IADC World Drilling 2025 Conference & Exhibition

IADC World Drilling 2025, the leadership event for wells professionals, will explore our industry’s challenges and opportunities from a strategic, leadership perspective. The event, which convenes in Madrid, on 18-19 June, will focus on five major Topical Areas.  IADC invites submission of visionary abstracts for cutting-edge solutions on each area. Presentations that pose provocative questions, which showcase good examples of cross-industry collaboration and judged likely to prompt discussion are especially welcome. Case histories highlighting detailed content are also of great interest. Prospective presenters may be asked to participate on panels, rather than make a conventional presentation.

ENERGY TRANSITION:  WHAT ARE WE DOING TODAY, AND WHAT PLANS DO WE HAVE FOR TOMORROW? 
Involvement in drilling of geothermal and CC(U)S wells comes to mind when thinking of our contribution to Energy Transition (ET). But what else are we doing, and where? What technologies have been implemented and what plans does your company have for future technology implementation in the ET space? IADC World Drilling is seeking presentations regarding today’s experience and involvement in Geothermal, CCS and Hydrogen projects as well as examples or case studies regarding existing and/or future technology adoption in the Energy Transition space. 

WORKFORCE ATTRACTION, DEVELOPMENT, MOTIVATION & RETENTION
Recruiting young talent to the drilling industry continues to be challenging due to several factors, which include the sector being perceived as being outdated and environmentally harmful combined with the rise of renewable energy and tech industries which offer attractive alternatives that are perceived as more innovative and sustainable.

Further, there is an increasing shortage of candidates with the necessary technical skills, as fewer students are enrolling in relevant engineering and geoscience programs. To address these challenges, companies are focusing on improving their employee value propositions, including career development opportunities, and a positive work environment.

IADC World Drilling is seeking presentations that elucidate the issue at hand and address attracting the next-generation workforce. What are the perspectives of the young generation entering, or having just entered, the energy sector; and what are the skills that will be needed to run tomorrow’s workforce?

RIG MARKETS & OUTLOOK
Companies keep a close eye on the market outlook and are continuously assessing the economics behind those forecasts. To do so, we must not only look at prevailing economic factors and historical performance but also at the possible changes in demand brought about by the green transition. IADC World Drilling is seeking presentations addressing the global industry outlook as well as offshore and onshore rig markets.

CYBER-SECURITY
Cybersecurity is becoming an ever more critical concern in the drilling industry due to the increasing reliance on an array of digital technologies, interconnected systems, and the Internet of Things (IOT). Modern drilling operations use sophisticated equipment controlled by systems related to human-machine interface that underpin design and process strategies for ICS, SCADA, and overall enterprise integrity. These systems are integral to operations but may also present vulnerabilities. The industry’s vulnerability is potentially of further concern due to its decentralized nature and geographic and organizational complexity. We have seen many examples of cyber-attacks such as malware, phishing and ransomware attacks, which cripple operations by locking critical systems and compromising industrial functions. The sector’s reliance on uninterrupted operational capacity makes it particularly vulnerable to such attacks that target vital industrial activities. To address these challenges, drilling companies have been and continue to adopt proactive measures to mitigate cybersecurity, which includes fostering a culture of security awareness across organizations and the upstream supply chain.

We are particularly interested in abstracts addressing how drilling companies may protect themselves against this increasing threat. This would likely include how to improve cybersecurity awareness across the individual organizations.

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS CHANGING THE FACE AND VOLATILITY OF OUR MARKET
The drilling industry is seeing an increasing number of technology advancements, which change the face of our market, and which develops so fast that the volatility of the market also changes. Our clients develop impressive technology advancements which influence our part of the industry. These include exploration and production innovations as well as improved extraction techniques. In the drilling industry itself, data analytics and automation, new safety technologies, new well control technologies as well as robotics are advancements that we can be proud of. Furthermore, the energy transition has an impact on the market by setting new demands for carbon footprint reduction and fuel consumption on rigs and by having an increasing focus on activities relating to low-carbon technologies, such as CCUS, energy storage and geothermal energy. IADC World Drilling is seeking presentations which address how technological advancements (any from the above list) influence the drilling industry from a market perspective.

TIPS FOR A GOOD ABSTRACT AND PRESENTATION: Communicate the strategic value of your proposal. Use Case Studies to the greatest extent possible. Conclude the presentation by summarizing the Big Idea encapsulated in your talk and its ultimate impact. Further, IADC World Drilling prizes diversity in ethnicity and gender.

Authors of selected presentations may be asked to participate in panel discussions. Authors are invited to submit proposals for presentations at the conference. To be considered, an abstract for each proposed paper must be submitted to IADC no later than 13 JANUARY 2025. Authors of selected papers will receive confirmation letters and guidelines by the 3rd of February 2024. Please note that formal papers will be accepted but are NOT required for this conference.

We look forward to your participation and hope to see you at this important event!