Well Integrity Technical Section

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  • 1.  Rigless P&A

    Posted 05-18-2015 01:12 AM
    This message has been cross posted to the following Discussions: Completions and Well Integrity .
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    Can we permanently Plug & abandon the depleted well through rigless?

    Due to bad road condition, minimum load can be moved, so coil tubing unit is not preferred. Can we P&A the well with MPBT plug above the perforations and place the surface cement plug ? What is the requirement for P&A in this case. 

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    Lajpat Rai
    Petroleum Engineer
    United Energy Pakistan Ltd
    Karachi City
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  • 2.  RE: Rigless P&A

    Posted 05-19-2015 03:02 AM

    Hi Lajpat,

    P&A requirements are ultimately set by regulators: what are the rules in Pakistan? As for best practices, NORSOK D-010 lays out a few minimum standards:

    • Two plugs isolating the reservoir, with corresponding qualified annular cement and a caprock. Mind that you may also have to isolate further intervals with additional plugs.
    • A third surface plug to rule out communication between rocks and (now open) top of the well.
    • Abandonment barrier elements have to last a long time, that's why NORSOK D-010 rules out elastomers - and steel. So the plugs have to be cement plugs.

    A single bridge plug may be an acceptable temporary barrier, but its durability beyond a decade or so is questionable. Setting cement plugs through dump bailer is also not particularly indicated: volumes are small and fluid displacement haphazard. What little information is available, it suggests that they are not reliable.

    So I'm afraid general answer to your question is: yes to rigless, no to the proposed program. It's difficult to see how you can set good cement plugs without at least CT.

    However it all depends on the actual well risk: if you have a reservoir with gas, most definitely not. Same if you have high pressure intervals (with, say, brine). If all you have is a thoroughly depleted oil reservoir, low corrosion potential and good annular cement, then there may be room for a more expedient approach.

    Hope it helps,

    Matteo
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    Matteo Loizzo
    Well integrity consultant
    Berlin
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  • 3.  RE: Rigless P&A

    Posted 05-19-2015 03:41 AM

    Lajpat,

    Typically, the requirement is to ensure that any zone/formation that is capable of flow is isolated.  There is nothing wrong with setting a bridge plug and capping with cement, then setting a surface cement plug to complete the process

    there should be something in you legislation that sets out the requirements for permanently plugging and abandoning a well.


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    Stuart Liddle

    consultant

    Bargara
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  • 4.  RE: Rigless P&A

    Posted 05-20-2015 03:20 AM

    I did write a reply yesterday that seems to have gone AWOL.

    The gist was:

    - agree with advice from Stuart & others.

    - you need to know what's happening in the casing annulus, where the aquifers are, etc. Cementing records alone may be adequate but may need more info, ie CBL.

    - unless you have a monobore sounds like tubing would still be in the well. I would think rigless P&A would be difficult in that circumstance.

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    Terry Greaney

    D&C Consultant
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  • 5.  RE: Rigless P&A

    Posted 05-19-2015 11:09 AM

    The best approach to abandonment is to leave the well and location as you found it.  That might include the condition of the road being assessed.  Does the well have any indications of annular gas or water flows if there is pressure.  Abandonment includes a two barrier approach so a bridge plug above the perforation and a tagged cement plug above the mechanical barrier.  Cement in the annulus at least 30 m above the reservoir and any other open permeable zones water, oil or gas.  Recover casings so there are say 3 m below ground level and a balanced cement plug from say 10 m above and below the casing stubs.  

    If we have a policy of leaving it how you found it, including location.  Maybe set up some water wells and ponds for Telapia fish farms in waste pits on the location so people can sustain themselves with new enterprises.  Course they need chicken manure to grow the algae for food, and some solar and wind power systems could be a bonus.  

    Living from a conscience does give a better return then living by law and hoping for dispensation from regulatory authorities.

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    Wayne Needoba
    LIS Thailand Co. Ltd.
    KarawaraWA
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