Plug and abandonment of oil and gas wells – A comprehensive review of regulations, practices, and related impact of materials selection

Chukwuemeka, Augustine O.; Oluyemi, Gbenga; Mohammed, Auwalu I.; Njuguna, James

doi:10.1016/j.geoen.2023.211718

Cited by 26 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 134 publications

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“…16 Mechanical methods involve bridge plugs, packers, and patches, but they place stringent demands on wellbore infrastructure. 17 Among the chemical approaches, such as cement plugging, resin curing, polymer gel systems, and polymer systems, the first two exhibit effective water-blocking capabilities. 18 Additionally, it is challenging to clean the wellbore when the placement technique fails to reach the targeted depth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In conventional natural gas production, water control is typically approached through mechanical and chemical solutions . Mechanical methods involve bridge plugs, packers, and patches, but they place stringent demands on wellbore infrastructure . Among the chemical approaches, such as cement plugging, resin curing, polymer gel systems, and polymer systems, the first two exhibit effective water-blocking capabilities .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Cationic Polyacrylamide on Gas–Water Seepage in Quartz Sands before and after Methane Hydrate Formation

Feng,

Li,

Chen

et al. 2024

Energy Fuels

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Excessive water production impacted marine natural gas hydrate production. Cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM), one kind of chemical reagent, was used for the first time to selectively reduce water production while having less impact on gas production. After quartz sands with an absolute permeability of 100−1000 mD were treated with CPAM, the water phase permeability was reduced to 1/15, while the gas phase permeability almost had no change. Furthermore, CPAM was effective in controlling water flow in quartz sands with an absolute permeability range of 100−1000 mD. The water phase permeability initially decreased and then stabilized as the concentration of CPAM increased from 500 to 20,000 ppm. Additionally, the formation of methane hydrate in pretreated quartz sands with CPAM led to a greater reduction in quartz sands' permeability than the sum of the respective reduction for CPAM treatment and methane hydrate formation. In addition, compared to quartz sands treated only with CPAM, the dissociation of 5% methane hydrate significantly increased the permeability of CPAM-treated quartz sands, but the permeability was smaller than that before CPAM treatment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Cationic Polyacrylamide on Gas–Water Seepage in Quartz Sands before and after Methane Hydrate Formation

Feng,

Li,

Chen

et al. 2024

Energy Fuels

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“…In the context of wellbore integrity, cement plugs are commonly employed at various intervals to ensure adequate plugging. Nevertheless, other factors might pose significant obstacles to the long-term resilience of cement, including the conditions within the wellbore, the presence of fissures, and suboptimal execution of cement procedures [2][3][4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporary Well Plugging for Future CO2 Storage: CT Analysis of Thermal Sensitive Polymer-Gel Dynamics in Low-Permeability Chalk

Movahedi,

Schiefler,

Dwivedi

et al. 2024

Proceedings of the 9th World Congress on Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer

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Since most oil and gas reservoirs are nearing the end of their productive lifespans, environmental regulations require wells to be securely plugged before they are abandoned to reduce pollution hazards. This study investigates the use of polymer gels for temporary in-situ plugging in chalk formations with low permeability, a challenging environment since high-viscosity fluid injection is problematic. First, a cross-linker and polymer combination with low viscosity are injected into the chalk matrix inside a core holder. Subsequently, when heated this combination forms a gel, significantly raising the viscosity, and effectively blocking the flow channels in the porous medium. Real-time monitoring using computed tomography (CT) analysis is used to verify the plugging procedure and ensure the polymer is injected evenly. Flow tests are performed after gelation to evaluate the level of permeability. The study is expanded to include fractured media to assess how effectively the gel blocks matrix porosity as well as fractures. The findings provide insight on well-plugging methods that support these wells' conversion to CO2 storage locations, with potential benefits for improving operational sustainability and environmental safety.

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“…During well construction, cement is pumped into the annulus outside the steel casing, both to provide support to the steel casing and to ensure zonal isolation in the well. Furthermore, cement is also pumped into wells during plug and abandonment (P&A) operations, to ensure that hydrocarbons and other downhole fluids do not leak into the environment after well abandonment [7,11,12]. There is currently a drive in the research community to find alternative well cementing materials as well, with geopolymers having been suggested as potential candidates [11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, cement is also pumped into wells during plug and abandonment (P&A) operations, to ensure that hydrocarbons and other downhole fluids do not leak into the environment after well abandonment [7,11,12]. There is currently a drive in the research community to find alternative well cementing materials as well, with geopolymers having been suggested as potential candidates [11][12][13]. Several different types of precursor materials have been used to prepare geopolymer well cements, such as fly ash [14][15][16][17][18][19], rock waste [20][21][22], and volcanic ash [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strength Development of Metakaolin-Based Alkali-Activated Cement

Lou,

Vrålstad

2023

Applied Sciences

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Alkali-activated materials, sometimes called geopolymers, can be used as alternative cementitious materials to conventional Portland cement. Currently, there is a significant interest in these materials due to their low CO2 footprint. The typical applications of alkali-activated materials are within civil engineering; however, potential applications as well cementing material within the oil and gas industry are also receiving emerging interest. This paper presents a systematic study of the compressive strength development from 1 to 28 days for metakaolin-based alkali-activated cement. The results show that the compressive strength is highly dependent upon the initial Si/Al ratio in the mix design, as well as the concentration of the activator solution. Furthermore, due to the relatively low initial reactivity of the metakaolin material used, different types of co-binders were included in the slurry composition to improve early strength development. The two different co-binders tested were another, more reactive metakaolin material and Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS). It was found that both these co-binders performed as intended, by ensuring early strength development via precipitation of K-A-S-H and C-A-S-H gels, respectively, and also by enabling subsequent strength development due to improved dissolution of the low-reactive metakaolin.

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Plug and abandonment of oil and gas wells – A comprehensive review of regulations, practices, and related impact of materials selection

Cited by 26 publications

References 134 publications

Effect of Cationic Polyacrylamide on Gas–Water Seepage in Quartz Sands before and after Methane Hydrate Formation

Effect of Cationic Polyacrylamide on Gas–Water Seepage in Quartz Sands before and after Methane Hydrate Formation

Temporary Well Plugging for Future CO2 Storage: CT Analysis of Thermal Sensitive Polymer-Gel Dynamics in Low-Permeability Chalk

Strength Development of Metakaolin-Based Alkali-Activated Cement

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