Latin America

James Fisher, a leading provider of innovative marine solutions and specialised engineering services, has launched a new business line named James Fisher Decommissioning (JF Decom), which will support the decommissioning needs of customers in the renewables and oil and gas markets by delivering considerable cost and time saving solutions.

JF Decom will provide customers with access to a dedicated, multi-disciplined team that reduces the number of contractual interfaces, to provide an end-to-end service delivery capability in complex decommissioning scopes including: subsea infrastructure removal; structural removal, well severance, and well abandonment.

With one of the world’s largest fleets of decommissioning tooling and in-house design and engineering capability, JF Decom will be able to support the rise in decommissioning projects worldwide to deliver considerable cost and time saving solutions.

Jack Davidson, Managing Director at JF Decom commented, “Increasing demand for experienced decommissioning experts within the energy industry presents an opportunity for the group to focus on what it does best - providing tailored and pioneering solutions to address customer challenges.

“In addition to the challenges faced by customers to conduct decommissioning activities as timely and cost effectively as possible, JF Decom is also dedicated to ensuring that decommissioning is conducted as sustainably as possible by restoring the seabed to its natural state.”

In building its highly skilled team, JF Decom has utilised the extensive expertise of James Fisher Offshore, which has assisted operators in the installation and maintenance of oil and gas platforms - many of which will be decommissioned as the industry adapts to the energy transition. The in-depth knowledge of the differences between these platforms, allows JF Decom to deploy the most appropriate methodology and technology to optimise the delivery of a decommissioning project.

JF Decom’s services also include the innovative well abandonment tool SEABASS, a strategic investment made in 2021, that provides a more cost effective and quicker alternative to rig-based solutions when abandoning category 2 wells, due to its ability to deploy from a vessel of opportunity and work in any water depth.

Davidson added, “With our noise attenuation tools such as Bubble Curtains we can also minimise environmental impact to marine life during decommissioning works and ensuring we provide environmentally responsible services is something that is at the forefront for JF Decom.”

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (Helix) has extended its well intervention charter and services contracts for the Siem Helix 2 offshore Brazil with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras).

This will extend the original four-year contract by one year at a reduced rate reflective of the current market. The Siem Helix 2 is now set to remain under contract with Petrobras until mid-December 2022 performing riser-based well intervention activities.

The Siem Helix 2 is a purpose-built, advanced well intervention vessel capable of performing a wide range of subsea services including production enhancement, well decommissioning, subsea installation work, offshore crane and ROV operations, offshore construction work and emergency response capabilities.

Scotty Sparks, Helix’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, remarked, “On the back of our recent accommodation and support contract for sister ship the Siem Helix 1 in Ghana for another customer, we are glad to finalise this process and look forward to continuing a long and productive working relationship with Petrobras.

“The Siem Helix 2 has consistently provided industry-leading well intervention services to Petrobras. This extension demonstrates the capacity for Helix to continuously provide innovative solutions to fit our clients’ needs backed by our experience and proven track record.”

Helix continues to make a global impact on the global stage with this announcement coming hot on the heels of its contract for the plugging and abandonment of wells in the Tui Oil Field, New Zealand. Click here for more details on this announcement.

AKOFS Offshore has signed a three- year contract with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for a broad scope of subsea services in Brazil.

The work will be performed by its Skandi Santos vessel which is designed to install and retrieve subsea trees and modules, including subsea structures and manifolds at water depths of up to 2,500 metres.

Currently, the vessel is completing its current contract with Petrobras which began on 1 March 2010.

The services for this contract will commence in Q4 20220. The total contract calue is about US$107mn. AKOFS Offshore will be performing the operations with its partners Bravente for marine services and IKM Subsea for ROV services.

Welltec has launched a fully revised and transformed design of the pioneering Well Tractor conveyance solution, the Well Tractor 212 CVT, equipped with Continuous Variable Tractoring technology.

To make operations faster and more efficient than ever before, the new CVT system automatically maximises speed and power at all times, optimising every conveyance run.

Welltec VP Sales & Marketing, Alex Nicodimou, commented, “The Well Tractor remains a key service that we provide, it’s the foundation of everything that we do in conveyance and a solid base for our powered mechanical interventions platform. It’s what started the entire domain of interventions on wireline.

“Now our engineers are bringing something special to the market that will ensure we continue to lead in conveyance solutions.”

In addition to the new Continuous Variable Tractoring system, the new Well Tractor offers a whole host of innovative functionality and performance features, including a heavily revised electronics package that is rated to higher temperature demands within a more robust architecture. It also allows for full two-way surface control that can send commands to the tool downhole and receive diagnostics back at surface.

Traditional conveyance platforms are driven hydraulically by a pump, and in many cases, that downhole hydraulic pump is a shared asset that powers multiple wheel sections downhole. The Well Tractor CVT is configured so that each wheel section has its own power unit. These new hydraulic units and wheel sections are shorter and more powerful than ever before, resulting in a system that operates as multiple individual tractors downhole with inherent redundancy, without compromising on overall length. In the event that any one section meets a restriction of any kind, the other sections remain free to power themselves without any detrimental effect.

Building on more than 25 years of knowledge and experience, the Well Tractor CVT is the next phase in development of Welltec’s conveyance technology.

 Expro, a leading provider of energy services, has successfully deployed its Octopoda annulus intervention system to restore annulus pressure integrity and return a well to production in Colombia.

The Octopoda system reached 300 meters in the annulus, a world record depth, and sealed the C annulus of the well ‒ thus removing the risk of casing collapse and gas migration to enable the well to produce and significantly extend its production lifespan.

Alistair Geddes, Expro's Chief Operating Officer, said, “Everyone at Expro is proud of this outstanding achievement and the team's extraordinary performance to reach new depths. Not only is it Expro's first venture into the Latin American market using the Octopoda system, but a world first.”

“Octopoda is already proving itself as an innovative and cost-effective solution for solving well integrity issues across the industry. It enables our customers to prolong their well lifespan, making it economically viable to regain production from shut-in wells.”

The value-added intervention operation was completed at a cost that was estimated to be approximately 25% less than the cost of a conventional workover rig-enabled repair and the operation resulted in significantly lower carbon emissions than the conventional alternative.

Octopoda removed the need for a heavy workover rig to allow controlled circulation of annular fluids and the installation of a resin plug at the external casing shoe depth. This successfully sealed the annulus and enabled production to be resumed from the wellbore.

Utilising a unique design, Octopoda is deployed on annulus inlets, removing workover rig requirements, offering an alternative that can be rapidly deployed across all types of installations, onshore and offshore, to maximise operational uptime while reducing overall HSE exposure.

“Expro’s recent success with Octopoda shows the capabilities of this truly unique technology and our ability to optimise and expand the life of the growing number of aging wells around the world,” Geddes added.

“Octopoda is the latest example of Expro’s commitment to investing in innovation, developing new technologies and working towards reducing our own and our clients’ carbon footprint.”

Across three packed, entertaining days, attendees of the Offshore Well Intervention Latin America 2021 conference were treated to a host of presentations and panel sessions featuring industry experts exploring the latest trends, technologies and opportunities shaping the region’s offshore oil and gas industry.

The shift to reducing carbon emissions and increasing longevity of wells is being embraced by operators across the world and it is no different in Latin America. Speakers at the conference discussed how this was a region well positioned to take advantage of the blossoming well intervention and P&A markets and acknowledged the cascade of associated new technologies which have found a home in the region’s waters.

Offshore Network has selected and reported on key sessions from across the conference, which you can find below:

-Secure and efficient P&A of Wells: Artur Barbosa, Business Development Manager at Archer, gave a presentation on secure and efficient P&A of wells, which focused on the company’s Stronghold Barrier setting and Barrier Verification systems, part of its suite of recovery and P&A solutions.

-Sand control simplified: Bhargava Ram Gundemoni, 3M Global Solutions Specialist, showcased how operators can enhance their oil and gas production and how better sand control can lead to better productivity and profitability.

-Accurate tube integrity diagnostics using ‘pulse’ electromagnetic technology: Maxim Volkov, the Principal Domain Champion at TGT Diagnostics, spotlighted how ‘tube integrity diagnostics’ are pivotal to successful well operation, and how ‘Pulse’ electromagnetic (EM) technology can deliver the most accurate metal wall thickness measurements in all completion types, including specialised alloys with high chrome and/or nickel content.

-Bringing RLWI to Brazil: Martin Tardio Velasco, Regional Subsea Services and Wellheads Director at Baker Hughes, led a panel of experts to explore how the uptake of riserless light well intervention (RLWI) in Brazil could be developed, what benefits it could bring to the industry there, and what are the obstacles standing in the way.

-Challenges to integrity and future transformative technologies: Representatives from MADCON Corporation, EV, Quartic Advisory, Petrobras and PetroRio made up a panel to discuss the past, present and future of well integrity and transformative technologies in the pipeline.

-Brazil ripe for well intervention wave: A panel of industry professionals discussed how the Brazilian market is responding to an international drive to well interventions and decommissioning activity.

-Driving forward P&A in Latin American waters: Industry experts explored how new technologies and techniques for cost-effective and efficient decommissioning processes could be deployed, while ensuring compliance with P&A regulations.

A panel session on P&A and Regulation at the OWI LATAM virtual conference explored how new technologies and techniques for cost-effective and efficient decommissioning processes could be deployed, while ensuring compliance with P&A regulations.

The session was moderated by Carl Roemmele, Subsea Intervention Director, Baker Hughes. Speakers were Carlos Eduardo, Manager – Technology and Reliability Subsea Wells, Petrobras; Marcelo Matos, Wells P&A Technical Advisor, Petrobras; Joao Guandalini Batista, Wells Technology R&D Manager, Repsol Sinopec; and Katherine Beltrán Jiménez, Research Scientist, NORCE.

Eduardo started by outlining the “strong, robust” processes whereby Petrobras evaluates new technologies to address problems and challenges, with KPIs to determine which to develop and proceed with. The company works with research departments such as NORCE, other service companies and operators to develop these technologies and test them in the field. He added that there is considerable scope for developing new technologies to enhance P&A activities and speed up processes, given the challenges of P&Aing Brazil’s subsea wells, many of which are old.

Being in close contact with the market as well as operators is key to keeping on top of new developments, he said. “We need market knowledge; research departments such as NORCE are key to improving our activities.”

He added that the focus of the company’s development portfolio has been on technologies for well construction rather than P&A. “We need to think more about P&A; we as operators have to establish what our challenges are and where we want to go.”

Marcelo added that there are synergies to be explored with other operators given that they face common challenges in P&A. However he felt “industry can’t wait for the operators to take the lead in development; services suppliers need to play a key role and take the lead, discussing with operators their needs.” He commented that P&A activity in Brazil has been increasing in the recent past due to Petrobras activities and the entry of other operators into the market and the country has a good record in terms of successful P&As.

Batista stressed that P&A is a “multibillion liability for operators; we are hungry for solutions. We are working together to establish partnerships; we need to be more collaborative.” Repsol Sinopic is involved in P&A activities in Brazil in partnership with one of the operators, he said. He agreed that service companies need to be more proactive in bringing new technologies to operators and sponsoring feasibility studies and research to assist with the international approval and regulator approval process.

Roemmele raised the question of how receptive operators are to new technologies versus tried and tested technologies. Eduardo agreed that introducing new technologies is a step-by step process, given the risks compared with established technologies. Jiménez commented that the two main challenges with testing new technologies are ensuring that new technologies comply with market regulations, and finding operators to test them. NORCE tries to ensure that when testing new technologies the risk is reduced to the operator, she added.

Gamechanging technologies

Asked which technologies would be gamechangers for P&A, Jiménez highlighted three specific topics that are leading development. “The first is logging; there is a big trend for logging tools and processing of logging and data interpretation and diagnosis; the second is rigless P&As; and the third is new materials, for example new cement recipes, polymers, nano materials.”

Marcelo highlighted the benefits of a risk-based approach to P&A. “We have a very developed engineering process, and today we can have a better understanding of the risks,” he said. This could enable operators to challenge the validity of prescriptive regulations and requirements, a “hot topic for operators”, he added.

Discussing new and alternative materials, Eduardo said Petrobras is actively exploring and testing new methods and materials, but underlined the need for research to ensure that their longevity could be relied upon.

Marcelo added, “Alternative materials are already a reality; they are not widespread in the industry but some operators are using new elements when they need to or at the end of a qualification process.” He highlighted a case in the Gulf of Mexico where an operator had to execute a P&A using resin. “We are seeing increasing utilisation of bismuth alloys as a barrier.” He suggested that the usage of alternative materials could be accelerated. However, Jiménez pointed out that new materials could be more expensive.

Turning the discussion to total cost of field ownership, a current focus for the industry, Roemmele asked whether there is a vision for the future of P&A at the well drilling stage.

Jiménez underlined the “change in mentality” needed in drilling for abandonment. “We need to think about the abandonment phase at the well drilling stage, not just about getting the well to produce quickly,” she said, suggesting that the design of wells could be changed so that it is easier to abandon at a later stage. She expressed the hope for “more disruptive change in the way we abandon wells” and more new technologies implemented in the field.

Marcelo said that Petrobras’s vision of the future is of a “self abandonable well, where the completion would carry the materials and technologies required for you to just push a button, and achieve a permanent barrier.” This would mean the P&A cost for the well would be zero, but “there is a long road before we achieve that.” Marcelo foresaw a step change in P&A cost reduction thanks to new technologies and techniques.

Critical role of data

Eduardo raised the challenge posed by the possibility of changing regulations in the future, and it was felt that data and digitalisation has a critical role to play in this context. “If regulations change, we can use data to design a new reality,” said Batista. He explained how Repsol is embedding sensors in the well to monitor conditions and provide data, leading to a predictive approach for well integrity and enabling a true risk-based P&A design.

“More sensors equals more data equals easier decisions,” said Roemmele, pointing however that access to data is often a challenge, and data is not always transferred when ownership changes.

Roemmele raised the issue of carbon capture and storage (CCS). “Could this be a future opportunity and do we have enough knowledge to use some of these wells to reverse the flow?”

Batista underlined the link between P&A and CCS issues and challenges, and felt geothermal offers particularly strong potential. However he urged a cautious approach; while the idea of re-using the well is attractive, and would effectively reduce P&A costs, it could pose engineering challenges; efforts would be needed to ensure the integrity of the well, after years of use, possibly in difficult conditions, would be up to supporting a new application. “More data and more interventions are needed to better understand the real condition of the well,” he suggested.

Echoing this caution, Marcelo questioned whether a well built for a different purpose with different technologies 25 to 30 years ago would be usable for the next 30 years or more, and whether CCS made sense in the Brazilian scenario, given the location of fields in deep water far from shore. Jiménez agreed a regional approach is needed, commenting that while Norway, with its focus on reducing emissions, is leading CCS research, the infrastructure needed to compress and transport CCS may not make sense in Latin America. She further pointed out that further research is also needed on the behaviour of CCS and its reaction with cement.

Summing up, Roemmele concluded that Brazil and Latin America already have a good record in terms of successful P&As, and that openness to new technologies and techniques, supporting new research, risk-based modelling, sharing data and collaboration between regulators, operators and service companies are key to successfully driving forward P&A in the future.

During a virtual webinar at the OWI LATAM 2021 conference, Maxim Volkov, the Principal Domain Champion at TGT Diagnostics, spotlighted how ‘tube integrity diagnostics’ are pivotal to successful well operation, and how ‘Pulse’ electromagnetic (EM) technology can deliver the most accurate metal wall thickness measurements in all completion types, including specialised alloys with high chrome and/or nickel content.

On the importance of wall thickness measurements, Maxim explained that such figures can help deliver a safer and more precise calculation of burst pressures for tubing and perhaps more importantly, casings. Well operators need to maintain wells within the ‘Maximum Allowable Wellhead Operating Pressure’ (MAWOP), and calculating the most accurate burst pressure figures are key to achieving this.

In terms of conventional technologies, such as multi-finger callipers, flux leakage tools, ultrasound inspection, and older EM tools, there is a general lack of accuracy or capability to assess casing behind tubing. This is traditionally solved by pulling the tubing out of the well using expensive rig or hoist operations to expose the production casing as the primary metal surface. This obviously disrupts well operations and requires significant resources and energy utilisation.

New electromagnetic surveys provide a more efficient solution, and are able to supply wall thickness estimations of multiple casing strings up to 20” diameter, to an acceptable level of accuracy.

‘Pulse’ technology

The ‘Pulse’ platform is one of four technology platforms that make up TGT’s ‘True Integrity’ diagnostic system. Pulse is used by analysts and operators to provide an accurate barrier-by-barrier assessment of up to four concentric tubulars from a single through-tubing deployment. And unlike conventional systems, it works in all completion types, including dual string and corrosion resistant alloys.

Pulse combines advanced electromagnetic sensing and measurement technology with powerful modeling and analysis capabilities. Pulse features multiple coil sensors, each optimised by length and geometry to engage with a particular tube size. This enables it to assess the electromagnetic signature of each tube and establish wall thickness variations.

Using electromagnetics to diagnose the condition of multiple tubulars is the most reliable solution currently available for tube diagnostics. The technique is sensitive to metal only, and is free from scale or cement influence, helping it provide a reliable wall thickness assessment where the other technologies fail.

Also, EM diagnostics can be deployed while the well is active, with minimal impact on operations and cost.

Pulse deployment

Pulse can be deployed in multiple configurations with multiple sensors optimised for different tubing and casing scenarios. Short sensors can target tube diameters up to 4 1/2", with long sensors targeting up to 13 3/8" in diameter, and extra long targeting up to 20".

Coils transmit a repeating EM pulse and record the electromagnetic response, with each coil sensor capable of registering responses from different layers of casing and tubing in the well.

Multiple coil sensors are optimised to scan a different radius, enabling operators to determine which layer is being affected by corrosion and to what degree.

Pulse diagnostics delivers accurate results up to ±0.25mm for first tube, ±0.75mm for second, ±1.5mm for third, and ±3.6mm for the fourth metal barrier.

The utilisation of Pulse technology is helping the industry to keep wells safe, clean, and productive.