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Chapter
Introduction
Every beginning has an end. This book covers the beginning of the end of well life. When a well reaches the end of its life, it must permanently be plugged and abandoned. Plug and abandonment can easily contr...
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Chapter
Different Categories of Working Units
When considering permanent plug and abandonment of hydrocarbon wells, location of the well plays a critical role; location can be either onshore or offshore. For onshore wells, the well depth, downhole pressur...
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Chapter
Types of Permanent Plugging Materials
Portland cement is the prime material used for zonal isolation and permanent P&A of wells. However, there are some concerns which persuade engineers to search for alternative materials to Portland cement. Ther...
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Chapter
Work Classification and Selection of Working Units
As reviewed in the previous chapter, there are different types of working units employed for permanent P&A operations depending on the well location and type of production facility. When considering onshore we...
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Chapter
Tools and Techniques for Plug and Abandonment
In permanent P&A, establishment of a rock-to-rock barrier is a requirement. There are situations where the annular barrier behind casing is not qualified or there is no annular barrier. Therefore, full access ...
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Chapter
Specification for Permanent Plugging Materials
Portland cement is currently the prime barrier material used in the petroleum industry for zonal isolation and permanent well abandonment. In addition, the industry considers alternative plugging materials. Th...
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Chapter
Fundamentals of Plug Placement
The best practice of permanent plug and abandonment requires a cross sectional barrier, which is known as rock-to-rock barrier. The barrier is placed at the right depth where formation is capable to hold the maxi...
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Chapter
Barrier Verification
The main goal of a P&A operation is to restore the cap rock functionality by establishing competent barriers. When a barrier is established, its functionality needs to be verified. There are different test pro...