Successful oil and gas extraction operations depend on the safety, efficiency, and integrity of your well stock.
A properly implemented Well Integrity Management Programme is essential to ensure integrity is maintained throughout the lifecycle of a well. The consequence of a breach or loss of well integrity can be catastrophic, ranging from a significant process safety incident, loss of revenue from escaped hydrocarbons, and damage to the reservoir from the uncontrolled flow.
ELEMENTS OF A WELL INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME
A successful WIMP should incorporate several key elements:
- Well Design and Construction
Well Design is a process to establish, verify and document the selected technical solution that fulfils the purpose of the well, complies with legal requirements and has an acceptable risk of failure throughout the defined life cycle.
A successful WIMP should incorporate best practices for well design and construction, including:
- The use of the appropriate casing and cementing procedures to ensure zonal isolation.
- The use of appropriate wellhead equipment to prevent leaks.
- Proper wellbore planning to minimize risks during drilling and completion.
- Use of appropriate drilling fluids to minimize formation damage.
- Monitoring and Maintenance
Regular monitoring and maintenance help to identify potential issues before they become critical, which can help prevent costly downtime, production losses, and safety incidents. A successful WIMP should incorporate comprehensive monitoring and maintenance, including:
- Regular inspections of wellhead equipment and downhole tools.
- Regular monitoring of production and injection rates, pressure, and temperature.
- Analysis of well data to identify potential issues and trends.
- Maintenance of equipment and infrastructure to prevent failures and leaks.
- Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is a critical component of a WIMP. Risk assessments should be performed and regularly reviewed to identify ongoing potential risks to well integrity. The assessment should cover all aspects of the well assembly and operation, including well design, drilling and completion operations, production operations, and abandonment. The risk assessment should identify potential risks, prioritise them based on their likelihood and potential consequences, and develop strategies to mitigate or manage them.
- Training and Competency
A successful WIMP requires a well-trained and competent workforce. The WIMP should include training and competency standards for all personnel involved in well operations These include:
- Training on well design and construction best practices
- Training on monitoring and maintenance procedures
- Competency assessments to ensure that personnel are qualified to perform their roles as defined in the WIMP.
- Ongoing training and development to keep personnel up to date on industry best practices and emerging technologies.
- Emergency Response and Contingency Planning
A successful WIMP should include emergency response and contingency planning to minimise the impact of credibly identified emergencies. The plan should include:
- Procedures for responding to well control incidents and other emergencies.
- Contingency plans for dealing with potential risks and threats.
- Procedures for communicating with stakeholders, including regulatory authorities and the public.
- Regular testing and evaluation of emergency response and contingency plans.
OUR WELL INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES
AIE provides a complete well integrity management service offering across a diverse client base from sour offshore wells to onshore Geothermal assets. We employ leading industry experts and support all aspects of the well lifecycle from downhole material selection to a complete well decommissioning consultancy service.
Our WIM services are supported by our leading well integrity software solution, Veracity Wells, which provides operators with a standardised approach for risk assessing and managing well integrity across their fields. This software allows our clients to evaluate whether their wells are fit for operations and manage long-term containment strategies systematically and efficiently.
AIE also offers a Well Integrity Management Training course which covers a comprehensive range of topics that are required for the setup and implementation of a robust well integrity management system.