Plug & abandon strategies for Canada's oil & gas wells

插头

• 批准号: 516022-2017
• 负责人: Frigaard, Ian
• 金额: $ 10.36万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=693562
• 关键词: Plug; abandon; strategies; Canada; oil

With the increasing public scrutiny of the oil and gas industry in the past 10-20 years, the attention of theindustry, regulatory authorities and all levels of government is driven towards tackling serious questions ofenvironmental stewardship that afflict the industry. High amongst the list is the question of safe long-termabandonment of oil and gas wells. By 2013, more than 550,000 oil & gas well had been drilled in Canada, mostof which were in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. In Alberta alone, 35% of total wells are abandoned:this number adds up to around 151,000 abandoned wellbores in the province. Much of the current well stock is30-40 years old or more. Canada is entering an era of P&A (Plug and Abandonment) in which 1000's of wellswill be abandoned annually for the foreseeable future. Environmental & public safety concerns abound.Long term sealing of wellbores requires proper placement of sealing materials (cement), avoidance ofcontamination/mixing and ensuring a good bond of the cement to the surrounding rock. This 4-year project isabout the engineering design of P&A operations. The project has 2 key objectives. First we will assess thestatus of typical Canadian P&A operations, well architectures and regulatory practices, within a more globalcontext. We will conduct a detailed review of the scientific and engineering literature as it pertains tolongevity/sealing, clarify knowledge gaps and expose technological issues. Second, through a network ofcollaborative Canadian researchers and targeted complementary sub-projects we will provide physical andengineering rationale for regulatory and operational decisions that concern fluid mechanical issues (placement,cleaning, mixing, and thus potential bonding). Our team will conduct 7 complementary and interlinked studiesaddressing P&A knowledge gaps while providing fundamental advances, using a combination of experimental,analytical and computational methodologies, combined with field survey work with industrial partners.

随着过去10-20年公众对石油和天然气行业的监督日益加强，行业、监管机构和各级政府的注意力都转向解决困扰该行业的严重环境管理问题。其中最重要的是安全长期废弃油气井的问题。截至2013年，加拿大已钻探油气井超过55万口，其中大部分位于加拿大西部沉积盆地。仅在阿尔伯塔省，就有 35% 的井被废弃：这个数字加起来，该省约有 151,000 个废弃井眼。目前大部分井存的年龄为 30-40 年或更长。加拿大正在进入 P&A（即插即弃）时代，在可预见的未来，每年将有数千口井被废弃。环境和公共安全问题比比皆是。长期密封井眼需要正确放置密封材料（水泥），避免污染/混合并确保水泥与周围岩石的良好粘合。这个为期四年的项目是关于 P&A 运营的工程设计。该项目有 2 个关键目标。首先，我们将在更全球化的背景下评估典型加拿大 P&A 作业、油井架构和监管实践的状况。我们将对与长寿/密封相关的科学和工程文献进行详细审查，澄清知识差距并揭示技术问题。其次，通过加拿大研究人员的合作网络和有针对性的补充子项目，我们将为涉及流体机械问题（放置、清洁、混合以及潜在的粘合）的监管和操作决策提供物理和工程原理。我们的团队将结合实验、分析和计算方法，结合与工业合作伙伴的实地调查工作，开展 7 项互补且相互关联的研究，解决 P&A 知识差距，同时提供基础性进展。