Drilling Academy Graduation
Saudi Arabian Drilling Academy graduates 136 young Saudis
The pioneering drilling institute looks to lead the way with cutting-edge technology, inaugurates new school.
The Saudi Arabian Drilling Academy (SADA) in Abqaiq recently held its fourth graduation ceremony, paying tribute to 136 young Saudis as the move from desks to monkey boards and rotary tables after completing their training.
Among those attending included Abdul Hameed A. Al Rushaid, SADA chairman and Aramco’s vice president of Drilling and Workover (D&WO), as well as other representatives from Aramco, leading service companies, SADA-sponsors, as well as the new graduates.
"SADA is becoming a regional-leading training center in the Kingdom by providing top-quality training programs, and we are aware of our role in supporting the Kingdom's vision," said Al Rushaid. "Our graduates will elevate the level of national growth in one of the most significant development areas.
SADA is contributing directly and indirectly in the creation of jobs for Saudi youth.
— Abdul Hameed A. Al Rushaid
Faisal Al-Daihani, SADA managing director, opened the ceremony by thanking the attendees and congratulating the graduates. SADA management also provided a tour of the academy to provide updates on its many developments and renovations.
Graduate gratitude
All 136 graduates were awarded diplomas and have been offered jobs with their sponsoring companies as floormen or service line operators.
The graduates expressed their graduate to SADA instructors and staff.
Graduate Alwaleed Saad said he feels lucky and proud to have joined SADA, noting he not only learned academic subjects and job skills, but also many life skills and safety knowledge.
Naif Alnazzal, another graduate, echoed Saad’s comments.
This is the first step ahead for reforming my future.
— Naif Alnazzal
Another graduate, Mustafa Al-Qureash, said, “Now that I have a secured job, I can start achieving my dreams.”
A third cheerfully added, “Finally, no more books, no more study. Now it is time for work and only work.”
SADA Vision
To provide global leadership and excellence in training and development for the petroleum services industry.
A leading institute
A pioneer in its field, the nonprofit training organization for drilling is in line with Saudi Vision 2030. It first emerged in 2015 as an initiative by Aramco’s D&WO to join with 34 local and international drilling companies in the field of oil drilling and well services. Its goal is to deliver quality academic and technical training, graduating highly qualified young Saudis to work in the field Kingdomwide.
Since its inauguration in September 2016, SADA has aspired to be the leading institute of its kind in the area through applying the latest and emerging technologies and methods of training on the hands of in-field specialists.
SADA Mission
SADA’s mission is to provide best-in-class training and development for the petroleum services industry in order to meet the needs of drilling industry through highly effective training using state-of-the-art training methods and equipment tailored to the drilling industry.
An ever-developing institute
For almost a year, the academy has witnessed steady and significant progress and development in enrollment, accreditation, facilities, and operations.
Among the improvements in facilities are:
- Revamping staff new offices
- Inaugurating the academic school
- Creating new classrooms to increase capacity from 520 to 1010
- Improved interior design of the Administration Building.
Technical School of Job Skills opens
SADA also recently received a big boost with the grand opening of the Technical School of Job Skills and a visit from top SADA stakeholders officials. During a special ribbon cutting ceremony, Al-Rushaid and members of SADA’s General Assembly and Board of Trustees toured the new building and visited classrooms that were opened to students in summer of 2021
The state-of-the-art building first-hand houses drilling and well control simulators that are crucial for enhancing the learning experience and exceeding international standards in well-control training.
Ambitious beginnings
Planned, developed, and implemented over several phases, the project transformed a storage unit into a state-of-the art technical school with 10 classrooms with space for 200 participants. The facility features two types of well-control simulators and a one-of-a-kind visualization wall, providing it an expanded platform upon which to train and develop young Saudis.
With well-control training and the development of a competent rig crew its primary focus, the new school strives to respond quickly to alerts, thereby saving time, money, the environment, and people’s lives (as well-control certification is the first line of defense in rig operations). The training helps participants protect themselves and others, and gives trainees assurance, control, and confidence on how to run safe operations.
Along with training, the school will provide opportunities to short technical programs for field personnel to simulate and test real operations in a safe and realistic environment before commencing drilling. Test data is plugged into the system to run scenarios, and the machine then analyzes and runs expected results in audio, video, and data formats, allowing accurate decision making. This type of training will help field personnel to develop strong skills.