An oil producing platform in the Dutch sector had become economical and thus the decision was taken to abandon the platform. The Platform consisted of ESP wells and water injectors with a total of 7 wells. These wells were situated on a small Wellhead deck with no platform drilling rig present.
Objective
The decision was made to perform the work using Hydraulic Workover. WellGear successfully won the workscope by offering to build and use their next generation P&A unit.
This unit was designed and built inhouse by WellGear incorporating many years of operational lessons learnt such as to make the process as efficient as possible.
There were a number of known challenges with the scope:
Through careful planning and a close working relationship with the client a fit-for-purpose package was put together that overcame the restricted deck space and reduced crane capacity.
The restriction on bed space meant WellGear personnel had to take on other work that might not normally be expected of a workover crew. To this end the fishing and wellhead work was completed by WellGear themselves without the need for extra third parties onboard.
The abandonment of the Wells themselves went smoothly in general, it was completed in three main phases:
Phase 1: Recover completion and isolate the reservoir.
Phase 2: Set cement plugs and recover casing where required.
Phase 3: Cut remaining Casing and conductor, pin and lift to prove cut.
All of the ESP wells were abandoned ahead of plan and with no issue. When the water injectors were started this was not the case. Severe tubing corrosion was encountered which required multiple fishing trips and milling runs before finally reaching plug setting depth.
The operation was highly successful. The spirit and proactive mentality of the WellGear team was highly commended, as noted by the customer in a highly positive letter of appreciation.
