Plugging and Abandonment of Oil & 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 end of well life provides some unique challenges to the engineer, company finances, and the regulator due to the multiple objectives of minimizing both risk 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 organisations. Lessons can be learnt from recent industry experience to ensure organisations are ready to manage their responsibilities and obligations effectively and to improve the industry’s performance in the future.
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 learn to:
- Apply the key element 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 minimisation
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
- 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