In the North Sea area alone several thousands of wells have to be abandoned. Governments and regulatory agencies are informing the offshore oil & gas industry that unproductive wells must be adequately sealed to prevent potential environmental threats.
In the conference part of Offshore Energy 2014 a specific session about ‘ Permanent Well Abandonment ’ is planned to discuss the process leading up to actual abandonment of wells and regulations that need applying in these cases. But also a roadmap to successfully abandon wells flawlessly and cost effectively will be part of the session.
Specialists share insights
Three experts from the field will share their experience. Gert-Jan Windhorst from NOGEPA (Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association) draws a picture that contains both an historic perspective as well as a current point of view. This forms the backbone of the industry guidelines with regards to well abandonment in order to prevent unlikely events and create technical excellence to deliver safe solutions.
These guidelines have been updated via a specific taskforce within NOGEPA. Jules Schoenmakers will present this update. It will highlight the Dutch regulatory requirements and place these in the context of international practices.
Controlling cost in permanent well abandonment
As cost control is a big issue in well management, the focus is on optimization of the process to abandon a well permanently. Schlumberger had developed a solution which they call Integrated Well Abandonment. Project Manager at Schlumberger, Alireza Karimpour will present this solution for well abandonment in an impeccable and cost-efficient manner. Sven Heijwegen, Operations Manager at Balance Point Control will present a case study of a recent rigless abandonment.
[mappress] Subsea World News Staff, October 10, 2014