A patented tool that cleans blocks out of subsea pipes could clear the way for the production of tens of millions of barrels of North Sea oil and gas.
Aberdeen-based Pipetech has unveiled a new downhole scale remediation (DSR) technology it expects will be able to fight the scourge wells that are prematurely shut-in.
Pipetech’s new kit aims to address long-standing industry challenges posed by scale, wax, and other naturally occurring deposits that obstruct fluid flow, compromise production efficiency and create unsuitable surfaces for bridge plugs.
The DSR tool was supported by the Net Zero Technology Centre’s (NZTC) emissions reduction programme.
Testing of the new tool is scheduled across redundant wells in the UK, Norway, and other countries later this year.
Scale of the problem
Over 30% of the UK’s oil and gas wells are shut-in, according to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA).
The regulator said “more than 20 million barrels could potentially be produced cheaply and cleanly” by bringing around 200 existing wells back online.
Pipetech operations director Leonard Hamill told Energy Voice that his firm’s new tech works differently from traditional solutions that use a “mechanical wiper” that drills out scale build-up in a well.
© Supplied by PipetechThe issue with this, Pipetech found, was that traditional solutions cannot expand and contract depending on how clogged up the pipe is.
“The uniqueness of the tool is that it tracks the inner diameter of the pipe so if the diameter opens up then closes down again the nozzle will always track the inner diameter,” he explained.
“It gets the pressure onto the scale, which effectively removes the scale, so there’s no other system which can actually change with the diameter and follow the inner track of the wellbore.”
Hamill added: “We’ve done initial concept test to prove, prove the concept and we’re eyeing up to do some field trials.”
NSTA eyes 200 wells to restart production
Latest NSTA figures show that there are 1,225 wellbores with issues in the North Sea. Of those, 81 have issues with downhole deposits, 25 reported formation damage and 40 had mechanical downhole access problems.
At OEUK’s recent Wells Conference in Aberdeen, the NSTA’s director of new ventures addressed what the regulator is doing to tackle these issues.
Andy Brooks told attendees: “To encourage more interventions, we have held one-to-one sessions with dedicated wells teams at seven leading North Sea operators.
“On the back of that, we completed a detailed study of nearly 800 shut-in wells to understand what percentage could be brought back into production.
“The first tranche of approximately 200 wells have been identified as both technically and economically feasible for restoration.
“The learnings identified from this initial tranche could be used to realise restoration of many more.”
© Supplied by Paul Glendell / DC TThe UK regulator is looking to encourage North Sea licence holders to get shut-in wells back up and running, something Pipetech think the DSR can help with.
Hamill added: “There’s a big drive from the NSTA to get shut-in wells back online to maximise the production.
“They are actively targeting operators to come up with solutions to actually remove scale so the big benefit to this system is that we know from our 20 years of experience that we can clean back to bare metal to get those production levels back to where they should be.”
Global application
© Supplied by PipetechThe Pipetech boss explained that scale build up issues are experienced by oil and gas operators in other regions and that the new DSR tool could be deployed “globally” to combat this challenge.
“The UK is a target, but also, we’ve got bases in Aberdeen and Norway. So, Norway is a key target for us as well and then globally,” he explained.
The North Sea operator that Pipetech has worked alongside while collaborating with NZTC has told the Aberdeen firm that it has also experienced “a lot scale issues” in the Middle East.
Brooks added: “Intervening on these wells could potentially deliver more than 20 million barrels of additional production.
“This is a significant prize and one that we are proactively encouraging licensees to pursue.”
Pipetech plans to bring the DSR to the market in “the coming months”.
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