Case study: The Netherlands

100% electric P&A unit key to onshore
rigless well abandonment, reduced
emissions, smell, noise contour
NAM, an operator in The Netherlands,
needed to select the most economical
method to abandon more than 60
wells on 23 different onshore locations
drilled over a 60-year period.
The first batch of ten wells included
those with a complex scope of work,requiring annular remediation.
Because of the complexity of the wells,
engineered and bespoke solutions
such as section milling (SM), perf wash
and cement (PWC), and perforate,circulate, and cement (PCC) wererequired to complete the work.
Additionally, well abandonment
barriers required a specific cement
slurry design. Most of the wells wereclassified as hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
and had radioactive material with Low
Specific Activity (LSA), benzene,
and condensate.
Complicating the entire process was
the proximity of the wells to housing
and multiple non-technical risks (NTR),
so the solution required a reduction inemission, smell, and noise. The
operator required no health, safety
and environmental (HSE) incidents,
lower total abandonment costs, noresidual liabilities, and to maintain theoverall plug and abandonment (P&A)
schedule. The solution must sustain
the operator’s license to operate in thecountry and serve as a blueprint for
future P&A projects.

Coordinating the well plan
The scope of work required significant
engineering and planning of multiple
contingencies. Selection of the optimal
solution and downhole equipment (SM,PWC, PCC, fluids and cement slurries)

became apparent after detailed wellscreening, engineering, and modeling.
Baker Hughes collaborated withWellGear and Mammoet to create aunique, low-impact, fully integrated
well abandonment project solution foronshore P&A in The Netherlands
including well P&A services, hydraulicworkover (HWO), logistics, and site
preparation. Project management anddetailed engineering ensured efficientplanning, and close collaboration andinterface with the operator project
team drove efficiencies in executing
the work. Outstanding project
management ensured close crossproduct line and third-party
collaboration and continuousinteraction with the operator.

Strategizing the solution
A fit-for-purpose, modular 600,000-lb
hydraulic workover P&A unit with ahigh performance rotary tablecomplemented Baker Hughes’s
downhole technologies and enabledfull P&A of complex wells without theneed for a drilling rig. The bespoke
rigless P&A unit was 100% electric,enabling low noise, smell, andemissions during the on-site
operations, mitigating NTR. This was
the first electrified P&A unit in theoperator’s history, and ran on
grid power.

Challenges• Determine the most economical way
to abandon 60+ onshore wells, mostof which were classified as H2S wellswith LSA, benzene, and condensate• Design detailed engineering andbespoke solutions including riglessP&A; section milling; perf wash andcement; perforate, circulate
and cement; and specific gas tightcement slurries• Reduce emission, smell, and noiseto account for close proximity
to housingResults• Incurred zero lost time incidents (LTI)
over 130,000 man-hours• Completed rigless wellabandonment scope within plannedschedule and budget• Reduced CO2 emissions, smell, andnoise contour by using a 100 %electric P&A unit, incurring zero NTR• Experienced no HSE issues or
nonproductive time (NPT)• “I am very pleased that we are on theright track.” — Operator CEO

Executing predictableperformance
The first 20 wells were completed
within the schedule, planned budget,and in compliance with local mining
and environmental regulations with noremaining liabilities while limiting thebakerhughes.com

total project costs. The supply chain
stepped up providing a cost-effective
solution through collaboration, multiskilling, technology innovation, andlogistical solutions, despite operating
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The P&A work was successfully
executed, and a total of 14,655 bbl(2330 m3) of cement was pumped toplace 26 cement plugs. The annularintegrity was re-established in multiple
complex wells which included 4 PCC,4 PWC, and 4 SM jobs. In the process,35 casing cuts were made and a totalof 200 miles (320 km) of pipe wastripped. A total of 40,883 bbl (6500 m3)

of mud was delivered and 12,580 bbl(2000 m3) was recycled to the mudplant. There was a total of 1,900
truckloads for these 20 wells which
included moving the HWO unit, tanks,
pumps, cement bulk, fluids, waste,pipe, tools, and offices from site to site.
All logistical movements wereconducted safely without affecting thenearby neighborhoods.
Because the operation used the allelectric P&A HWO unit, 160 t of carbon
dioxide (CO2) was saved. The entire
operation incurred zero LTI and the NTR
was carefully managed.

“The P&A unit places several cement
plugs at various depths in a well,”reported NAM’s CEO in Nexstep’s Reuse and Decommissioning Report. “Thewell is safely and permanently closed
this way.”
He went on to add, “I am very pleased
that we are on the right track. At themoment, we have alreadydecommissioned 22 wells. Ourambition is indeed to decommission
those 70 wells, and I expect that we willachieve this within the agreed term.
So, we had a very good start.”

This is the first fully integrated well abandonment approach which included a 100% electric P&A unitthat significantly reduced CO2 emissions, smell, and noise contour.

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