Webster Drilling & Exploration: Professional Drilling Services for New Zealand and Abroad
Webster Drilling and Exploration Ltd. was founded in 1983 as a company able to handle jobs across the spectrum of drilling operations.
The company has carried out contracts covering a large number of services including oil and gas exploration, geotechnical, coal and mineral, environmental, landfill gas extraction, drainage drilling, rock anchor installation and water well drilling.
With such a diverse range of offerings, Webster Drilling and Exploration (Webster) has been able to solidify a strong market hold in native New Zealand, along with a presence in Antarctica, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Canadian Arctic, Indonesia, Seychelles, Iran, Brunei, India, Turkey, Mozambique, Cameroon, Caribbean, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
Headed by Bain Webster, Jeff Ashby and Peter Rutland, the company boasts a senior management staff with a combined total of more than 110 years industry experience.
Service Offerings
In 2011, Webster purchased a highly advanced VR-500 super single cyber drilling rig dubbed Nova-1. In 2012, Nova-1 began drilling wells in the Taranaki basin under contract with TAG Oil.
Nova-1 makes use of the latest technology to create efficiencies in well drilling, and is quick to move and rig up. This rig is equipped with BOP Lifter systems, Mechanized pipe handling systems, Volant casing running tools and more, all with the goal of increasing safety and efficiency.
The company also maintains a wide range of more traditional drilling rigs, including truck and tractor mounted, trailor mounted, skid mounted, helicopter and people portable rigs, workover and oil and gas well drilling rigs. One of the company’s most successful service offerings is anchoring services, especially in Wellington, New Zealand.
Since 1997, Webster Drilling & Exploration Limited has completed 495 rock anchor projects in Wellington. These projects varied in size up from one to 265 anchors. Earthquake strengthening has been an increasing priority in Wellington in recent years and Webster Drilling specializes in tight access drilling equipment to get inside buildings for the installation of vertical seismic uplift anchors, with a recent project totaling 2,450 meters of vertical anchor installation inside an existing building. The company has also completed some very large anchor projects (400 plus) in other parts of the country. Webster Drilling is Wellington’s most experienced rock anchor installer. Able to anchor structures in rock or soil, Webster has become the go-to provider for that service in Wellington.
Continuous Improvement
Through a good portion of its history, Webster has managed HSE and operational risks by amalgamation into large multi-national client HSE programmes.
During the late 1990’s we recognized that in order to achieve a step-change improvement in safety and operational performance, we would have to formalize the long term experience and work practices within a structured framework represented by a management system. The development of an effective management system was to ensure appropriate risk management efforts would be consistently applied by people at the worksite to manage major and other workplace hazards to ensure safe and reliable operations.
Webster’s whole staff management team have completed courses including: First Aid, Site Safe Passport, Helicopter Underwater Escape Training, Gas detection, Permit to Work, Schlumberger Injury Prevention, Schlumberger DriveSmart, Hazard Identification, Blow Out Prevention and Well Cap, IWCF, DICAT Drillers Training, Confined Spaces, Breathing Apparatus, Dangerous Good Training, Emergency Response Training, Explosives Handling, Helicopter familiarization, Helicopter Loadmaster training, Defensive Driving, Chevron Fatigue Management, Firefighting, Working at Heights/Rescue at Heights, Pick and Carry Crane certification, Antarctic survival training, Forklift License, Wheels, Tracks and Rollers training, Fall Arrestor, Heavy Trade License, Truck & Trailer License, BOSIET, and NEBOSH International General Certification.
With such a diversified range of service offerings and an exceedingly well-trained management staff, clients of Webster Drilling and Exploration Ltd. can know they, and their developments, are in good hands with the company.
