Brent Charlie Ultra Late Life: Managing for Optimum Decommissioning

摘要

This paper discusses the benefits of early plug and lubricate (P&L) of shut-in wells for Brent Charlie as part of the journey into the ultra-late life phase of the field. The Brent Charlie is the last producing platform on the Brent Field which is currently in its decommissioning phase, after 40 years of production. The integrated Well Engineering and Well, Reservoir & Facilities Management (WRFM) teams realised there were well and topsides facilities maintenance activities which could be streamlined or removed from the maintenance work scope. In the late life period of the asset the business driver is changing from "ensuring a well is fit for production to ensuring a well is fit for decommissioning". The work is focused on applying a fit for purpose approach to managing risks for long term shut in wells in preparation for plug and abandonment (P&A) with the rig. Performing offline P&L operations with a wireline unit ahead of the plug and abandonment work with the rig resulted in the following benefits: 1. Removed integrity risks in the shut-in wells by ensuring the wellbore and annulus are hydrocarbon free. 2. De-risked wells for plug and abandonment. 3. Provided an opportunity to perform tail-end production optimisation. 4. Optimisation of well-related maintenance scope leading to reduced spend. The adoption of an integrated approach to decommissioning and well abandonment resulted in cost savings and production gains that effectively paid for the P&L work.