Plug and Abandonment –

Producing Well
• Different from drilling P&A operations.
• Specific regulations set by governing bodies.
• This presentation covers the “intent” of P&A:
– Isolate and protect all fresh and near fresh water zones;
– Isolate and protect all “commercial” producing horizons for future
development;
– Prevent leaks from or into the well;
– Remove surface equipment and cut and plug pipe below ground
level or, depending on requirements, mark the surface location
so identification can be made at any time after abandonment.
• P&A responsibility does not usually end with the P&A
activities. If it leaks, you will likely have to repair and
remediate the well and the site.
• Do it right the first time.
Abandonment Types: TA and P&A
• TA – temporarily abandoned:
– During a long shut-down.
– Waiting on a workover.
– Waiting on field development or
redevelopment.

Set plugs to prevent cross flow and

production. Isolate all flow and protect
from pressures. Monitor.
 Abandonment Types
• P&A – plugged and abandoned:
– End of current economic operations.
– Well problem that cannot be economically repaired.
– Moving the bottom hole location – P&A the bottom
and reuse the top part of the well.

Set cement and mechanical plugs to prevent

cross flow and production. Isolate all flow and
protect from pressures. Follow governing body
regulations.
 P&A Costs
• On Shore: nothing to low expense.
– Well equipment recovered often offsets cost
of P&A.
• Off-Shore: $100k to millions.
– Depends on whether isolated wells or whole
campaign to decommission a platform.
– Increased by platform damage.
Well damage increases the P&A cost sharply – 100k to 10’s of millions
Pipe damage may necessitate pulling operations not in the original plans. Cement plugs
generally need to be circulated into place – a functional tubing string is required.
Special Conditions and considerations:
1. Collapsed or burst pipe - repair
 Legislative Drivers
• Safe Water Drinking Acts
• Numbers of abandoned wells (>3mm in US
since 1859) and reliability of the abandonment
seals.
• Changing regulations on fresh and near fresh
waters.
• Protection of resources for the future (fields are
often abandoned with 60 to 80% of oil and 10 to
20% of the gas still in place) – waiting on
technology development.
 Main Targets
• Isolation:
– open hole,
– separate pay zones,
– perforations,
– liner tops,
– surface locations (3’ or 1m on land to 10 to 15’ or 3 to
5m, below ML offshore)
– damaged sections (wear points, milling, perfs, etc.),
– multi-laterals,
– corrosive zones (highly corrosive salt water?) ,
– special cases (clearing sea floor, rigs to reefs,
geothermal, etc.).
 Requirements
• Plug thickness.
• Pressure tests.
• Well Identification(?).
• Lost radio active source tools.
 Threats From Improperly
Abandoned Wells
• Contaminated surface water entry
(minerals, bacteria, waste, etc.).
• Surface leakage from shallow zones
through well or leaking cement sheath.
• Leakage form an aquifer to surface.
• Leakage from surface to an aquifer.
• Danger of open well to surface egress
(falling down the well).
Materials Used in Abandonment
• Cement slurries.
• Gelled pills (bentonite and others).
• Spacers to protect cement slurries.
• Mechanical plugs (incl. cement retainers).
• Inflatable plugs.
• Sand plugs (as base for cement).
P & A Concerns

•Knowledge of the well – where are plugs

needed?

•Placement accuracy and efficiency of

plugs.

•Reliability of the cement sheath.

•Reliability of the plugging system.

•Reliability of the uncemented casing

sections.
 Cement Plugs
• Cement slurry design.
– Cement type and additives.
• API class
• Extenders, shrinkage, gas control, fluid loss control,
formation and pipe adherence, spacers.
• Volumes and excesses.
• Placement method.
– Location identification,
– Depth control,
– Spotting method (bailer, circulation, etc.),
– Contamination control,
– Testing requirements.
 Cement Plug Placement
• Balanced method.
• Modified balanced method.
• Displacement from surface.
• Two plug circulation.
• Grouting – various.
• Mechanical assistance.
 Setting a cement plug
• Position
• Setting in mud
• Effect of fluid loss and cross flow
 Setting Cement Plugs
• A near 100% reliable system if cross flow
can be stopped.
• Most cement plugs fail because of cross
flow, density and viscosity mismatch, or
failure to “break” the fluid momentum.
• Full plug method described and field
tested in SPE 11415 (published in SPE
JPT Nov 1984, pp 1897-1904) and SPE
7589.
Cement Plug Failure
Many cement plugs fail for the same 4 reasons:
1. Cross flow cuts channels into the plug.
2. Cement is higher density that the mud.
3. The mud is much lower viscosity than the
cement slurry.
4. The open ended tubing produces a high
momentum energy condition that the mud
cannot stop.

The result of the last three is that the cement

is spread out along the hole and a plug is
never formed.
 How?
1. Use a simple tubing end plug with circulation to the
side and upward but not downward.
2. Spot a heavily gelled bentonite pill below the cement
plug depth. Pill thickness of 500- 800 ft (152- 244 m).
3. Use a custom spacer to separate the pill and the
cement slurry.
4. Use a viscous, thixotropic cement with setting time
equal to the job time plus ½ hr. Plug thickness of 300
to 600 ft (91 to 183 m)
5. Rotate the centralized tubing (do not reciprocate)
during placement and gently withdraw at the end of
the pumping.
6. WOC = 4 hrs for every 1 hour of pump time.
Full details and field tests in SPE 11415.
Diverter Plug on End of Tubing
A simplified diverter tool can be made by
plugging the end of tubing and drilling 8 holes
– the bottom four straight out and the top four
angled up at 45o.
Holes are 0.75 to 1” (2 to 2.5 cm) diameter.
 Cement Squeezes
• Types (some names anyway)
– Block squeeze
– Cement Packer
– Suicide squeeze
– Breakdown squeeze
– Running and Walking squeezes
– Hesitation squeeze
Abandonment Gun Systems for Large
Casing
• Designed to shoot through one
very large diameter casing
string without hitting the outer
casing string.
– 11.875”
– 13.375”
– 16”

• Key design factor: Inexpensive

way to put charges near casing
wall

From Phil Snider

 Laying Sand Plugs
• Shut-in well for several hours to prevent
crossflow disruption of plug.
• Don’t bury the BHA with dumped sand
• Tag frequently to avoid over-fill
• Use a gell spacer in front of sand to
prevent sand roping or falling down the
hole. Rapid sand fall out can cause bridge
off inside the CT.
 Sand fall rates in various fluids
10/20 mesh sand 20/40 mesh sand
Fluid ft/min m/min ft/min m/min
WF220 7.5 2.3 2.2 0.67
WF240 2.05 0.62 0.49 0.15
WF260 0.49 0.15 0.11 0.03
Diesel 21.9 6.7 10.2 3.1
Water 21.9 6.7 12.6 3.8

10/20 mesh Bauxite 20/40 mesh Bauxite

Fluid ft/min m/min ft/min m/min
WF220 14.4 4.4 4.1 1.2
WF240 4.1 1.2 1 0.3
WF260 1 0.3 0.24 0.07
Diesel 33.7 10.3 16.9 5.2
Water 33.7 10.3 20 6.1
Source – D/S Field Book
Reasons for Cement Plug Failures
• Contamination of the cement slurry with
drilling mud during or immediately after
placement.
• Failure to place a viscous pill to stop
downward movement of cement slurry.
• Inaccurate knowledge of volumes
required.
 General Requirements
• Onshore – 10 ft (3 m) plug on top of the
well and casing cut 3 ft (1m) below the
ground surface.
• Mud between plugs (9.5 lb/gal).
• Plug thickness minimum of 100 ft, plus
10% for each 1000 ft of zone.
 Procedures
• Remove salvageable equipment.
– NORM scale present? Leave the pipe in the well?
– What pipe is needed for a barrier? How effective?
• Set, at minimum, plugs required by regulations.
Don’t hesitate to go beyond requirements.
• Test to limits required.
• Cap and identify as specified.
 Isolation of Open Hole
• Cement Plug 100ft (30m) above and
below lower-most shoe in open hole.
• Cement retainer 50 to 100 ft (15 to 30m)
above the shoe. Cement 100 ft (30m)
below shoe and 50 ft (15m) of cement on
top.
• Tested to 15,000 lbs load or 1000 psi.
 Isolation of Perforations
• Cement Plug 100ft (30m) above and
below perfs (or to next plug).
• Cement retainer 50 to 100 ft (15 to 30m)
above the perfs. Cement 100 ft (30m)
below shoe and 50 ft (15m) of cement on
top.
• Permanent bridge plug within 150 ft (45m)
of perfs with 50 ft (15m) of cement on top.
 Isolation of lap joints or liner tops.
• Cement Plug 100ft (30m) above and
below liner top (or to next plug).
• Cement retainer or permanent bridge plug
50 ft (15m) above the liner with 50 ft (15m)
of cement on top.
• Cement plug 200 ft (60m) long within 100
ft (30m) of liner.
 Surface Plug
• On-Shore – depends on local regulations.
• Offshore – cement plug 150 ft (45m) long
within 150 ft (45m) of mud line. Placed in
the smallest string of casing that extends
to the mud line.
 Testing of Plugs
• Location of the first plug below the surface
plug shall be verified.
– Pipe weight of 15,000 lbs on cement plug,
cement retainer, or bridge plug.
– Pump pressure of 1,000 psi with maximum
10% drop in 15 minutes.
 Fluid Left in the Hole
• Fluid fill between plugs must exert a fluid
density at least higher than the greatest
formation pressure in the intervals
between the plugs at the time of
abandonment.