For successful well plugging and abandonment, effective legislative and supervisory systems need to be in place. We can assist with these, and other, regulatory issues and help set up guidelines, advise on risk assessments of well abandonment, both generic and well-specific.
The role of authorities
Authorities are key stakeholders in the economics of decommissioning through equity holder-ship, royalties, levies, taxation schemes, and aim to maximise the wealth from natural resources. Equally, Authorities need to manage the long term integrity of the subsurface that was penetrated by wells and a hazard-free surface location.
Assistance with regulatory issues
For a successful well decommissioning effective legislative and supervisory systems need to be in place. Preferably they become better aligned between countries. Existing regulations require regular updates to reflect state-of-the-art technology. Moreover, at times judgement is needed when prescriptive regulations cannot be implemented. To strike the right balance between financial impact and integrity requires significant expertise in Well Abandonment. We offer this kind of expertise for assisting with regulatory issues.
Risk assessment of abandoned wells
Often, future underground opportunities find the state of previously abandoned wells the Achilles’ heel of the proposal. Abandoned wells need to be assessed for risks and their status to ensure that re-development, gas storage or carbon dioxide sequestration can be developed successfully. Our quality assurance or fresh-eye review can be very helpful for the risk assessment of abandoned wells.
Our expertise and experience
Examples of our work include reviewing and updating a number of regulations and guidelines in different countries, including three 3-yearly updates of the respected Guidelines for the Abandonment of Wells (ISBN 1 903 004 50 0), issued by Oil & Gas UK.
