Darren Stuart

Racing into the 100 club!

Darren joins the 100 club after achieving 100% in his P&P paper, congratulations! Darren currently works as a Senior Drilling Engineer with Exceed. He graduated with an MEng in Chemical Engineering from Edinburgh University in 2011 and joined the industry on the ADTI graduate Drilling Engineer program. Darren joined Exceed in 2018 and has worked on a mixture of Drilling and Decommissioning projects in both offshore supervisory and onshore engineering roles for the likes of Fairfield, RockRose, Repsol, Serica and Centrica.

He lives in Aberdeen with his wife and 2 year old son and in his spare time plays the bagpipes in the Lonach Pipe Band and is an enthusiastic F1 fan.

Darren has chosen the Archie Foundation to donate the £200 cash prize with it being a great local charity who’s work really helped his family when his niece was poorly shortly after being born. A great charity to choose!

Congratulations, Darren!

Muhammad Mubasher

Joins the 100 club!

We’re delighted to welcome Muhammad to our 100 club after achieving 100% in his P&P paper! Muhammad is currently a Senior Night Drilling Supervisor for MOL Pakistan. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Petroleum & Gas Engineering he began his career in the energy sector in 2013. Over the past 11 years, Muhammad has worked with prestigious multinational E&P companies such as OMV, ENI, and MOL.

Muhammad is happily married and in his spare time likes spending quality time with his family, exploring new places through traveling and dining out. He also thoroughly enjoys watching cricket.

Congratulations, Muhammad!

Richard Bolton

Walking into the 100 club!

Huge congratulations to Richard for joining our 100 club after achieving 100% in his P&P paper! Richard is currently working as a Driller, working on BP Clair Ridge for Odfjell Technology, and has worked in the offshore drilling industry for 16+ years.

Richard lives in Durham with his wife, two children and two dogs, and in his spare time likes walking the dogs with his kids.

Richard has chosen the charity Stray Aid – Dogs and Cats Home to donate the £200 cash prize. The charity takes in strays and prepares them for adoption, and is where Richard and his family adopted one of their dogs from. A great charity to choose!

Congratulations, Richard!

Sathish Arumugam

P&P Perfection!

Sathish joins the 100 club after achieving 100% in his P&P paper, congratulations! Sathish currently works as a Senior Drilling Supervisor working for Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB) and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sathish has 8 years of experience in supervising drilling operations offshore on various types of drilling rigs (semi-submersible, tender assisted barge, jack-up, drillship and workover barge) and has been involved in various types of drilling operations on surface & subsea for P&A, workover, development, MPD & deepwater wells.  Sathish is happily married and in his free time likes playing football and going river fishing.

Congratulations again, Sathish.

Kenneth Weir

Riding into the 100 club!

We’re delighted to welcome Kenneth to the 100 club after achieving 100% in his P&P paper, congratulations!

Kenneth currently works as a Senior Drilling Engineer having held numerous well planning and operational roles from Drilling Engineer through to Engineering Team Leader. He has mostly been based in Aberdeen supporting UK sector operations, however he also worked out in Indonesia for 3 1/2 years.

Away from work, Kenneth loves photography, landscape painting and outdoor activities, particularly running and road biking.

Kenneth has chosen the charity Cash for Kids (North East) to donate the £200 cash prize. Supporting families in some of the most depirved areas with beds, bedding, carpets, specialist equipment for children with additional support needs, Cash for Kids is a local charity with all money raised in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and is distributed right here. A great charity to choose!

Congratulations, Kenneth!

Allan Brands

Top marks for Allan!

Huge congratulations to Allan for joining our 100 club after achieving 100% in his P&P paper! Allan is currently a Senior Drilling Engineer with TotalEnergies working on Central North Sea HPHT wells.

He joined the oil industry in 2011 on ADTIs graduate drilling engineering development program and has since worked with various operators in offshore supervisor and onshore engineering roles, including EnQuest and Premier Oil.

Allan has been married for 12 years and has 3 children. In his spare time he enjoys playing golf and football.

Allan has chosen AberNecessities Children’s charity to donate the £200 cash prize. A great, local charity to choose!

Congratulations, Allan!

Philip Downie

Racing into the 100 club

Philip joins the 100 club after achieving 100% in his P&P paper, congratulations! Philip is currently working as a driller and has been offshore since 2007. He has been up and down the ladder multiple times working as a driller to a roughneck and then back again to being a driller.

Philip is getting married in July and in his spare time likes to keep active. He enjoys his cars and also likes to do a bit of DIY when he has the time.

Having his own dog, Philip would like to donate the £200 cash reward to 8 below husky rescue which is a dog rescue charity based down in England which he has been following for years and they do great work. A great charity to choose, Philip!

William Latham

Joins the 100 club!

Huge congratulations to William for joining our 100 club! William currently works as a Drilling Supervisor for Harbour Energy. Having a background in Mechanical Engineering, he has worked in Well Planning and DSV roles in the UK and Norway since 2012 starting at E.ON before moving to Premier Oil and then on to Harbour Energy.

William is married and outside of work enjoys skiing, hiking and running!

William has chosen the charity Mental Health Aberdeen to donate the £200 cash prize. An excellent choice!

Congratulations, William!

John Holland

Sailing into the 100 club!

We’re delighted to welcome John to our 100 club after achieving 100% in his P&P paper, congratulations!

John is a Senior P&A Engineer and is currently planning a North Sea P&A campaign. He joined the oil field in 1993 and has held a number of international Drilling Engineering roles over that time. In his free time John likes to go sailing and walking!

His choosen charity to donate the £200 cash reward to is the Canine Concern Scotland Trust. The Trust was formed to help dogs and their owners, and to improve their position in present-day society. A great charity to pick!

Congratulations, John!

Michael Anderson

Welcome to the ADS 100 club!

Michael is our first member to join the 100 club in 2023 after achieving 100% in his Principles and Prodecures paper, congratulations!

Michael is currently an Assistant Driller with ten years of experience in the oilfield. He is engaged with 2 children; Charlie, 11, and Harriet, 4 months old.

His choosen charity to donate the £200 cash fund to is The Little Princess Trust. The Little Princess Trust provides free real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment or other conditions.

We think they are a great choice, congratulations again Michael!

Khoo Chong Chuan

Top marks for Khoo!

Khoo joins our 100 club after achieving 100% in his P&P paper in our training centre in Kuala Lumpur, huge congratulations! Khoo currently works as a Drilling Superintendent for Petronas having worked in the Oil & Gas industry for 28 years. Starting as a Wellsite Drilling Engineer in Sarawak Shell Berhad in 1994 he progressed to Drilling Supervisor and Front End Planning Engineer. Khoo’s longest work was 12 years in Brunei Shell as Operation/Drilling Superintendent role before joining JX Nippon as Head Drilling.

Khoo is married with three daughters and in his free time likes to workout at the gym, watch movies and relax.

You certainly deserve to relax now Khoo, congratulations!

Adrian Robert Ene

Secures his spot in the ADS 100 club

Huge congratulations to Adrian Robert Ene for achieving 100% in his P&P paper and joining our ADS 100 club. Adrian is currently working as a Drilling Supervisor/Wellsite Leader in Saudi Arabia, working directly with Saudi Aramco. He started working as a Trainee Assistant Drilling Supervisor in his home country, Romania, with OMV-Petrom Company. In between that and his current job, Adrian has worked for Schlumberger in the Netherlands and ItalGas Storage in Milan, Italy.

Adrian met his wife while working on ItalGas Storage Project in Milan , Italy and got married in December 2019. He enjoys skiing and travel in his spare time.

Adrian has chosen the British Heart Foundation to donate the £200 cash fund. A great charity to choose, congratulations again Adrian!

Michael McCulloch

Keeping it local!

Michael is our second person to join our 100 club in 2022 for scoring 100% in his Principles and Prococedures paper, congratulations! Currently working as a Drilling Supervisor, Michael started his career as a Drilling Engineer with TotalEnergies (at the time Maersk Oil) in 2011. Since starting he has had a varied career of both office based Drilling Engineering and site based Drilling Supervisor positions in Norway, Denmark, UK, Qatar and Italy.

Michael enjoys skiing and cycling in his spare time.

His choosen charity to donate the £200 cash fund is to a local one – Aberdeen Foyers. Aberdeen Foyers helps engage with people through education and learning opportunities, and helps get people back into work through education. Michael has chosen this charity as he says he has been fortunate in his career to have been given a good education (including Aberdeen Drilling School), so would like to donate to a charity that helps people with education and developing their skills.

We think they are a great choice, congratulations again Michael!

Jonathan Mayers

Top marks for Jonathan!

Jonathan is our first member of the 100 club for 2022! He is currently working as a senior drilling supervisor on HPHT wells in North Sea. He has been a drilling supervisor for the last 12 years and prior to that he had been a senior drilling engineer for various operators in Aberdeen.

Jonathan has nominated Aberdeen Cyrenians to receive a charitable donation in his name – a charity which provides care and support for vulnerable people in the North East of Scotland.

Congratulations, Jonathan!

Ivan Lunev

Joins the 100 club!

For the past 10 years Ivan has been working for Sakhalin Energy Investment Company. He started as a Production Technology in a multidisciplinary well delivery team before becoming a CWI Engineer/Supervisor where he was involved in multiple Intervention and Completions jobs at the execution stage. Ivan is now an offshore Lead Drilling Supervisor where he is responsible for well delivery from spud to completion/handover stages.

Ivan is married with two son who are 5 and 10 years old. He enjoys snowboarding in the winter and swimming in the summer time.

Congratulations, Ivan!

Pete French

7-Time P&P Champion Breaks the ADS 100 Club Record!

Huge congratulations to Pete French who recently achieved 100% in his P&P paper for the 7th time!! An incredible achievement and a new record for the ADS 100 Club!

Pete is currently working as a Well Operations Manager for Shell Upstream Albania, based in Tirana. He followed a traditional rig-based career path on numerous rig types and well designs around the world. He is now based in Devon with his wife and three children, who are all at university. He spends most of his spare time on his small fishing boat, but also enjoys watching rugby and travelling.

Pete has picked Devon Air Amblance as his chosen charity as they provide an essential service to everyone throughout the remote areas of Devon which is his home county. An excellent charity to choose!

Congrats again, Pete, and best of luck to you for the future!

Kevin Meehan

P&P Perfection for the second time!

We’re delighted to announce that Kevin Meehan passed his P&P paper with a perfect score of 100% for the second time!

Kevin is currently a Senior Drilling Supervisor with DNO in Kurdistan. He started his career as a Roustabout for Kenting Drilling in 1984, began consulting in 1995 and worked in Russia, Middle East and North Africa as a Drilling Supervisor and Drilling Superintendent.

He is married with two boys, who have both left university and have started their working careers. Kevin’s hobbies include being a landlord for his property portfolio, DIY and gardening.

Congratulations, Kevin!

Ken Hayward

One of our own joins the ADS 100 club!

Ken is our latest member of the ADS 100 club, congratulations! Ken is a Well Control instructor for us at Aberdeen Drilling School in our Aberdeen training centre. Being an IWCF and IADC accredited Well Control instructor, Ken has spent many years in the oil industry from the North Sea to the Middle East. He has also spent time in the UK Fire and Rescue Service.

Celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary this year with his wife, Moira, Ken has 4 grown up children who have either flown the nest or will be soon. He has 2 dogs to still look after but says they are a lot less trouble and ask for less!

His hobbies are spending time at home with his wife, walking his dogs, and enjoying peace and quiet in the garden when possible.

Congratulations, Ken!

Agus Riyadi

A perfect score across the board for Pak Agus!

We’re delighted and extremely proud to announce that Aberdeen Drilling International instructor, Agus, recently scored 100% across the board for the THIRD time in a row! That’s 100% in all IWCF Well Control assessments with not a single point dropped. PERFECTION!

Agus joined Aberdeen Drilling International in 2014 as a Senior Well Control Instructor in Asia Pacific, to launch and lead the training in our Malaysian and Indonesian well control training centres. He has vast international experience in developing, instructing and assessing both IWCF and IADC accredited well control and well intervention courses globally, most recently with Weatherford in Abu Dhabi.

He is married to wife Widhiyati and they have two children, Danastri and Astutya. Agus really enjoys spending time at home in Indonesia during his time off with his family and with his cats!

Agus kindly dedicates his 100% score to his friends and colleagues in Kuala Lumpur and hopes to celebrate his achievement with them.

Congratulations, Pak Agus! We’re lucky to have a gentleman like you in our team.

Nigel Sharman

Rides into the ADS 100 Club!

Congratulations to Nigel Sharman who passed his P&P paper with a perfect score of 100% and has joined our ADS 100 club!

Nigel has been drilling offshore for the past 35 years, currently working as a Senior Toolpusher with Odfjell drilling. He is married with four grown up children. In his spare time, Nigel enjoys riding his Harley Davidson.

Well done, Nigel!

Alaa Jasim Falyyih

Meets the P&P Challenge!

We’re delighted to welcome Alaa Jasim Falyyih to the prestigious ADS 100 Club! He scored an impressive 100% in his P&P paper at our Malaysian Well Control centre in November 2019.

Alaa has worked in the industry for many years, with his current role being a Drilling Superintendent for Schlumberger, Iraq. Alaa is married and has 2 boys and 1 girl. In his spare time, he enjoys playing football, relaxing with a good book or watching a good TV show, and taking trips with his family.

Congratulations, Alaa!

Douglas Brown

Eyes on the Prize!

We’re delighted to announce that Douglas Brown has achieved 100% in his P&P paper and joined the ADS 100 Club! He set his sights on the prize as soon as the course began and his efforts have paid off!

He’s worked in the oil industry since 1991, and currently works with CNR as a Drilling Supervisor. Douglas is married with three children, two of which are currently studying at University, one in Edinburgh and one in London. In his spare time, Douglas enjoys hitting the tennis court and golf course, along with taking on some home improvements and farming duties.

Congratulations, Douglas!

Bas van der Woude

Achieves 100% for the 4th time in a row!

Special congratulations to Bas, who has achieved 100% in his Principles and Procedures paper for a fourth time!

Since the last time Bas attended the IWCF course in 2017, he has relocated to the Hague with his wife and 3 children, and is currently working as a Drilling Superintendent for Wintershall Noordzee’s jack-up operations in the southern North Sea.

Bas joined Wintershall in 2004 after obtaining his MSc Petroleum Engineering degree from Heriot-Watt. He went through the 2-year graduate training programme, working for various OPCOs in The Netherlands, Germany, Brazil and Libya. He then went on to work on rotation as a field drilling engineer in the Libyan desert for a 2-year period, before moving to Wintershall Noordzee in Rijswijk, The Netherlands. After working there for nearly 5 years as a drilling engineer involved in planning and operations for jack-up wells in the Southern North Sea, he moved to Norway at the end of 2012. Bas is currently working as a Senior Drilling Engineer in Stavanger for Wintershall Norway, where he is responsible for planning and operations for the exploration wells on-board the Borgland Dolphin semi-submersible.

Bas and his wife Nathalie have been together since 2001. Their first son, Thomas, was born in The Netherlands in 2008 (pictured here, fishing with his Dad). In the spring of 2009 twins (son Jesse and daughter Louise) were born. As a family of five they have been enjoying what life has to offer. Bas tells us, “It has been a hectic ride at times with the three youngsters, but above all really great fun and it has been amazing to watch them grow these past years. They have adapted well to their new life in Stavanger. We are enjoying the outdoors and Norwegian scenery to the fullest!”

A few years ago, Bas picked up cycling on the road bike and in 2014 he rode the infamous cobblestones when he participated in the Paris-Roubaix challenge (170km)!

Don Walker

Takes P&P exam in his stride!

Don Walker has worked offshore for 10 years, starting off as a Roustabout, and has worked his way up to his current position as a Driller. He has been with Noble for almost 5 years and works in the Danish sector of the North Sea. He is engaged to Racheal and they have a 2-year old daughter together, currently living in a small town in North-East Scotland. In his spare time, Don enjoys trips away in his VW campervan (when the weather is nice). He also is a die-hard football fan and supports his local team, Aberdeen FC. COYR!

Well done, Don!

Jack Cronin

The art of performing perfectly and donating to performing arts too!

Jack has worked for Shell for almost 15 years now, starting offshore as a hands-on trainee and then working his way through the standard progression route to Drilling Supervisor.  He’s worked on a number of Shell’s key projects, covering abandonment work, subsea well interventions and most recently, HPHT development drilling. He has also spent some time working in the Aberdeen office as a Well Engineer, and has recently been successful in applying for a new role as a Well Engineering Trainer & Well Control Instructor in Oman, seconded from Shell to PDO. The 100% mark in P&P surpasses the required 90% for instructor qualifications, so it must be a good omen for the new role!

Jack is married to Claire, and they have one daughter, Connie. The three of them live on the Isle of Wight, which is where he and his wife both grew up (thought they didn’t know each other back then)! They both left the island to study and pursue careers and met each other years later. Jack pursued a career as a Well Engineer, and his wife is a Musical Theatre actress. They have since returned to the Isle of Wight and now live in a small village on the South Coast – about as far from the North Sea as possible! Their daughter is now five years old and shows a keen interest in both engineering and performing arts at the moment!

Jack and his family spend a lot of time outdoors on the Isle of Wight, walking their dog Rosie, and working in the garden. He enjoys making things, fixing things, and breaking things, and also likes to go fishing with his dad on their shared fishing boat when time and weather allows.

Christopher Ness

The sun shines on his P&P success!

Christopher is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and Senior Drilling Engineer currently working at Cairn Energy.  He graduated from University in 2003 with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from RGU and joined ADTI’s 5-year graduate programme. On completion of the training programme he worked at ADTI for several years before moving to AGR Well Management. From there he moved on to EnQuest and most recently Cairn Energy.  Throughout his career he has enjoyed working in various regions of the world including the North Sea (UK Sector), Middle East, Falkland Islands and the Mediterranean.

Christopher has been married for 5 years and has 2 young children (a 2-year old and a 6-week old). In his spare time, he loves to play football and spend time with the kids.

Congratulations, Christopher! We hope you enjoy your time in the sun this summer.

Mustafa Ahmadov

Raising the bar for instructor candidates!

We’re extremely pleased to announce that Aberdeen Drilling School instructor, Mustafa, recently scored 100% in all three IWCF Well Control papers recently as part of his biennial renewal. This is the 2nd time he’s achieved a perfect score, raising the bar for instructor candidates worldwide! Mustafa has trained O&G delegates in English, Russian, and Azeri in various countries and he consistently receives praise for his calm and supportive teaching style which complements his wealth of industry knowledge. He spends his free time relaxing at home in Baku or travelling and visiting his now grown-up children. Congratulations, Mustafa! We’re very lucky to have you on the ADS team.

Nicholas Riley

Something to celebrate!

Nicholas is a Drilling Superintendent who currently works at Enquest. He graduated in 1999 from Edinburgh University with a BEng (Hons) in Chemical Engineering before completing an MSc in Process Analytics at the University of Newcastle. He joined the oil industry in 2001 with Halliburton.

Congratulations from all of us at ADS!

Dave Cormack

Dave is "somebody who cares"

Congratulations to an old friend of Aberdeen Drilling School, Dave Cormack, who recently scored 100% for a THIRD time on the Principles & Procedures paper of the IWCF Well Control exam.

Each time Dave has scored 100% he has generously offered to match the ADS award and has donated the total amount to one of Aberdeen’s local charities, Somebody Cares. The charity which started in 2002 and is entirely funded by donations, provides food, furniture and clothing to people who are in desperate and urgent help. More information can be found on Somebody Cares by visiting www.somebodycaresuk.org.

Marius Jaugelis

Top marks for a Top guy

Marius has 14 years’ experience in the offshore oil and gas industry, starting out as a ‘roustie’ in the Forties field and progressing to UDW Driller on Pacific drill ship. He has worked in UK, Brazil, Argentina, West Africa, and also found the time to complete a Petroleum Engineering course through a distance learning programme at Herriot-Watt University.

Marius has been happily married for over 20 years to his lovely wife, Helen. They have two wonderful kids: daughter, Eva and son, Roland. They live in Lithuania and a year ago moved to countryside where Marius always has a project on the go, from chopping wood, to gardening, to construction projects with welding works in the garage. The family occasionally gets also involved, when possible, and safe to do so!

Outside of work, Marius loves to spend time with the family. In summer, they enjoy camping, fishing, and hiking in various places across Europe with the help of their motorhome to get them about. In winter, they’re often found skiing.

Congratulations and we’ll see you again next time, Marius!

Geoff Coker

Soaring to Sunny Skies of Success

Geoff works as a Senior Drilling Supervisor and was most recently working for Ophir Energy in Thailand. He has over 24 years of experience in the oil industry, starting out as a reservoir engineer, moving into drilling engineering and later into drilling supervision. He has worked in 8 different countries, from Australia to Norway, and has seen just about every type of drilling rig there is.

Key interests include popular science, anything mechanical, sports, motorcycles, vintage guitars, watch-making and collecting. Geoff lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with his girlfriend, and has two teenage daughters.

Congratulations again, Geoff!

David C. Portwine

Top marks for David!

David recently achieved a perfect score of 100% in the IWCF Principles & Procedure paper at Aberdeen Drilling School. He currently works as an OIM for Vantage Drilling Offshore Malaysia but travelled to Scotland for his training. He is married with two teenage children.

Congratulations again, David and we hope to see you again in 2 years’ time!

Stuart Waltho

A Triumphant Return!

After narrowly missing the 100% score in 2015 (by one question!), Stuart Waltho returns 2 years later to nab the cash prize and earn his spot in the ADS 100 Club!

Stuart graduated from University of Strathclyde with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and joined ADTI in 2009 through their graduate scheme. He worked offshore as rig crew and Wellsite Drilling Engineer on a variety of exploration and appraisal wells in the North Sea. He then worked as Well Operations Engineer onshore Thailand and North Sea on a variety of Development and Workover projects. He’s currently working as Offshore Well Engineer with Exceed Well Management on a major North Sea subsea decommissioning project.

In his spare time, Stuart enjoys outdoor activities such as Golf, Road Cycling, Mountain Biking, Running, Sailing, Skiing, Surfing, but during the winter months, he sticks to indoor sports of Badminton and Swimming. He also has a keen interest in cars, with his current Audi S4 avant carrying the necessary sports equipment wherever he needs to go in all varieties of Scottish weather.

Patrick McGrath

P&P Perfection for Patrick!

Patrick is currently employed as Staff Wells Engineer / Well Ops Supervisor with Shell UK.  He started in the oil & gas business twelve years ago as a Mud Logging Geologist and tells us that it was an exciting adventure for someone born and raised in the Midlands where there is very little exposure to the offshore energy industry!  In 2006, he moved to Aberdeen and started a new job, working for Schlumberger Drilling & Measurements as an M/LWD Engineer before then becoming a Directional Driller working on call across the North Sea.  Four years later, he took an assignment on rotation to Saudi Arabia, where he worked for Schlumberger Middle East as a Directional Driller on the land rigs in Manifah and in Shaybah (in the Empty Quarter!).  Then, hungry for new challenges, he moved back to Aberdeen 5 years ago to work for Shell as a Night Drilling Supervisor on platform and semi-submersible drilling rigs. Over that time, Patrick has been involved in some very exciting projects, both as a Wells Supervisor offshore and as a Well Engineer onshore.  Currently, he’s planning the first ever campaign of subsea wellhead recoveries for Shell UK, which will help to define Shell’s strategy for this type of work in the future.

When he’s not doing DIY jobs at home, Patrick likes to go hiking and trail cycling.  He also loves to travel and, as a certified technical tri-mix diver, he’s always eager to plan his next dive holiday! Exploring the World War 1 wrecks of Scapa Flow was a highlight for him in 2016.

Congratulation again on your achievement!

Michael Ari Dhanto

Revved up and ready to take on the P&P Challenge!

Michael is currently working as a Well Engineer at Schlumberger. He started at Schlumberger IPM working as a trainee rig crew member in Australia with CBM drilling. He then moved to Indonesia as a well engineer for the Wayang Windu Geothermal drilling project, and is now in Iraq as a night supervisor/well engineer for the ENI Zubair drilling project. He’s been in the industry for 4 years in total.

Michael likes to travel and, as a proud owner of a Kawasaki Ninja ZX636, he is a big fan of motorcycles!

Congratulations, Michael!