Subsea Re-Abandonment Strategies for High-Risk Wells to Minimize Leakage Risk in a Depleted Field for CO2 Storage
Authors: Patil Parimal A , Das Debasis P. , Tiwari Pankaj K. , Chidambaram Prasanna , Leite Renato J. , Picha Mahesh S. , Abdul Hakim Hazlan , Abu Bakar Faiz A. 
Published: December 2021

CO2 storage in a depleted field comes with the risk that is associated with wells integrity which is often defined as the ability to contain fluids with minimum to nil leakage throughout the project lifecycle. The targeted CO2 storage reservoir in offshore Malaysia has existing abandoned exploration/appraisal, and development wells. With a view of developing such CO2 storage sites, it is vital to maintain the integrity of the abandoned wells. High-risk characterized wells need to be analyzed and remedial action plan to be defined by understanding the complexity involved in restoring the integrity. This will safeguard CO2 containment for decades.

Abandoned exploration/appraisal wells in the identified field are &gt;40 years old and were not designed to withstand CO2 corrosion environment. Downhole temperature and pressure conditions may have further degraded the wellbore material strength elevating corrosion susceptibility. The reservoir simulation predicts that the CO2 plume will reach to these abandoned wells during the initial phase of total injection period. Single well was selected to assess the loss of containment through the composite structure along the wellbore and to determine the complexity in resorting the well integrity. CO2 leakage rates through all possible pathways were estimated based on numerical models and the well is characterized for its risk. For unacceptable leakage risk, the abandoned well needs to be re-entered to restore the performance of barriers. Minimum plug setting depth (MPSD) and caprock restoration considers original reservoir pressure(3450psia) anticipating the pressure buildup upon CO2 injection and is derived based on fracture gradient and maximum horizontal stress.

This paper elaborates unique challenges associated with locating abandoned wells that are submerged below seabed. Top and side re-entry strategies are discussed to overcome challenges. Based on past abandonment scheme, leakage rate modeling calculates estimated leakage rate of ~460SCFD at higher differential pressure of around 3036psia at shallowest barrier and ~15SCFD for differential pressure of 1518psia at deepest barrier. Sensitivity analysis has been carried out for critical barrier parameters (cement permeability, cracks, fractures) to the containment ability and improving understanding of quality of barriers, uncertainties, and complexities for CO2 leakage risk. The paper proposes two(2) minimum plug setting depths (3550ft & 3750ft) derived based on fracture gradient and maximum horizontal stress. Perforate-wash-cement (PWC) and section milling were compared for operational efficiencies to achieve caprock restoration. for MPSD out strategic options to restore well integrity by remediating casing/cement barriers at by performing best fit abandonment technique to contain CO2 in the reservoir. Well integrity risk is assessed for existing plugged and abandoned (P&A) wells in a carbon storage site. Optimized remedial actions are proposed. Quantification of all the uncertainties are resolved that may affect long-term security of CO2 storage site.