Plug and abandonment practices and trends: A British Columbia perspective

Trudel, E.; Bizhani, Majid; Zare, M.; Frigaard, I.A.

doi:10.1016/j.petrol.2019.106417

Cited by 64 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…For example, in British Columbia, vertical wells accounted for 75 % of wells drilled prior to 2000 but 95 % of wells drilled in the last decade have been horizontal (Trudel et al. 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trudel et al. (2019) found that over of British Columbia wells drilled in 2010–2018 reported leakage, albeit often minor. Although precise causality was not determined, what is clear is that significant numbers of wells are not sealing adequately and from this perspective the cementing operation has failed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the late 1990s there has been a worldwide trend towards drilling horizontal wells, meaning that the last part of the well is approximately horizontal, to align with the hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir; figure 1(a). For example, in British Columbia, vertical wells accounted for >75 % of wells drilled prior to 2000 but ≈95 % of wells drilled in the last decade have been horizontal (Trudel et al 2019). From the fluid mechanics perspective, since the fluids involved in cementing exhibit significant density contrasts, it is not surprising that displacement flows in horizontal wells behave quite differently from those in vertical wells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Primary cementing of horizontal wells. Displacement flows in eccentric horizontal annuli. Part 1. Experiments

Renteria

Frigaard

2020

J. Fluid Mech.

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“…For example, in British Columbia, vertical wells accounted for 75 % of wells drilled prior to 2000 but 95 % of wells drilled in the last decade have been horizontal (Trudel et al. 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Primary cementing of horizontal wells. Displacement flows in eccentric horizontal annuli. Part 1. Experiments

Renteria

Frigaard

2020

J. Fluid Mech.

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“…A fundamental understanding of well barriers is crucial to avoid leakages of greenhouse gases such as methane and CO 2 . For example, several petroleum wells experience well barrier failures [1,2], and over time, such well integrity problems may cause significant amounts of methane leakages [3,4]. Furthermore, wells have been identified as the most likely CO 2 leakage pathway during carbon capture and storage (CCS) operations [3,[5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cement sheaths are among the most important barrier elements in both petroleum wells and CO 2 injection wells. To prevent leakages of downhole fluids, the cement sheath needs to retain its integrity throughout the entire lifetime of the well, i.e., during the production and injection phase, and also, after well abandonment [4,8,9]. There are different types of cement sheath failure modes [10][11][12][13][14], where the two most common and well-understood are radial cracks and microannuli.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Cement Integrity: A Methodology for 3D Visualization of Cracks and Microannuli in Well Cement

Vrålstad

Skorpa

2020

Sustainability

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Leakages of greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide from wells, may have considerable environmental consequences. Although much emphasis is currently put on understanding well barrier failures, and thus, preventing well leakages, especially for an important barrier material as cement, there are still several knowledge gaps and unknowns. However, a step-change in well integrity understanding may be obtained by applying advanced characterization techniques and scientific approaches to studying well barrier materials and their failure mechanisms. This paper describes the development of an experimental methodology that uses X-ray computed tomography to obtain 3D visualizations of cracks and microannuli in annular cement sheaths. Several results are included that demonstrate the value of using such digital methods to study well cement, and it is shown that such experimental studies provide an improved understanding of cement sheath integrity. For example, it is seen that radial cracks do not form in symmetrical patterns and that microannuli do not have uniform geometries. Such experimental findings can potentially be used as benchmark to validate and improve cement integrity simulation tools.

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Low-Cost Sensors Provide Insight into Temporal Variation in Fugitive Methane Gas Concentrations Around an Energy Well

Fleming

Morais

Ryan

2022

Preprint

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Effective measurement of the presence and rate of methane gas migration (GM) outside the casing of energy wells is important for managing social and environmental impacts and financial liabilities in the upstream petroleum industry. Practitioners typically assess GM by above-background methane gas concentrations in-soil or at-grade; however, factors influencing the potential variation in these measurements are not well represented in industry recommended best-practices. Inexpensive chemoresistive sensors were used to record a one-minute frequency methane gas concentration time series over 19 days. Time series were recorded at three soil depths (0, 5, and 30 cm) at two locations <30m cm radially from a petroleum well with known GM, in addition to two 'control' locations. Observed concentration variations ranged over several orders of magnitude at all depths, with generally lower concentrations and more variation observed at shallower depths. Varying concentrations were correlated to meteorological factors, primarily including wind speed and shallow groundwater table elevation. The gas concentration patterns were affected by a 3.5 mm rainfall event, suggesting soil moisture changes affected preferential gas migration pathways. Results indicate potential variability in repeated snapshot GM test results. Although currently recommended GM detection methods would have effectively identified the presence/absence of GM, they would not have quantified order of magnitude changes in concentration. GM detection success at this site was increased with measurement at more than one location spatially within 30 cm of the well casing, lower concentration detection limits, and greater measurement depth. These findings indicate that meteorological factors should be considered when conducting gas migration surveys (particularly for improving at-grade test reliability). The low-cost approach for long-term concentration measurement facilitates insight into variable gas concentrations and may be advantageous in comparison to snapshot measurements in some circumstances.

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Plug and abandonment practices and trends: A British Columbia perspective

Cited by 64 publications

References 50 publications

Primary cementing of horizontal wells. Displacement flows in eccentric horizontal annuli. Part 1. Experiments

Primary cementing of horizontal wells. Displacement flows in eccentric horizontal annuli. Part 1. Experiments

Digital Cement Integrity: A Methodology for 3D Visualization of Cracks and Microannuli in Well Cement

Low-Cost Sensors Provide Insight into Temporal Variation in Fugitive Methane Gas Concentrations Around an Energy Well

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