The numbers of ageing fields in North Sea are only increasing as more and more brown fields are reaching end of productive life. The challenge today in the North Sea is to maximize production from what remains and also to safely, economically and optimally abandon the wells, which can no more produce. The operators have hence started looking for options to abandon wells in a highly government regulated environment.

Permanent Plug and abandonment is done with the objective for the well to be sealed and isolated forever. This long term sealing requirement is one of the principle parameters to measure the success of abandonment. This becomes even more critical in the North Sea as the cost of operating offshore and risked cost of returning to re-abandon a leaky well run into millions of dollars. Furthermore the environmental liability of cleaning up slicks from a leaky well is also a concern. Technically sound abandonment practices are necessary for long-term isolation to protect the environment and to avoid the eventuality of an expensive re-abandonment.

This paper presents

• A discussion of abandonment regulations and requirements.
• A case history for permanent abandonment campaigns in the North Sea region UK sector.
• A discussion of the methodology, materials and techniques used.