Jack-up drilling rig Maersk Invincible has completed a plug and abandonment (P&A) program of wells at the Valhall field center in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea ahead of schedule, operator Aker BP announced.
The average time per well has been reduced by 50 percent compared with the first phase, despite a rise in the complexity of the wells toward the end of the campaign, the company said.
Since May 2017, Maersk Invincible has plugged a total of 14 wells at the original drilling platform. The first dozen wells were plugged between 2014-2016 using drilling rig Maersk Reacher.
The three original platforms from when the field started producing in 1982 – QP, DP and PCP – will be removed. Four wells remain to be permanently plugged prior to the removal of the DP platform.
“For the development of Valhall, the success of the P&A campaign is crucial,” said Per Mikal Hauge, Vice President for the Valhall Asset. “Above all, permanent plugging makes a key contribution to HSE because it secures the non-producing wells.”
The remaining platforms at the field center – IP, WP and PH – as well as the Flank platforms will continue production.
The recent P&A operations were completed with no harm to people, equipment or the environment – and zero CO2 and NOx emissions, Aker BP said.
The rig was supplied with electricity through the Valhall field when conducting the P&A scope. Aker BP said this is likely the first time a drilling rig has been powered fully from shore. Calculations show that electrification of the drilling rig has reduced the annual local emissions by 15,200 metric tons of CO2 and 168 tons of NOx.
Aker BP’s SVP Drilling and Wells, Tommy Sigmundstad, said, “We had a fantastic team in place, both onshore and offshore, many of them going back to when the P&A program started with Maersk Reacher. The collaboration with Maersk Drilling, as with the service companies, has been excellent. Throughout the campaign, there has been a continuous search for improvements.”
Maersk Invincible has moved to Valhall Flank North, where it will drill an injection and a production well.
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