The IWCF Level 1 Programme and This Course

What IWCF is

The International Well Control Forum (IWCF) is a not-for-profit membership organisation set up in 1992. It sets standards for well control training and assessment in the oil and gas industry, and it certifies people who pass its assessments. IWCF does not teach candidates itself: it accredits training centres and assessment centres around the world, and those centres train and assess. IWCF Level 3 and Level 4 certificates are valid for two years and Level 2 certificates for five, after which the holder must be assessed again; these rules can change, so check IWCF's current information.

IWCF runs two main programmes. Drilling Well Control is for people who work on drilling rigs. Well Intervention Pressure Control is for people who work on wells that already exist, using wireline, coiled tubing, snubbing or workover units. Both programmes have Levels 2, 3 and 4, which build from introductory to supervisor. Level 1 Well Control Awareness sits below both: it is a free online awareness programme for people who do not operate well control equipment but who need to understand what well control is and why it matters.

Who Level 1 is for

IWCF describes Level 1 as a free well control awareness course that enhances understanding of how well control incidents occur, their potential consequences, and the key strategies used to prevent them. It names three groups who should take it: new industry entrants, students and graduates; well control personnel and ancillary service providers; and anyone interested in understanding well control fundamentals. In practice that includes office-based support staff: planners, buyers, logistics coordinators, HR and finance staff, engineers in disciplines other than wells, and anyone who supports a drilling or well operation without working on the rig floor. It is also a sensible first step for someone who intends to work on a rig and will later take Level 2.

IWCF's own Level 1 course has an introduction followed by seven modules: Overview of Oil and Gas; Lifecycle of a Well (written "Life Cycle of a Well" on IWCF's eLearning portal); Drilling Rigs; Well Control During Drilling Operations; Well Intervention and Workover; Pressure Control During Well Intervention; and a Conclusion. Each module ends with a knowledge check, and a final exam with a pass mark of 70% must be passed to receive IWCF's online certificate. This course follows the same six subjects in the same order, with its own module quizzes (also at 70%) as practice, and ends with a module that does what IWCF's Conclusion does: pulls the subject together and prepares you for the final exam.

What this course is, and what it is not

• It is a structured study of the six Level 1 subjects at awareness depth, with practice questions written for this course and three-dimensional simulations you can explore.
• It is not the IWCF programme. IWCF's Level 1 eLearning and its assessment are free and are taken on IWCF's own platform. Take them there once you have finished here.
• It does not train you to operate a rig or well control equipment, and it does not replace the site induction and job training your employer gives you.
• It does not contain real IWCF questions. Every practice question is original. Nobody can honestly offer "recalled" IWCF questions, and you should distrust anyone who does.

If you want a broader awareness course on well control that is not tied to the IWCF structure, the Well Control Fundamentals course covers pressure, kicks, equipment and drills at the same level. The two courses share ground; this one is organised the way Level 1 is.