Novel collaborative P&A campaign using inflatable packers and bismuth alloy plugs
Adam Bensaied A D , George Farag B D and Jeff Fulks C DA Inflatable Packers International (IPI), Osborne Park, Australia.
B Chevron Australia, Perth, Australia.
C BiSN Oil Tools, Houston, TX, United States.
D Corresponding authors. Email: info@ipipackers.com; George.Farag@chevron.com; Jeff.Fulks@bisn.com
The APPEA Journal 61(2) 536-539 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ20096
Accepted: 17 March 2021 Published: 2 July 2021
Abstract
Chevron Australia, a leading O&G operator on the Australian North West Shelf, executed a plug and abandonment (P&A) campaign where 34 wells (19 offshore and 15 onshore) incorporated a novel bismuth alloy barrier system to the traditional cement plug. The challenge of isolating shallow gaseous zones that cause sustained casing pressure and free gas flow to surface behind the production casing was overcome by this new innovative use of collaborative technologies to provide an optimised P&A solution. The offshore/onshore P&A campaign was completed successfully with significant cost savings, eliminating the lengthy process of section milling more than 100 ft of casing on each well, providing a long-term bismuth alloy barrier in the well and eliminating the potential need to reenter the well later due to a leaking cement plug.
Keywords: plug and abandonment, alternative permanent barrier, gas migration, bismuth alloy plugs, inflatable packers, section milled windows, regulator compliant, gas tight, impermeable.
Adam Bensaied is an Electrical Engineer by domain; he is currently an Applications Engineer with IPI for the past 3+ years; prior to IPI, Adam has worked with Schlumberger for 8 years with downhole testing; he was extensively involved in site execution of this project. |
George Farag is a Drilling Engineer at Chevron Australia. He graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. George has worked in drilling, well servicing and well abandonments for 11 years with experience in deep water, subsea high-rate gas wells to brownfield land well operations. He was the Project Drilling Engineer for this project. |
Jeff Fulks holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Missouri, United States. He currently works as the Applications Manager at BiSN, a position he has held for the past 4 years. With 20+ years of experience in the oil and gas industry, Jeff has worked for both service companies and operators with a primary focus on well abandonment. |
