Region: North America
Application: Onshore Salt Cavern Storage Well Abandonment

Key Facts:

• Field Proven Globally
• Available for setting in Cased/ Open hole application
• Available in different sizes and configurations (to set in holes as large as 30”)
• Successfully deployed offshore and onshore
• Provides axial and radial seal and anchor
• Available for HPHT applications
• Bi-directional seal with DuraGRIP technology

Challenge

A major petrochemical company in the Texas Gulf Coast required to decommission a salt cavern well as a preventive measure due to safety concerns associated with upward fluid encroachment across various formations. The well in question, completed in the mid 1970’s, was configured with 20” surface casing, a 16” injection-production string, and a 460-feet long 17-1/2” open-hole cavern-neck section. The abandonment program required for the well to be properly secured prior to retrieving the injection-production string. Hence, a primary bridge plug barrier was required to drift through the 14.68” internal diameter of the injection-production string and effectively seal across the 17-1/2” cavern-neck section. The selection process for an optimal barrier was a critical challenge during the planning phase because irregular borehole geometry was expected across the cavern-neck section due to formation damage caused by erosion throughout the years. Additionally, the operation required compatibility to rigless coiled tubing deployment as the preferred conveyance method for increased operational and economic feasibility.

Solution

IPI supplied a 7-3/4” X 11” OD Permanent Inflatable Bridge Plug (PIBP) configured with a hydraulic-release disconnect mechanism. The PIBP was deployed on coiled tubing and successfully set at the required setting depth. Its setting sequence was confirmed by positive pressure indicators on surface, the disconnect mechanism was hydraulically activated, and set-down weight was later applied against it for final confirmation of an effective seal and anchor against the borehole. Following the PIBP setting sequence, an observed wellhead pressure reduction provided clear indication of effective isolation from the cavern section, and two highly saturated salt-based cement plugs were placed above the PIBP to permanently decommission the well.

Created Value

The job was successfully executed in a safe and timely manner without operational issues or the requirement to bring a rig to the wellsite, generating substantial savings in operational costs. The salt cavern was safely sealed, and the well operator was allowed to complete the well-abandonment plan in compliance with local decommissioning regulations.