HydraWell to work on Absheron P&A campaign for Total

Total E&P Absheron B.V. has selected HydraWell to execute a part of a plug & abandonment campaign at the Absheron field in the Caspian Sea.

Total E&P Absheron is the operator of the field on behalf of a consortium composed of Total E&P Absheron (50%) and Socar Absheron (50%).

HydraWell said on Friday that the company would execute the campaign utilizing its HydraHemera perf, wash, and cement (PWC) jetting system, which can install a rock-to-rock barrier in two days.

According to the company, plugging offshore wells with conventional methods, such as section milling, takes considerably longer time to complete, and drives the associated P&A costs up significantly.

Mark Sørheim, CEO of HydraWell, said: “We have earlier supported Total elsewhere, but this is our first job in Azerbaijan. As cost reductions are still very much at the top of the oil industry agenda, it is great to work with operators to bring our PWC P&A methodology into new offshore regions.”

The P&A campaign will take place at the Total-operated Absheron gas field, 100 kilometers southeast of Baku and 25 kilometers northeast of the Shah Deniz gas field.

To remind, Socar and Total signed a framework agreement in late 2016 on the main contractual and commercial principles regulating the program for the first phase of development of the Absheron field.

At the first stage, the field development includes drilling one well at a depth of 450 meters. The extraction will amount to 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas a year, which will fully flow to the domestic market of Azerbaijan, as well as significant amounts of condensate. First gas could be produced in 2019.