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

在过去的一二十年里，随着公众对石油和天然气行业越来越多的关注， 行业、监管当局和各级政府都在努力解决严重的 困扰该行业的环境管理。最重要的是长期安全的问题 废弃油气井。截至2013年，加拿大已钻探超过55万口油气井，其中大多数 其中一些位于加拿大西部的沉积盆地。仅在艾伯塔省，就有35%的油井被废弃： 这一数字加起来，该省约有15.1万口废弃的井眼。目前的油井库存大部分是 30-40岁或更多。加拿大正在进入一个P&A时代，1000口S的油井 在可预见的未来每年都会被废弃。环境和公共安全问题比比皆是。 井筒的长期密封要求正确放置密封材料(水泥)，避免 污染/混合，并确保水泥与周围岩石的良好粘结。这个为期4年的项目是 关于P&A业务的工程设计。该项目有两个关键目标。首先，我们将评估 加拿大典型的P&A业务、油井架构和监管实践的现状，在更全球化的 背景。我们将对科学和工程文献进行详细的回顾，因为它与 长寿/密封，澄清知识差距，揭露技术问题。第二，通过一个网络 合作的加拿大研究人员和有针对性的互补性子项目，我们将提供实物和 涉及流体机械问题的监管和运营决策的工程原理(放置、 清洗、混合，从而实现潜在的粘合)。我们的团队将进行7项互补和相互关联的研究 解决P&A知识差距，同时提供根本性的进步，使用试验性、 分析和计算方法，结合与工业伙伴的实地调查工作。

With the increasing public scrutiny of the oil and gas industry in the past 10-20 years, the attention of the industry, regulatory authorities and all levels of government is driven towards tackling serious questions of environmental stewardship that afflict the industry. High amongst the list is the question of safe long-term abandonment of oil and gas wells. By 2013, more than 550,000 oil & gas well had been drilled in Canada, most of 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 is 30-40 years old or more. Canada is entering an era of P&A (Plug and Abandonment) in which 1000's of wells will 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 of contamination/mixing and ensuring a good bond of the cement to the surrounding rock. This 4-year project is about the engineering design of P&A operations. The project has 2 key objectives. First we will assess the status of typical Canadian P&A operations, well architectures and regulatory practices, within a more global context. We will conduct a detailed review of the scientific and engineering literature as it pertains to longevity/sealing, clarify knowledge gaps and expose technological issues. Second, through a network of collaborative Canadian researchers and targeted complementary sub-projects we will provide physical and engineering 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 studies addressing 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.