IWCF, which has an established and active branch in Australia, plans to open the office by mid-year, to support all 20 accredited centres in Australasia.

"IWCF opening an office in Brisbane is a great boost for the industry," Professor Sheik Rahman, the director of the national drilling and well control program at the School of Petroleum Engineering, University of New South Wales said at the APPEA 2015 conference in Melbourne.

"As well as being of significant benefit to us in our daily operations, it demonstrates to operators that IWCF takes well control safety seriously.

"Over the years, IWCF has proven very responsive to the changing needs of the industry. It has developed its training courses to deliver a balance of theoretical and practical work and having support from a local office will ensure we can continue to offer the best service to our candidates."

The not-for-profit organisation will be appointing a Brisbane-based regional manager for Australasia who will be responsible for managing and administering test sessions as well as supporting the centres with their day-to-day activities.

The School of Petroleum Engineering at the University of New South Wales was the first centre in Australia to become IWCF accredited in 1998.

Since then, the organisation has grown to have 20 centres across Australia and New Zealand.

"Some of the world's largest oil and gas megaprojects are based in Australia, including Ichthys and the Gorgon joint venture project," IWCF CEO David Price said.

"Such large-scale projects demonstrate the need for a continued focus on well training and accreditation to ensure the safety of oil and gas personnel.

"While improvements in technology and management systems have reduced safety incidents, a culture shift in behaviour and attitude is still needed.

"A local office in Australia will help us provide better support to our accredited centres in Australasia and ensure they can continue to deliver the high standard of training that we expect.

"We don't want candidates to turn up, sit an exam and go away, we want a continual style of learning where we can change behaviours and make individuals feel empowered to act."

IWCF is also investing in new facilities at its headquarters in the United Kingdom to improve training for well control assessors and instructors who address drilling operations and well intervention activities.

The organisation is actively recruiting for new members.