accumulate leave This isn’t new in all awards. Industries For employees, it means job security – liability – suddenly payroll processing, such as construction have been anyone who has worked as a long-term record keeping, and leave accrual operating this way for a long time. casual knows the challenges it can bring management becomes significantly with it – feeling like you need to go to more complex, not to mention What is new, however, is the requirement work when you or your child is sick, the scheduling headaches now that workers for employers to make employees aware difficulty taking extended breaks without can take annual leave. of their rights within the first 12 months pay, the challenges of trying to secure of employment. a home loan or car loan – these all add Secondly, employers may try to make up and cause significant financial (and casual hours less systematic, so workers By 1 January 2019, all casual employees relationship) stress. do not qualify for conversion to who were employed on 1 October 2018 permanency, therefore, actually reducing should have received advice from their Stressed employees become disengaged job security of casual workers. employer about the right to convert employees, their productivity goes from a casual to a permanent employee, down, their safety vigilance goes down, Thirdly, and quite importantly, including a copy of the relevant clause and your staff-retention goes down too. these rules also apply to labour hire from the applicable Award. companies, which are especially For a casual who has been working vulnerable to this change. They cannot Importantly, this applies to casual regular, systematic hours, and reasonably plan their workforce without knowing employees who don’t even qualify for expects to continue this job security the future needs of every single client, this right (which has caused a lot of could be an attractive option, even if it so they understandably don’t want confusion). means losing 25 percent ‘casual loading’. to be tied to a permanent workforce especially if it means paying out leave If you employ casual workers and you For businesses, it helps with workforce and redundancy pay. didn’t know this you’d better get moving, planning and budgeting – knowing your because this is a legislative breach, workforce is secure, loyal, and long- As a reaction, labour hire companies which could result in penalties against may start simply terminating employees your business of up to $63,000 and to prior to the date they need to be ‘responsible individuals’, up to $12,600. offered permanency or even before 32 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

SKILLS the six-month mark, to avoid unfair By 1 January 2019, all casual employees employed on 1 October 2018 should have dismissal claims. This is bad news for received advice from their employer about the right to convert from a casual to a clients. It means all the training and IP a permanent employee, including a copy of the relevant clause from the applicable award. systematic casual worker has gained on client sites will be lost. That means more “If you are a direct-employer employees are quite happy getting injuries, more training time, more strict their 25 percent loading and have no supervision, lower productivity and less of long-term casuals, make intention of requesting permanency. worker loyalty. sure you send every single one All casual employment contracts or EBAs Complexity must define exactly what is meant by of them notification of their ‘casual employment’. They also must You may have heard about Workpac vs include both the percentage of the Skene, but if not, this is a legal case with right to convert to permanent hourly rate that is casual loading, and massive risk implications for business, what this ‘in lieu’ of. If you don’t have which rely on a regular and systematic employment if they meet the employment contracts, now is the time casual workforce. to fix that! criteria.” Skene worked FIFO for two years on Keep labour hire suppliers informed a casual contract. His contract clearly one of them notification of their right about expected project durations and stated that he was considered a casual to convert to permanent employment if workforce needs. worker, and that his hourly rate included they meet the criteria and include a copy ‘casual loading’. of the casual conversion clause in the Your input may be needed to supply relevant award. ‘reasonable business grounds’ to refuse a Upon termination Skene claimed that casual conversion or they could transfer he was entitled to payout of notice and If they were already an employee on 1 the employee to you permanently. annual leave, and that he was in fact a October 2018, you must send this now. permanent employee. Think about whether you are regularly Going forward, you need to send this losing good casuals who are employed Skene won his case and an appeal information to casuals within their first via labour-hire within six months. because while his Enterprise Bargaining 12 months including anyone employed They may be dodging obligations to Agreement (EBA) classified him as a since 1 October 2018. offer permanent work and doing your ‘casual’, it did not define what a ‘casual’ business a disservice. was, and even if it did, an EBA cannot Make sure your payroll systems can negate the law. manage permanent employees, so For more information, contact you can keep required records and Anne-Marie on (08) 6140 1802 or There is no definition of a ‘casual’ in the manage entitlements. Note: many casual [email protected] Fair Work Act, or the modern award he was covered by, so ‘casual’ was defined under the well-established common law characteristics of a casual worker: there is no commitment; the work is unpredictable, irregular, intermittent and lacks continuity; and there is no certainty to the period of employment. As a 7/7 FIFO worker for two years, with a roster that was 12 months ahead, Skene’s employment absolutely did not meet the criteria. Therefore, he was granted all permanent termination entitlements. “But what about ‘casual loading’?” You ask… Because the casual loading was merely mentioned in the EBA, and did not define the percentage, or what it was ‘in lieu’ of, it was ruled that the entitlements to be paid to Skene could not be offset by the paid casual loading. What you can do If you are a direct employer of long-term casuals, make sure you send every single Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 33

PDC BITS Drilling down on PDC bits Call them Polycrystaline Diamond Compact (PDC) bits or PCD bits, but one thing is clear: this technology has been one of the most important advances for drilling in recent years. Steve Mellish of Carbide Bit highlights the benefits for Australasian Drilling. The PDC bit that combines the Pre-heating 17 and-a-half PDC hole opener for tipping. Photo courtesy of Carbide Bit. hardness and wear resistance of diamond with the toughness and impact PDC bits compare exceptionally well “PDC bits compare exceptionally resistance of a tungsten carbide have against all other bit types when used in almost made drag bits a thing of the past the correct formation. well against all other bit types and almost put the tricone to bed. Maximising life when used in the correct They now outperform conventional bits in about 80 percent of formations. Drillers can maximise PDC bit life firstly formation.” by buying the bit best suited to the The use of PDC bits is not just limited ground being drilled and, secondly, by their Pockets -usually on the outer of the to conventional rotary bits. Their use is ensuring adequate fluid (mud, foam or bit, as evidenced by the blurred edges of only limited by drillers’ and engineers’ air) is used to clean the face of the bit pockets being in the opposite direction imaginations and are used on core bits, with correct jet nozzle sizing to match of rotation. underreamers, fiberglass casing cutters, the available fluid flow. shoe bits, reaming stabilisers, ream while Too high a rotational speed in hard drilling, bi-centre bits, hole openers and Drillers can encounter problems with ground can cause overheating and RC Bits. PDC bits when there are changes in burnishing of the cutting edges, formations i.e. soft with hard bands. increasing the risk of composite failure. Basically, PDC bits are designed to They can also run into problems from shear the ground, rather than crush or excessive weight and/or rotation speed Pending catastrophic failure, we find the grind as with the tricone and other bits. that can cause the bit to bite too hard majority of PDC bits can be refurbished They have no moving parts and are not and possibly damage it. Some say that from one to six times, if not overrun. subject to seal or bearing failures like two-thirds the weight of the drill string is tricone bits. adequate on bit, as a guide. Before refurbishing, a PDC bit should be sandblasted, crack tested, thread The PDC bit concept, with no moving Lack of stabilisation and too light inspected, gauge diameter checked parts, lends itself to being a tool suitable a drill string can cause “stick slip” and compact count suitable for re- for reliable and economic refurbishment. which is more common than realised. use evaluated. If it is not written off by This happens when the bit is stalled structural cracks, unrecoverable thread They perform best when the designed momentarily. damage or unrecoverable gauge wear formation is married to the ground to be then the compact count to be replaced drilled similar to tricone bits, but with a The drill winds up and then released, becomes the major cost. different concept i.e. an 8 blade, 6mm causing the bit to run backwards at cutter bit is not suitable for clay/shale the face. None of this is obvious at the For more information, contact and a 3 blade, 19mm cutter bit is not surface, but can be seen when the bit is Steve on (07) 3375 1167 or suitable for hard rock. inspected after use and the compacts [email protected] have been loosened or pushed out of PDC bits exceed rate of penetration to other bits due to shearing versus crushing/grinding and overall extended life of bits. PDC bits come in all sizes from 2 blade roofing bolt drill bits to 12 blade 24” bits and large diameter hole openers. As a general rule, the harder the ground, the more blades and the smaller the cutters. When drilling with large diameter bits and hole openers, lower RPM, proportional to the diameter is used as high peripheral speeds tend to burn the compacts on the outside diameter. Well-made bits vary; how much you pay is related to the overall life of the bit. 34 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

PDC BITS Bit selection and care Tru Nguyen of Asahi Diamond Industrial Australia reflects on the benefits, trends and developments in PCD (or PDC) bit technology for Australasian Drilling. Jamie Wade writes. PCD bits may be robust, but must still PCD bits may look similar but they come in many different shapes and sizes for be treated with caution and care, specific applications, so choosing the right tool for the job makes a big difference. advises Tru. the right tool for the job makes a big “PCD bits may look similar but “If you are looking after your bits, they difference.” they come in many different will perform better and you will have less shapes and sizes.” cost per metre and lower refurbishment For more information, contact Justin or costs,” he said. Fernando at Asahi on (02) 9997 7033 or [email protected] If sourcing PCD bits, said Tru, the price reflects quality. “You get what you pay for,” he said. In terms of the latest trends and developments in PCD bits, Tru said manufacturers were developing bits with greater flexibility and durability to drill through strata of various compositions, abrasiveness and hardness. Tru emphasised the importance of choosing the right PCD bit. “Use high quality diamond tips, and look for PCD bits designed to optimise precise guided drilling, while maintaining the hole size and integrity. “PCD bits may look similar but they come in many different shapes and sizes for specific applications, so choosing • Large Diameter Rigs • Engineering & Certification • Exploration & Production Rigs • Drilling Rig Repairs & Upgrades • Presenter Range 1 3.5”- 30” Handsfree • Make & Break 12” 60,000 Lbft • Trailer Mount Range 3 Presenters • Stairs & Walkways Systems • 20,000 Ftlb Rated Presenter Clamp • Fabrication, Assembly & Commissioning WE MANUFACTURE QUALITY SPECIALISTS IN CUSTOM BUILT LARGE DIAMETER DRILL RIGS & DRILLING RIG EQUIPMENT Presenter clamps designed for efficient rod trips and hands free operation, one jaw fits all pipe with two adjustments of 3.5” - 18” & 20” - 30” pipes, 20’000 ftlb rated on every pipe size. Designed to fit other brand presenters. Visit www.kleintindustries.com.au | P: 0488 999 185 | [email protected] Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 35

TECHNOLOGY & TECHNIQUES Diverters a safe alternative to high pressure zones An alternative to blow out preventers can cost-effectively divert pressure from high-pressure zones and energy sources, according to Tiger Fluids Australia and PNG manager Rhys Clarke who writes for Australasian Drilling. Intersecting high-pressure zones “Annular diverters are an Five-inch annulus diverter in use on site. (high-pressure water) and/or energy Photo: Tiger Fluids. sources (methane) while drilling can excellent method of ensuring the lead to equipment damage, lack of wireline strippers, Poor Boy degassers, production and loss of life. These issues safety of personnel onsite and stabbing valves and Kelly cocks etc. are particularly prevalent within the coal and gas fields of Queensland and New are easy to set up, lightweight, All equipment is purchased or South Wales, but are also experienced manufactured to order in Australia throughout Australia. robust and pressure rated to except for the bladders and other nitrile sealing rings that are bought as “Redress The systems are most commonly used 3000PSI.” Kits” from Select Energy Systems in for both above and below ground Canada, for whom Tiger Fluids are the diamond drilling for high-pressure water The wireline stripper assists in slowly exclusive distributor in the Asia Pacific and when intersecting potential stored pumping down or bringing the inner region. This also expands Tiger Fluid’s energy sources. tube to surface and also prevents capability to service small oil and gas the operator from pulling the tube drilling operations with a variety of Within the oil and gas industry, full stack too quickly, which may lead to hole downhole and in pipe pressure blow out preventers are commonly used swabbing or a kick. control equipment. to prevent blow outs or kicks. However, within the mineral drilling sector they can An intersection of a methane pocket in Our diverter workshop and warehouse be very expensive and, in most cases, not WA in the early 2000s led to an ejected are in Gatton, Queensland. suitable for rigs due to size restraints. inner tube and subsequent rig fire. Luckily, no personnel were injured. After For more information, contact Rhys on Annular diverters offer a cost-effective the incident an annular diverter system 0417 601 100 or solution for safely diverting high- and training were put in place to prevent [email protected] or pressure zones and energy sources. this type of incident reoccurring. Chris Steel at Tiger Fluids on 0481 949 341 or [email protected] Although using an annular diverter system Tiger annular diverter is the safest way to divert potential kicks, www.adia.com.au the driller and onsite personnel must be In October 2018, Tiger Fluids expanded diligent and keep a close eye out for vital its product and service capability by signs when a kick may occur. acquiring the annular diverter product line. Tiger Fluids now sells, rents and Some of these signs include pit gains, pit stocks personalised systems and spare losses, loss of water return and ejection parts as well as doing in-house pressure of inner tubes. testing and re-certification. Training and system familiarity are Our current diverter sizes are 4” of the utmost importance when high- and 5” and we are in the process of pressure/stored energy zones investigating the viability of introducing are expected. a 7” system. Methane is a highly flammable gas and Diverters are most commonly used in can be deadly. coal drilling and artesian waterwells to provide a safety shut-in or pressure Annular diverter systems and training divert function should high-pressure gas can be tailored to suit each client’s or fluids be encountered while drilling. individual requirements and to ensure the safety of all personnel onsite. Diverter systems can be assembled to accommodate various types and size One important item of the system when of casing connection which are made coring is the wireline stripper. to order and may be accessorised with choke manifolds, choke lines, Guiberson When diamond drilling, the easiest escape route for stored pressure is normally up inside the rods. 36 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019

TECHNOLOGY & TECHNIQUES Portable solids pump at AOG ADIA member Dynapumps was one of 250 exhibiting companies showcasing technology at the Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference (AOG 2019) in Perth – Australia’s largest oil and gas event. On show at the company’s stand The unit has no internal moving was a portable solids pump – a components and is fully automatic. one-man vacuum loading, pressure discharge pump capable of recovering It has a high vacuum and high airflow, and transferring up to 10m3/hr @SG1.0 and delivers up to 500m. (44USGPM) of almost any flowable material. The pump has a high solids content transfer and is available in 316 The pump generates up to 25”Hg+ of stainless steel. vacuum combined with high airflow, which allows the unit to transfer Other features include spillage recovery materials ranging from mining slurries and transfer, sump cleaning and and oil sludge through to cementitious de-silting, tank bottoms and sludge powders and grains. extraction, pneumatic excavation, and dewatering. The pump is employed worldwide to service farms, mines, drill rigs, For more information, contact construction sites, process and power Dynapumps on 08 9424 2000 or plants and many more. [email protected] The intrinsically safe and versatile Dynapumps’ Giuseppe Scuderi [left] and Ricky Lucas [right] with Supavac global sales pump uses 100 percent compressed air director Daniel De Groot showcasing the Supavac SV60V portable slurry pump at the operation. Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference (AOG 2019) in Perth in March. PHOTO: Jamie Wade. TRACK MOUNTED AND COMPACT The 9410-VTR PowerProbe is a powerhouse. It can come loaded with a winch, SPT hammer, direct push hammer, and auger motor. The 9410-VTR’s hydraulic system is load sensing allowing for better operating efficiency and fuel economy. The PowerProbe 9410-VTR does more than just direct push. • Environmental & Geotechnical Exploration • Hollow Stem & Continuous Flight Augering • Mud and Air Rotary Capable • Mast Oscillation • Oscillating Tool Selector • Optional Cone Penetrometer Testing • Lockable Control Panel Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 Equipping the World to Sample the Earth www.ams-samplers.com 800.635.7330 | 208.226.2017 | [email protected] www.adia.com.au 37

MEMBER NEWS Premises and truck range expanded A Perth-based importer and distributor of heavy-duty off road vehicles has expanded its premises and is rolling out a new range of trucks with a look and feel more suited to on-road driving. Jamie Wade writes. Offroad Trucks Australia (OTA), that Offroad Trucks general manager Amber Gaden and staff alongside a new truck for imports and distributes the Czech- McKay Drilling at an open day at Offroad Trucks’ expanded Maddington premises. made TATRA trucks, recently celebrated Photo: Jamie Wade. expansion of its Maddington premises with the grand opening of a new appeal to drivers such as Bluetooth, “We’re confident the new range will workshop. electric windows and central locking. open doors to markets that limited our base models. Our hub reduction models General manager Amber Gaden said “Our current Phoenix range is a light air were speed limited to 85km, so they business at OTA had turned a corner. suspension configuration with 11.5 tonne weren’t particularly great for highway/ rear axles,” Amber said. road usage,” Amber said. “We’ve had one of the best years for quite a few and we can see the next year “The range will expand in the coming “With the new range we can now tap is going to be wonderful for us,” she said. years offering the heavier suspension into markets such as logging, civil and hub reduction as previously contracting, government and people The expansion doubles OTA’s service configured on the T815-7 and that drive more on the highway than off capacity and will allow it to meet T815-2 models.” road.” renewed demand in the market. The range also features newly developed An increase in the front axle weight limits “Basically, we’d outgrown our facilities. PACCAR MX engines made by DAF in Australia, said Amber, has also opened We were bursting at the seams,” she told Trucks N.V. whose technology has up a whole new market for OTA. Australasian Drilling. been proven in the United States in compliance with EPA 10 emission limits. “Main Roads WA recently announced “With the expanded facilities we can that twin steer load sharing trucks fitted put more mechanics on, have more While OTA does not envisage the new with 385 super single tyres can now pre-deliveries and increase spare parts range to become the main seller, it is have a 12 tonne limit. Previously it was 11 inventory and facilities.” a strategic move aimed at tapping into tonne,” she said. new markets. “When we started the business we Amber said OTA was equipped to stock thought we’d never fill the premises. “Many customers still prefer the tough 100 percent TATRA spare parts for the Here we are 15 years later and we’ve had ruggedness of the existing T815-2 and T815-2 and T815-7 models and the to double capacity.” T815-7 models, but the new range Phoenix range in its warehouses. means we can expand our offering Amber said OTA’s expanded premises to three models and hopefully have For more information, contact Amber and facilities meant it could also cater to something suitable for everyone,” at Offroad Trucks on 0438 945 303 or increasing demand for custom designs Amber said. [email protected] and features from customers. In line with the expansion, OTA is also rolling out a new generation of trucks – the Phoenix range – that build on TATRA’s renowned offroad toughness with new features designed to improve the on-road driving experience. The new range is built on the TATRA chassis that gives the vehicle, and in particular its driveline, increased resistance to environmental effects. According to OTA, dirt, mud and sharp stones will not damage the drive shafts, and the protecting central backbone tube makes powertrain maintenance very simple and affordable. Trucks in this range can reach 100kmph on road. They have a bigger engine – 460HP or 510HP – with a ZF AS Tronic semi-auto transmission and a DAF cab with greater comfort for the driver. The range has more of the features that 38 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

TECHNOLOGY & TECHNIQUES Core and chip scanner showcased Boart Longyear is showcasing a range of exploration solutions, including an innovative core and chip scanner, at the world’s largest construction machinery trade fair: Bauma 2019 in April. Jamie Wade writes. Considered the largest construction and “The technology is said to South Australian Premier Steven mining machinery show in the world, Marshal [second from left] presents Bauma attracts over half a million people provide geologists with non- Boart Longyear’s Peter Kanck [left], from over 200 countries. Ry Zwadzki [second from right] and destructive, accurate, high- Shaun O’Brien with the Premier’s This year’s Bauma is focusing on Award in the Mining Equipment, digitisation within the industry, as density elemental concentration Technology, and Services (METS) companies transition to the latest sector for Excellence in Innovation: technologies to provide more data for same-day continuous Productivity Improvement for Boart actionable data. Longyear’s TruScan technology. analysis of drill core.” Boart Longyear has introduced a Normally, analysis involves collecting number of geological data services and The solution was awarded the South core on pallets, transporting it to the instrumentation over the last few years Australian Premier’s Award for 2018 in laboratory, and then the laboratory to complement its drilling services and the Mining Equipment, Technology, and schedules the core for analysis. Once products divisions. Services (METS) sector for Excellence in core analysis is complete, the results are Innovation: Productivity Improvement. returned to the geologist which can take One solution that is receiving much days to months. attention in the exploration industry is The technology can scan and Boart Longyear’s innovative TruScan onsite photograph a full tray of core and This new technology is being used in core and chip scanning technology. provide geochemical data within 25 exploration activities in Australia and minutes of the core being brought out Canada with plans to roll out in other The technology is said to provide geologists of the ground. parts of the world. Boart Longyear offers with non-destructive, accurate, high- TruScan as an independent service to density elemental concentration data for mining clients or the technology can be same-day continuous analysis of drill core. bundled as a part of a drilling services agreement. The technology can scan and photograph a full tray of core and provide geochemical data within 25 minutes of the core being brought out of the ground. Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 39

MEMBER PROFILE GRE pipe a game changer A Perth supplier instrumental to the early uptake of Glass Reinforced Epoxy (GRE) pipe in the oil and gas industry to solve corrosion and safety hazards is honing its niche. Jamie Wade writes. From humble beginnings in 1992 Barrow Island has over 1700km when Russell Parry established the of GRE pipe with much supplied company, Adtech FRP has become widely and installed by Adtech. recognised as driving the adoption of GRE as the standard in pipe for the oil and Chevron decided to change all their With its head office in Malaga and gas industry. production flowlines to GRE.” pipe yards in Bullsbrook, WA and Jondaryan, QLD, Adtech FRP – FRP As a specialist contractor, the company Barrow Island has over 1700km of GRE short for Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic now only provides casing and tubing pipe with much supplied and installed – provides solutions to corrosion for made in GRE. by Adtech. the water, mining, oil and gas industry. “Over the last 10 years many companies During the course of developing have moved away from steel, as clients Adtech came across the the benefits of GRE has become waterwell market. acknowledged and accepted,” Adtech’s Denyl Jarden told Australasian Drilling. “This led to the Water Corporation requesting GRE product for them to “In the coal seam industry, we worked perform testing, collapse and burst et with government bodies where a decision cetera,” Denyl said. was made that any coal zones that may be mined in the future would use GRE.” “The application of GRE tubing and casing became a standard installation Not only is GRE non-corrosive, it does not by the Water Corporation. The non- spark to create an ignition source. This corrosive benefits and smoothness of the makes it ideal for applications where there bore provided significant cost efficiencies is the potential for machines to make over the wells operating life.” contact with pipe when working through ground. The outlook is bright for Adtech. “It is also very simple to drill out if “The market has turned around over the required. Relining of old steel bores has last 12 months,” said Denyl. been a cost-effective solution,” Denyl said. “We are experiencing greater number of enquiries and level of business in Australia “Smaller diameter GRE can be run in and Argentina.” the old bores and cemented in. The smaller diameter bore due to its Hazen- Glass Reinforced Epoxy (GRE) does not give off a spark to create an ignition source. Williams flow factor provides similar flow capabilities to the original larger diameter steel.” With its head office in Malaga and pipe yards in Bullsbrook, WA and Jondaryan, QLD, Adtech FRP – FRP short for Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic – had its first order from the WA Water Corporation for pultruded FRP structures that Adtech made in to ladders, platforms and supplied grating. “We are proud of the fact we are still dealing with the Water Corporation,” Denyl said. “Adtech played a key role in introducing GRE to the oil and gas industry in Australia to solve their corrosion issues in production flowlines. It took time to develop and have clients work through test lines and examine product in service over the years. The result, however, was that companies like 40 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

MEMBER PROFILE Manufacturing at Feaver pitch A Perth-based drilling tool manufacturer with a small but dedicated and loyal team has been quietly, yet diligently, serving the drilling industry for 30 years. Jamie Wade writes. In a world becoming increasingly [R – L] Feaver Tools general manager Richard Stickland, workshop manager Jon Rue, corporatised, it is refreshing to receivals and despatch manager Terry Bowker and Sundara Moorthy who manages encounter a business that still does drafting and design. PHOTO: Jamie Wade. things successfully the old-fashioned way: understanding individual customer “Drilling equipment today has to “There is a clear structure here and needs and delivering. everyone clearly understands their role,” be consistently high quality and he said. Feaver Tools has been making tools for the drilling industry since Paul Feaver durable.” “We now have a workshop manager, established it in 1989. a receivals and dispatch manager, and - Feaver Tools general manager leading hands in each section at the You will not find a website for Feaver workshop. The business has grown from Tools, or glossy brochures, but visit their Richard Stickland a small workshop to a structured team Welshpool premises and you will meet environment with key people.” an energetic and dedicated team busily “Between our leadership team and making drilling consumables for RC and the senior tradesmen team we have a In reflecting on trends and waterwell, DTH, dual rotary piping combined experience of over 150 years developments in the drilling equipment and casing. in the drilling industry.” that the company manufactures, Richard said products in the market 10 General Manager and part owner “I’ve got 36 years of experience in to 15 years ago would not stand up in Richard Stickland, who has been with the engineering including 24 years in the today’s market. company since 2013, said the business drilling industry. Our operations team has earned a reputation for product comprises four staff and has combined “Products today have to be consistently knowledge and delivering for its clients. experience of 63 years. We have senior high quality and durable,” he said. tradesman that have worked with me in “Many businesses are run by people the drilling industry for many years, with “For example, back in the day people who just look at the figures with very 22 years, 18 years, 10 years, and others were changing air swivel seals weekly! little customer engagement,” he told with eight to five years’ experience.” Now we’re going up to 3,000 hours Australasian Drilling. without having to change them.” “We don’t have a high turnover of staff. “We keep it real. Most of the staff here Once people come in, they normally “At the end of the day it’s all about have a trade background. I’m a fitter stay. We try to keep it a very good keeping drillers drilling.” and turner by trade. We work hard team environment and get everybody and everyone goes out of their way to involved.” Feaver Tools employees 20 staff understand clients’ needs.” manufacturing a variety of drilling Contributing to the company’s success, equipment at its Welshpool workshop “Many of our orders are at short added Richard, was a focus on continuous with a combined workshop footprint of notice with tight turnarounds, so you improvement to procedures and practices 2020 square metres. need experienced staff with a sense – especially around logistics. of urgency and the ability to work as For more information, contact Richard a team. All our staff has some level on (08) 9258 8571 or of engagement with clients. It’s a [email protected] relationship we believe is important to engender. We get our people to understand that a job is not just for such-and-such company or client; it’s for the person.” Richard said the Feaver Tools’ team was unique, as many of the staff had varied backgrounds and experience in the drilling industry. “Our people come from a range of backgrounds, from the oilfield, mining, waterwell, RC and dual rotary. Collectively, this knowledge and information counts for a lot,” Richard said. Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 41

NEW ZEALAND DRILLERS FEDERATION EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT Cautionary tales on safety Debbie Lovett Executive Officer. COUNCIL Ihave recently been involved with health The second incident regards contractors. An PRESIDENT and safety through my voluntary golf electrician was working inside a silo and was Mel Griffiths administration. trapped when the farmer turned the auger on. Mobile: 021 433 137 [email protected] Prior to this, it had been a few years since I There were various breaches of the Health had to deal with health and safety as a part of & Safety Act including working in confined VICE PRESIDENT my job. spaces, no harnesses worn, no training or Sam Woodford SOPs for the procedure and nothing to Mobile: 027 660 8484 All the delightful acronyms have returned to prevent the silo being turned on. Apparently, [email protected] my vocabulary, when I had been hoping not it is common practice to stand on grain in to have to deal with them again! However, a silos throughout the farming community, so EXECUTIVE OFFICER couple of cautionary tales have also come to harnesses were not worn. Debbie Lovett light, and it seems timely to remind everyone Phone: 03 6881 356 to ensure all their procedures are up to date, Following the hearing the farmer was fined [email protected] being followed and are all signed off. about $60,000, but the contracting firm whose employee was trapped was also fined Councillors The first one concerns a golf club. around $40,000. Dale Preston The club had good health and safety The contractor was found guilty of failing Mobile: 027 447 0909 procedures including standard operating to take all practicable steps to ensure safety [email protected] procedures (SOPs) for all their equipment, up of its employees at work. This incident is a to date hazard registers, a skills matrix and reminder that you are not only responsible for Iain Haycock they held toolbox meetings, including risk your employees – you are also responsible Mobile: 021 730 574 assessments, for all the volunteers before for contractors on your work sites. Not only [email protected] each session. do contractors and their staff need to be inducted, you have a responsibility to check Jeff Ashby On the day of the incident they had that their health and safety procedures are Mobile: 021 705 111 volunteers using a log splitter to work on up to date and cover any work conducted on [email protected] felled trees. your property. Malcolm Clemence They had two people loading the log splitter According to the Worksafe website, “Each Mobile: 027 222 1587 to avoid lifting injuries and another person year our health and safety inspectors carry [email protected] operating it. out 12,500 workplace assessments. These are proactive, planned visits and are not usually Marcus Durrant Unfortunately, one of the volunteers crushed triggered by a report of serious harm or a Mobile: 027 448 0890 their finger which resulted in a partial health and safety complaint”. [email protected] amputation. Aside from making sure that all your Mark de Goldi Worksafe investigated and the club applied employees get home safely from work each Mobile: 027 577 2006 for an enforceable undertaking rather than day, are you taking all the necessary steps in [email protected] court proceedings. your business to ensure that everyone in the company understands their obligations under Pip Buunk (While an enforceable undertaking is an option, the new Health and Safety at Work Act? Mobile: 0274 240 108 it must be applied for and is never offered). [email protected] Under the members only section of The outcome was that, as the manufacturer’s nzdrillersfederation.co.nz we are intending to Russell Baylis operating procedures recommended one provide links to helpful information and also Mobile: 0274 424 417 person only to operate and load, the club was invite members to share any of their health [email protected] found in breach. The total for the enforceable and safety tips with other members. undertaking was estimated to cost upwards Steve Faulkner of $70,000. For more information, contact Debbie on Mobile: 027 730 9999 03 6881 356 [email protected] [email protected] This can be viewed at worksafe.govt. nz > Laws and Regulations > Enforceable www.adia.com.au Steve Pilcher Undertakings. Mobile: 021 516 720 [email protected] Tim Babbage Mobile: 027 470 0777 [email protected] Tony Lyons Mobile: 021 672 949 [email protected] Zane Brown Mobile: 021 842 475 [email protected] 42 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019

NEW ZEALAND DRILLERS FEDERATION PRESIDENT’S REPORT Difficult time for New Zealand Mel Griffiths President At the time of writing, our country is in “The NZDF council agreed to the tick box for ‘Registered Driller’ site mourning for the 50 people killed in visitors will be able to see the companies New Zealand. This is a shocking tragedy donate to Givealittle.co.nz, a that have registered drillers. This will that has hit our country hard, especially enable a transparent way for clients Christchurch. page that was set up for the to gain some further confidence in our members’ training, abilities and So first, as the president of our victims and families.” competency. federation, I give our deepest condolences to the family and friends of path for current personnel and future We will be discussing these topics and this tragedy. generations. It brings a co-ordinated many more at our next council meeting. and consistent approach to identify the The NZDF council agreed to donate to mix of skills, experience, training and If members want to bring an issue or Givealittle.co.nz, a page that was set up qualifications within the industry. detail to the Council’s attention please for the victims and families. Once this is in place a list of drilling do not hesitate to let Debbie Lovett companies with registered personnel know at [email protected] At a time like this, it is hard to know will be available on nzdrillersfederation. and we will always add this to the list of what to do to help those who are co.nz > Find a driller. Then, by selecting agenda items. grieving. As a New Zealand federation and organisation, we are part of our Keep safe. community and feel that this is the least we can do to help ease the pain of the For more information, contact Mel at Muslim community in our country. NZDF on 0421 433 137 or [email protected] All we can hope for is that this tradgedy is never repeated and that Council is working towards a non-hydrocarbon drilling rig audit check sheet that will as a country we pull together to keep be proposed to WorkSafe New Zealand. our communities safe and our country strong. Kia Kaha New Zealand. With regards to council work, we are working towards a non-hydrocarbon drilling rig audit check sheet that we will be proposing to submit to Worksafe to enable appropriate checks of drill rigs and sites. On occasion, Worksafe has been using hydrocarbon audit check sheets that mainly deal with the oil and gas industry, and this has proven to be a difficult process for some of our members. Once we have a draft check sheet, we will circulate to our membership for comment. This should be out before you read this article or not long after. The NZDF is also proposing to send a letter out to stakeholders that use our members’ services that outlines our drilling registration process established in July 2015. At present there is about 80 personnel registered under this scheme. The purpose is to provide recognition of a visible and evidenced career Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au 43

QUIET INDUSTRY ACHIEVER Keeping it real: Peter Pacey From offsiding on a Longyear 38 with “Rig hands free operation is the Queensland Department of Mines progressing quite well. More rig in 1974, to managing drilling for Lucas builders will need to take up the Drilling today, Peter Pacey has seen challenge.” many changes. He reflects on his career for Australasian Drilling as the quiet AD: Looking back on your career, what In a career spanning five decades industry achiever for this edition. are you most proud of? - What has been Lucas drilling manager Peter Pacey your greatest achievement? has covered - and drilled - much AD: Who taught you the ropes? ground. PP: The proud moments usually came PP: My driller was Bill Slattery and my after pulling off a difficult fishing job AD: What do you think are the supervisor was Ned Johnston. (mostly caused by Kiwi drillers). One of opportunities for change in the industry my achievements has been to sort the in the next five years? AD: How have you steered and truth from the bull***t some drillers say developed the projects or teams in when things down hole have not ended Rig hands-free operation is progressing which you’ve been involved? up as planned. quite well. More rig builders will need to take up the challenge. PP: It was the era when the Warman top AD: What do you see as the most drive rigs came out, and working with significant changes in the drilling To get in contact Peter on 0427 203 428 Hans Gruger, John Ackland and crew to industry during your career? or email [email protected] make them the greatest coring rig. PP: High pressure air, impregnated The Warman, of course, has evolved to coring bits, top drive diamond drills and the Sandvik 880. hands-free rod handling. Improvements to the safety culture of drilling teams AD: What unique or difficult jobs have have been a huge change. you completed? AD: What’s been your relationship PP: The biggest challenge I faced in the with ADIA and its previous body? What drilling business while I was working for benefit has membership provided to Tom Browne of Pontil Drilling operating you? the angled diamond directional drill pilot and then hole opening them with a PP: Attending the ADIA meetings are a hammer. The Mt Isa area is hard, tough great opportunity to engage with people ground and faulted in some areas. in the industry and old mates. Reading Australasian Drilling magazine has kept AD: Who are the interesting characters me informed about the latest drilling that have made an impression on you technology. while working in the industry? PP: Col Koonsey and Fang Holdcroft come to mind, but there are a thousand good people out there that I can say have helped me along the way. Manufacturers of engineered solutions for all screening applications using S/S wedge wire. • Round Screens Supplier to the Mining, Water, Sewerage, Food Processing • Flat Screens • Sieve Bends and Agricultural Industries. • Trommels www.condaminescreens.com.au • Centrifuge Baskets • Suction Strainers P: +61 7 4634 5311 / F: +61 7 4634 5344. 62 Industrial Ave Toowoomba QLD 4350 44 Australasian Drilling APRIL/MAY 2019 www.adia.com.au

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