Pushing the Operational Envelope of a Cap-Rock Restoration Campaign Utilizing Perforate Wash Cement Technology and a Hydraulic Work Over Unit Offshore Malaysia
Authors: Abdul Razak Mohamad Anas , Abdul Rajab Ahmad Zawawi , Chew Jay Sern , Chesson John Brian , Lim Susin 
Published: March 2021

Malaysia's government recognizes the high risk that aging idle wells pose to its health, safety and environment and has developed some of the most stringent plug and abandonment, P&A, regulations to protect its future. Corroded casing strings and sustained casing pressure are common issues on its multi-decade old platforms and a risk-based design philosophy has been adopted to balance risk mitigation and operational costs, while still ensuring an eternal barrier. Both conventional rigs as well as rigless hydraulic workover units, HWU, are being used for P&A operations. This study considers the barrier element rationale applied in four offshore wells that were plug and abandoned by cap-rock restoration Perforate, Wash, Cement, PWC, barrier plugs. It also considers the operating window of a jet-based PWC technology to understand the challenges and opportunities for further optimization during HWU operations.

Cap rock restoration utilizing both cup-based and jet-based PWC technology is being widely applied throughout Malaysia as a cost-effective alternative to casing section milled barrier plugs. Malaysia's P&A regulation allows isolation at the cap rock level, whereby "Contractor shall adhere to the Cap-Rock Abandonment Applicability Flowchart to identify technically and commercially acceptable candidates for this well abandonment method." The PWC method enables cap rock restoration in a single trip process; whereby the casing annulus is accessed by TCP guns to allow for annular debris to be effectively washed prior to cement plug placement. The process is not limited only to TCP guns; as a mechanical casing perforator was utilized in a shallow cased hole section of one of the wells to avoid damaging the outer casing. A custom BHA was developed and tested to match the cuts from the mechanical perforator. Specially oriented, rotating, wash jets were configured to maximize the annular access during the washing process. The washing effectiveness of this new BHA was confirmed by the massive amount of annular debris that was observed over the surface shakers. Operations were conducted offshore with a HWU with limited infrastructure and operating capability compared to a conventional rig. A PWC candidate screening matrix was applied early during the planning phase to manage rig limitation, well condition and operational risk to ensure successful barrier placement.

All cap rock barriers were successfully installed and tested, and no sustained annular pressure remained in any of the wells. Fewer PWC plugs were required than originally planned, due to strict adherence to the Caprock Restoration Plan Decision Tree, resulting in significant cost savings for the project. The detailed time breakdown of the HWU operations provides useful insight into the operational efficiencies and unplanned events during the HWU campaign and lessons learned are shared from the project.