On the Norwegian continental shelf, there are around 2,250 wells that will need to be plugged and permanently abandoned sooner or later. Norwegian operators are planning to plug around 300 of these wells over the next five to seven years.
- The permanent plugging of wells will be a pivotal part of the activities taking place on the NCS shelf over the coming years. This makes it vital that we carry out the work safely, while at the same time developing new technology and methods and sharing experiences and key takeaways along the way, says Nina Ringøen from Havtil’s section for drilling and well technology.
Innovation, collaboration and the application of new technology was the subject of Havtil’s seminar on plugging and abandonment on 8 May this year. The event was fully booked.
Presentations from the event can be found here.
The seminar focussed on the sharing of information relating to new technology which is currently undergoing development, testing and qualification and being considered for future use on the Norwegian continental shelf. Operators shared information about past and current P&A campaigns from their respective fields.
Both Havtil and the operators pointed out that sharing collective learning and experience-based knowledge will increase the chances of bringing about continuous improvement, and preventing well control events in connection with the increase in the number of plugging operations taking place over the next few years.
Lewis Harper of the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) in the UK referred to the importance of technology piloting and testing:
- Technology funding is meaningless without offshore piloting and testing, so we need to come together to provide opportunities for the new technology. More importantly, keeping the public authorities involved in these conversations along the way will be key.
Siv Hanne Løkkesveen from Aker BP noted that plugging and abandonment is a natural part of the activity taking place in all fields – and that it is important that safety is also addressed during this phase:
- Sooner or later, every well we drill and design will reach the end of its life. I want to make sure we do everything we can today to design these wells in preparation for safe and efficient plugging operations in the future.
Monica Ovesen, Havtil’s head of section for drilling and well technology, stressed the importance of knowledge-sharing and experience transfer in this area:
- The more we share knowledge across the industry, the better we will all become at managing well integrity and well control throughout the life cycle, from well design to operations and ultimately to the safe plugging and permanent abandonment of the 2,250 wells.