HomeXploreChallengesRemote Detection of Hydrocarbons for Improved Well Abandonment
Remote Detection of Hydrocarbons for Improved Well Abandonment
Seeking technology solutions for remote detection of hydrocarbons and pressure below environmental plugs before well re-entry for final abandonment.
Solutions deadline closed 31 October 2024
About the challenge
The ‘suspension’ or temporary abandonment of oil and gas wells typically involves the placement of cement plug barriers within the well to temporarily isolate the reservoir and other potential flow zones from the environment.
The shallowest plug in a suspended or temporarily abandoned well is the environmental or surface plug. These plugs typically consist of between 50m and 150m vertical thickness of cement, the top of which is located between 20m and 200m below the wellhead.
Permanent abandonment of these wells requires the removal of the environmental plug so that permanent cement barriers can be set deeper within the well and adjacent to the ‘caprock’, to isolate the reservoir and other potential flow zones from the environment. Surface casings and the wellhead will also be subsequently removed as part of this process.
Should any of the barriers placed below the environmental plug have failed or are leaking, hydrocarbons may accumulate below the environmental plug resulting in pressure build-up. The status of the well below the environmental plug is unknown, therefore re-entry for permanent abandonment operations typically requires the full pressure control capabilities of a rig.
Illustration of challenge focus area
If the absence of hydrocarbons and associated pressure build-up below the environmental plug could be confirmed prior to well re-entry, it creates the opportunity for rigless abandonment operations. In the offshore environment, this potentially removes one of the biggest challenges associated with well abandonment, timely access to rigs in a highly competitive global market. Operational costs are also likely to be substantially reduced.
This challenge therefore seeks novel concepts and technologies to verify the presence or absence of hydrocarbons and associated build-up of pressure below environmental plugs prior to well re-entry.
Ideally, solutions will be non-invasive and based on detection methods operating outside of the wellbore. Solutions which operate within the wellbore, based on detection methods deployed prior to the removal of the environmental plug, will also be considered.
Solutions review & prize awards
All solutions will be reviewed against the functional requirements and preferences outlined below.
Where appropriate, the owner of the ‘winning’ solution will be invited to develop a proof-of-concept or pilot application of the technology or process.
CODA will award a prize to the winning concept or solution that can, if required, be used to help cover the costs of proof-of-concept or pilot development:
A$15,000 prize for existing prototypes or at- / near-market technology solutions.
A$5,000 prize for new, innovative enabling concepts (which define a pathway to the development of technology solutions).
Deadline for submissions
Closing date for solutions to the ‘Remote Detection of Hydrocarbons’ Challenge is Thursday 31 October 2024.
Preference will be given to non-invasive solutions that can:
Be deployed in the marine environment (if required) using existing technologies.
Remotely detect hydrocarbon presence or an associated pressure response in the wellbore without the need for well re-entry.
Operate over a wide range of water depths (typically 10s to 100s of metres).
Demonstrate the reduction of any associated environmental impact to ALARP.
Intra-well solutions which aim to detect hydrocarbon presence or pressure build-up without removing the environmental plug should be deployable using existing slickline interfaces and support vessels.
Signal processing, verification and response delivery timeframes are preferred to be within hours to days of deployment rather than weeks to months.
Solutions are required to demonstrate only the presence of hydrocarbons or measurable elevated pressure below the environmental plug (by comparison to ‘baseline’ responses). No minimum concentration or pressure build-up qualification has been set.
All information and materials submitted via the Xplore online portal will be available only to CODA and will not be externally visible or accessible by any other party.
This includes anything which may constitute the proposed solution provider’s Intellectual Property (IP) and any 3rd Party IP that has been incorporated into the proposed solution. CODA will assume that the proposed solution provider has received permission to share any 3rd Party IP as part of the submission unless advised otherwise.
CODA will share the information and materials in the submission ONLY with the challenge owner, assuming that the proposed solution provider has selected the ‘Permission to share the solution with the challenge owner’ option in the online submission form. Where this option has not been selected, CODA will seek the proposed solution provider’s permission in writing to share the information with the challenge owner.
CODA and the challenge owner will not share any information or details relating to the proposed solution with any other party unless permission is provided in writing by the provider of the proposed solution.
