Impact of Digital Slickline Capability on Slickline Conveyance Phases of Plug and Abandonment Operations

Abstract

Abstract Slickline often plays a vital role in offshore plug and abandonment (P&A) operations, either used in the phases of the operation that require slickline conveyance, or because logistical, footprint, operational, economical, environmental or regulatory parameters of a P&A operation necessitate full reliance on this small, light, cost-effective conveyance offering. Today's evolving regulatory requirements are leading to an increasing demand on the scheduling and design of P&A activities. For activities such as barrier placement, proof that the work is being carried out to the prescribed high quality is increasingly required both by the operators and the authorities. In addition, as the time, costs, and risks involved in carrying out an offshore P&A operation are considerable, possible savings and risk reduction are highly sought after by the customer. P&A activities such as perforation, punching, cutting, device setting, and cement placement, previously done by electric line or with memory-based tools which required additional runs in the well and provided only post-job QC, can be carried out by digital slickline without any compromise to the efficiency and immediate certainty of the operation. Conducting these P&A activities with digital slickline enables efficiencies through equipment and logistics simplification, and people and equipment rationalization, as well as reductions in marine support requirements. Time and cost savings and process risk reduction or elimination, important in their own right on a single well abandonment operation, are increasingly relevant when applied on a full field abandonment scope of work. In addition, the suitability of slickline conveyance in such environments as riserless intervention P&A operations (negating the need for grease injection pressure seal), is another important feature that is part-and-parcel of a digital slickline operation. This paper will demonstrate, through actual field examples, the use of digital slickline's inherent surface read out and command and control capabilities, the operational value of precision and clarity delivered in real time, and the specific P&A job recordability and capabilities that have been absent from slickline operations of past. Also highlighted are digital slickline's facilitation of personnel and equipment reduction, and subsequent reduction in HSE exposure.