Plugging and Abandonment of Oil and Gas Wells

Introduction

Well Abandonment is commonly the largest area of expenditure in decommissioning oil and gas production assets and is often the area of largest cost overruns. Abandonment at the end of well life provides some unique challenges to the engineer, company finances, and the regulator due to the multiple objectives of minimizing both risks to the environment and overall expenditure.

The strategic nature of decommissioning, and particularly abandonment, has only recently been recognized, with the growing impact on Company balance sheets, personnel competency requirements, regulation, and legislation now in the spotlight in many organizations. Lessons can be learned from recent industry experience to ensure organizations are ready to manage their responsibilities and obligations effectively and to improve the industry’s performance in the future.  

This training course has been designed by world-class subject matter expert targeting Oil and Gas Operators key management, Project personnel (asset management, operations, subsea, commercial), Lead and project engineers (marine, structural, HSE, environment, structural, subsea, maintenance), Well engineers, Supply chain management personnel, Key Regulatory personnel and watchdogs, government entities, world agencies, insurance companies, and environmental and conservational groups.

This training course will highlight:

• The impact and constraints posed by legislation and regulation
• Current Good Industry Practice and how this relates to common regulatory approaches
• The importance of a structured, multi-disciplinary approach to ensure optimal cost control
• The key elements of the abandonment design process
• Typical Risks and how to manage them
• Common flaws in abandonment cost estimation and how to avoid them
• Common operational methods and new and novel technologies
• Project Management fundamentals applied to abandonment work scopes
• Opportunities for cost minimization

Objectives

By the end of this training course, participants will feel confident in their understanding of:

• Apply the key elements of the abandonment design process
• Understand recent developments in Good Practice and regulation
• Manage the risks involved in planning abandonment
• Avoid the common pitfalls in abandonment cost estimation
• Understand the range of common abandonment methods and when they can be considered
• Identify opportunities for cost minimization

Training Methodology

The program is delivered in a combination of lecture-style and practical experiential learning method is results-oriented; based on an adult learning concept. The course is designed as a blended environment of presentation; workshops; group work; practical exercises; field application/ case studies, analysis and several industry videos showing all processes; and general discussions. The course will include real case studies in the oil and gas industry. Most of the case studies have been presented in international journals by the instructor. Pre & Post-course assessments will be used to measure the effectiveness of this training and measure the skill and ability of participants.

Who Should Attend?

This training course is suitable for a wide range of professionals but will greatly benefit: 

• Well engineers
• Team leaders and managers responsible for abandonment design
• Project execution engineers,
• Team leaders and managers responsible for delivering well abandonment work scopes
• Regulator and government agency personnel responsible for policy and implementation
• Finance and technical cost estimators responsible for identifying and managing future decommissioning liabilities
• Public stakeholder representatives wishing to understand the challenges of well abandonment and the options available to manage them

Course Outline

Day 1: Introduction and Current Industry Practices 

• The Objectives of Well Abandonment

• The Impact of Prescriptive and Goal-Oriented Regulation

• Current Good Practice and Internationally adopted Guidelines

• Industry Performance to Date

• Public Perception and Reputation Management

• Common Abandonment Methods

Day 2: Abandonment Design Process and Management of Risk 

• The Importance of Geological Assessment

• The Impact of Well Architecture and Current Condition

• The Ideal Data Set

• Typical Abandonment Risks

• Risk Management and the Importance of Known Unknowns

Day 3: Equipment and Services 

• Rig and Services Requirements

• Barrier Material Options

• Rigless Alternatives

• Novel Methods

• New and Novel Technologies

Day 4: Well Abandonment Cost Estimation Good Practices 

• Types of Estimate and their limitations

• Classes of Estimate and their application

• Basis of Estimate

• Causes of cost Overrun

• Deterministic versus Probabilistic Estimates

• Financial Provision options and their Implications

Day 5: Execution Good Practices and Cost Reduction Opportunities 

• Good Practices in Project Planning

• Operations Management

• Campaigning

• Scheduling and simultaneous Operations

• Options for Contracting Strategy