The UW College of Engineering and Applied Science will soon possess one of the world’s most advanced drilling simulator systems after making a deal with England-based technology company Drilling Systems.
Once the new Engineering Education and Research Building (EERB) is completed in 2019, the simulator, currently being assembled in England, will be installed as one of the building’s main features. After the simulator’s completion, it will be temporarily established in Houston, Texas while construction on the EERB wraps up.
“The goal is to train people how to use this equipment, become certified on it and also develop some course material for the university that’s ready to go in 2019,” Petroleum Engineering Professor of Practice, Doug Cuthbertson, said. “This is going to give us a whole other branch of study we can do, more in-depth in drilling.”
Existing simulator equipment and programs at UW will be augmented by the state-of-the-art additions, creating new education opportunities in the Petroleum Engineering department.
“With this equipment and some of the educational software that’s coming with it, it expands the versatility so we can get into graduate level and hopefully PhD level research,” Cuthbertson said.
In addition to being part of UW students’ education, the DS-5000 simulator will be available for use as a service center that’s open to industry personnel, giving UW an even more significant presence in the energy industry than it already has.
“Oil companies can bring their staff in here, drilling companies can come in and teach their field staff about well safety, well control, some of the nuances of the equipment and also situational awareness training,” Cuthbertson said. “What happens if ‘this’ happens? From a safety and environmental standpoint; how do we prevent a spill?”
The agreement between UW and Drilling Systems is a mutual-benefit arrangement for the two parties to work collaboratively to develop Drilling Systems’s technology and software alongside UW’s educational opportunities, making UW “a true supercenter for the petroleum industry.”
“This won’t be matched anywhere else in the world, really,” Cuthbertson said.
Hands-on education with the current drilling simulator possessed by the department since 2014 has already proven successful. Groups of students are able to work together, carrying out operations and responding to problems they would actually encounter while working on a rig.
“You actually get to see a practical usage of what you’re doing in the classroom,” petroleum engineering senior Ian Johnson said. “It’s definitely unique.”
While the current simulator gets the job done, the DS-5000 will bring even more value to UW students’ education to keep pace with advancing technology.
“Technology and our industry are always updating, in the way we’re drilling,” petroleum engineering senior, Cody Charlesworth , said. “This one might be a little dated in some areas, that one definitely won’t be.”
