SPE-184762-MS

Subsea Well Plug and Abandon Intervention Using a Coiled Tubing

Conveyed Inflatable Packer A Case Study

V. Akbar and M. Fuad, Schlumberger

Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing & Well Intervention Conference & Exhibition held in Houston, TX, USA, 21-22 March 2017.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
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Abstract
Failing to properly abandon a well can create significant safety and environmental hazards, lead to
noncompliant status with regulatory agencies, and harm the operator's image. This case study follows the
plug and abandon interventions of five subsea wells located offshore East Kalimantan, Indonesia that had
been left shut in since the 1980s after they stop producing. The questionable well integrity and limited
circulation paths of these older subsea wells had the potential to generate additional hazards unless properly
addressed.
An inflatable packer run on coiled tubing (CT) was chosen to address the challenge of well integrity
because the packer was able to isolate the upper completion and subsea tree while cement was being injected
into the reservoir. Hence, exposure of the well components to pressure was minimized, which consequently
minimized the risk of having a well control issue due to overpressure. Another challenge stemmed from
the difficulties of placing cement in the casing–production-tubing annulus as the return line on the annulus
side was removed due to corrosion. A CT-conveyed inflatable packer set in between two punch holes on
production tubing allowed for accurate cement placement in the casing–production-tubing annulus.
The operation was successfully performed. The reservoir in each of the five wells was safely plugged
with cement and the inflatable packers were left in hole as additional barriers. Every cement plug placed
in the wells was tested to 1,000 psi to prove the integrity of both the cement and the packer. The ability
to place cement in the annulus ensured full coverage of the wellbore without the need to cut and retrieve
production tubing. Inflatable packers allowed cement to be pumped down through CT to the annulus through
the lower punch hole, and the return to go back to the surface through upper punch holes and up through
the production tubing. Twenty inflatable packers were deployed in five wells for both purposes mentioned
above, thus proving the reliability of the inflatable packer application in this type of intervention.

Introduction
An oil or gas well must be plugged and abandoned at the end of its life cycle, when reaching its economic
limit or presenting irreparable damage. The plug and abandonment process has to be done properly,
complying with regulatory and environmental standards. Failing to abandon a well properly can create
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significant safety and environmental hazard, as well as lead to a noncompliant status with regulatory
agencies and harm the operator's image.
In typical subsea operations where the water depth is more than 400 ft, a floating vessel such as ship and
semisubmersible rig is normally used. For medium well intervention types where well return are coming
back to surface, such as cement placement, a riser-based system will be required to create the flow path
(Zijderveld et al, 2012). An additional line to the completion annulus is also required if the cement must
be placed there.
This case study follows a series of plug and abandonment interventions in five subsea wells that have
reached their economic limit and had been left unattended since 1980s. All the wells are located in an
offshore field of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The questionable well integrity and limited circulation paths of
these old subsea wells had the potential to generate additional hazards of well control issue unless properly
addressed.
The wells are located in water depth between 160 ft and 190 ft. They were accessed using jackup rigs,
with a 6 ½-in. drill collar as a riser. An inflatable packer run on CT was the option chosen to address all
the issues generated by the well conditions.
The questionable integrity of those old wells was tackled by having an inflatable packer isolating the
upper completion and the subsea tree while injecting cement to the reservoir. The inflatable packer was then
disconnected and left in the hole as an additional barrier with cement on top of it.
Due to the age of the wells, the return lines on the annulus side had already been removed due to corrosion.
This condition eliminated the possibility of having a circulating path in the casing–production tubing
annulus for cement placement, which is required for proper well abandonment. The limited circulation paths
issue was addressed by setting a CT-conveyed inflatable packer between two punch holes on the production
tubing, thus allowing for the accurate cement placement in the casing–production tubing annulus. With that
configuration, cement pumped down the CT reached the annulus through the lower punch hole, and returns
went back to surface through the upper punch holes and up the production tubing, above the inflatable
packer. The latter was chosen for its ability to pass through the restriction created by a CX mandrel in the
completion, as well as its ability to be left in hole.

Inflatable Packer as Pressure Barrier during Cement Plug Placement

The first role of the inflatable packer is to serve as a pressure barrier during the injection of cement into the
formation. The design calls for setting the inflatable packer as close as possible to the top of the perforations
before initiating cement injection through it (Fig. 1). The idea is to limit the exposure of the subsea tree and
the completion above the inflatable packer to any potential back pressure during cement placement. This
method aims to reduce the possibility of having well control issues due to a leak of the well barrier in the
old subsea wells that are being abandoned. Once all the cement has been injected, the inflatable packer is
disconnected and left in hole as additional barrier (Fig. 2). Setting the inflatable packer close to the open
formation also serves as a contingency measure in case the formation is not able to take the cement without
exceeding the fracturing pressure. In such as case, one would disconnect the packer and use it as a cement
retainer, with the cement spotted on top of it.
SPE-184762-MS 3

Figure 1—Inflatable packer as pressure barrier during cement injection.

Figure 2—Inflatable packer left in hole as additional barrier after cement plug placement.

Inflatable Packer to Create Circulation Path during Cement Placement in

Tubing-Casing Annulus
The second role of the inflatable packer is to create a circulation path in the well for the placement of cement
in the annulus. The normal procedure calls for pumping cement from surface down the production tubing,
through punch holes that would have been created using an e-line, and getting returns of the displaced fluid
in the annulus using the annulus valve on the tree. This, however, is not possible when the flowline coming
out of the subsea tree annulus valve has already been removed, as was the case in the wells considered in this
study. To overcome this challenge, the cement placement method in the annulus was modified by creating
two punch holes on the production tubing at different depths and setting an inflatable packer in between.
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This method creates a circulation path to place the cement by pumping down the CT, pushing the cement
to the annulus through the lower punch holes, getting returns of the displaced fluid back to the production
tubing through the upper punch holes, and finally flowing back up to surface through the production tubing
(Fig. 3). The inflatable packer was then disconnected so the CT could spot cement above it and complete
the isolation (Fig. 4). By following this method, the need for connecting a hose or an additional line to the
subsea tree was eliminated.

Figure 3—Inflatable packer to create a circulation path during cement packer placement.

Figure 4—Cement placed above the disconnected inflatable packer to complete the cement plug.

Adapting the Packer Inflation Method

The inflatable packer that was used in this particular case study uses an inflation system that requires
differential pressure to open the pressure trap valve system that holds the pressure inside the packer element/
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bladder once it sets. This particular inflatable packer also features an equalization system, which avoids any
premature inflation while keeping the ability to circulate through the CT before the packer is set.
In those old wells, historic reservoir data was incomplete. The reservoir pressure and fracturing gradient
could not be confirmed; the ability of the wells to sustain a fluid column was thus unknown. This condition
made it particularly hazardous to use inflatable packers, for the wellbore hydrostatic pressure directly enters
into play to determine the required differential pressure between inside and outside the CT.
To address this issue, the inflatable packer configuration was modified so the inner CT became a closed
system and the pipe was run in hole in dry/empty configuration. The latter ensured that the pressure inside
the CT was always lower than the one outside, so that no unplanned differential pressure would initiate
the inflation process. Even though this method sacrificed the ability to circulate through the CT, it was the
safest one to ensure that proper conveyance of the inflatable packer to target depth. In addition, the rig trip
tank was continuously filling up the well as a complementary precaution during the run.
Although this procedure successfully helped convey and set the very first inflatable packer at the target
depth, it was also observed that the well was able to sustain the full column of liquid (seawater) during
that CT run. This condition opened up the possibility to run with an open-system inflation method for the
rest of the campaign.
An open-system inflation method for this particular packer is preferable in some cases because it reduces
the risk of having trapped air inside the packer element/bladder. This can happen when filling the CT pipe
from an empty configuration and not letting enough time for the air at the downhole end to migrate to the
surface. This trapped air can then lead to cases when the packer would have already set but without enough
anchoring to withhold the extensive force that might be applied to it thereafter.
Another advantage of using this method is the shorter operation time because it eliminates the time one
has to wait for air migration when using the closed-system method. The reader will note that in spite of
having the well able to sustain the full column of liquid, all efforts were made to keep a negative differential
pressure (between inside and outside of CT) during the run in hole to avoid any premature inflation; this
was achieved by having rig trip tank continuously filling up the well.

Operations in Well 2
As previously mentioned, the use of inflatable packers was repeated throughout the entire subsea well
abandonment project presented in this paper. The same aforementioned procedures were applied in each
well. Well 2 is here taken as an example to illustrate the overall operational workflow.
Well 2 was completed in 1982 and recently planned for asset retirement. During preparation of the well,
it was found that the tree had parted and was lying on the seabed. Flange connection bolts below the tree
manual master valve and to the tree connector adaptor sub had been sheared off. Only the lower master
valve was still attached to the wellhead. A riser with 3 1/8-in. 5,000-psi BX-154 flange crossovers was thus
directly bolted onto the tree connector adaptor sub for well abandonment and tree retrieval. Once connected
to the tree, all the riser was pressure-tested down to the lower master valve to check its integrity.
There were two subsurface safety valves (SSSV) in the well, both of which could be operated via a control
line from surface. Two preliminary runs were performed using slickline in this well. The first one aimed to
retrieve the upper SSSV (wireline retrievable) and the second one to check that the lower SSSV was open
once it had been activated from surface (tubing retrievable).
A cleanout jetting run was performed to clean the area where the inflatable packer was planned to be
set. The 2.38-in. outside diameter (OD) centralizer, the same centralizer OD used in the inflatable packer
bottomhole assembly (BHA), was made up to the cleanout jetting BHA to drift the wellbore in the same run.
The first inflatable packer was set at 3,630 ft below rotary table (BRT). It was used as a barrier during
cement injection into the perforations. After the packer was inflated to 1,900 psi and anchor-tested to 1,000
lbf setdown weight, 20 bbl of cement were pumped through the packer and injected into a total of 18 ft of
6 SPE-184762-MS

open perforation. The inflatable packer was then disconnected with ~6,000-lbf overpull and left in hole as a
permanent plug with cement below it. The packer with cement below then being pressure tested with 1000
psi for 10 minute to ensure its integrity.
The second inflatable packer was set at 3,570 ft BRT, between punch holes located at 3,120 ft BRT
and 3,620 ft BRT. This packer was set as a retainer to facilitate cement placement in the tubing-casing
annulus. After the inflatable packer was set and anchor-tested, a circulation test was performed to ensure
communication was established to the tubing-casing annulus. This circulation also intended to fill up the
annulus and accelerate upward migration of the gases left in the annulus. Once circulation stopped, 21 bbl
of cement were pumped through the CT. A total of 18.9 bbl of cement was placed in the annulus, and the
remaining 2.1 bbl were spotted above the inflatable packer after it was disconnected from the CT. The same
method was then repeated for the third inflatable packer—and its subsequent cement placement— which
was set at 2,550 ft BRT, between punch holes located at 2,100 ft BRT and 2,600 ft BRT.
The fourth and fifth inflatable packers were also used as cement retainers. However, they were not left
in the hole. The fourth inflatable packer was set at 1,373 ft BRT between punch holes located at 1,773 ft
BRT and 1,273 ft BRT. After 21 bbl of cement were pumped thru the inflatable packer in the tubing and
tubing–casing annulus, the inflatable packer was deflated and retrieved to surface. Fifth packer repeat the
same method as the fourth with packer set at 250 ftBRT, between punch holes at 620 ftBRT and 200ftBRT.
Every cement plug placement was verified by tagging and pressure testing to 1000 psi for 10 minutes
after cement dry. Final cement placement in Well 2 is shown in Fig. 5.

Figure 5—Final cement placement in well 2.

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Result
A total of 22 inflatable packers were successfully deployed and set to complete a plug and abandonment
project in five old subsea wells.
1. Three inflatable packers were set in well 1. One packer was used to isolate the upper completion, and
cement was injected through it to abandon the reservoir. The other two served to create a circulation
path to place cement in the tubing-casing annulus.
2. Five inflatable packers were set in well 2. One packer was used to isolate the upper completion, and
cement was injected through it to abandon the reservoir. The other four served to create a circulation
path to place cement in the tubing-casing annulus.
3. Five inflatable packers were set in well 3. One packer was used to isolate the upper completion,
and cement was injected through it to abandon the open reservoir. The other four served to create a
circulation path to place cement in the tubing-casing annulus.
4. Four inflatable packers were set in well 4. One packer was used to isolate the upper completion,
and cement was injected through it to abandon the reservoir, and the other three served to create a
circulation path to place cement in the tubing-casing annulus.
5. Five inflatable packers were set in well 5. One packer was used to isolate the upper completion, and
cement was injected through it to abandon the reservoir. The other four served to create a circulation
path to place cement in the tubing-casing annulus.
The setting depth of each single packer changed in those five wells, as mentioned in Table 1.

Table 1—Inflatable setting depth data.

Well 1 Well 2 Well 3 Well 4 Well 5

Well depth (ft) 4,437 4,511 11,227 10,840 9,362

Depth of inflatable 1 in well (for
3,340 3,630 3,713 3,650 6,891
cement squeeze) (ft)
Depth of inflatable 2 in well (left in
3,280 3,570 3,635 3,579 6,777
hole) (ft)
Depth of inflatable 3 in well (left in
1,750 2,250 2,221 2,006 2,934
hole) (ft)T
Depth of inflatable 4 in well
1,392 847 300 1,970
(retrieved) (ft)T
Depth of inflatable 5 in well
250 320 280
(retrieved) (ft)

Summary and Conclusion

This project shows how inflatable packers can provide an alternative method to facilitate the placement of
cement during subsea well abandonment operations, especially in wells facing the following challenges:
1. An alternative circulation path must be created because of the lack of return line on the subsea tree.
2. Well conditions are variable and require a flexible packer setting procedure.
3. Additional pressure barriers need to be provided during cement injection.

Reference
1. Zijderveld. G. H. T., Tiebout, J. J., Hendriks, S. M. et al 2012. Subsea Well Intervention Vessel
and Systems. Presented at Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, 30 April–3
May. OTC-23161-MS.http://dx.doi.org/10.4043/23161-MS.