OTC 23923

Plug and Abandonment Applications for Inflatable Packers in the Gulf of

Mexico
Arthur Loginov - TAM International - SPE

Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the Offshore Technology Conference held in Houston, Texas, USA, 6–9 May 2013.

This paper was selected for presentation by an OTC program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Offshore Technology Conference, its
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Abstract

As the number of wells that need to be plugged & abandoned grows so do the applications for uses of inflatable
packers. This paper will discuss common applications and practical uses for inflatable packers in past, current,
and in future wells in the Gulf of Mexico, USA.

Inflatable packers are proving to be valuable tools to assist directly with stopping annular gas migration,
performing mandatory cement testing, casing leak detection, and cement squeeze applications during the plug
and abandonment (P&A) process. Inflatable packer versatility is proving to provide a wide range of setting options
that allow the ever changing P&A environment the ability to use single tool configurations for multiple applications.
This tool adaptability reduces spread cost through down time reduction. Processes and the use of a peer review
approach ensures that the latest techniques and practices are utilized and reviewed to incorporate the safest,
effective, and most economical methods for well abandonment. These specific inflatable packer applications will
be shown through multiple case histories, where exact well parameters will be discussed, showing the results of
each particular job. These case histories will discuss and illustrate temporary well abandonment, permanent well
abandonment, re-abandonment, subsea well abandonment, and/or rigless abandonments.

Introduction

Inflatable packers have increasingly gained popularity in the last decades due to their proven reliability,
performance and flexibility. There is significant use in different applications from zonal isolation to plug and
abandonment operations due to casing restrictions, non standard casing, damaged casing or when conventional
mechanical packers or plugs are not an option. They could be either retrievable or permanent and have been
used as:

 Cement Retainers
 Bridge Plug
 Cemented Packer
 Multi-Set Squeeze Packer
 Multi-Set Test Packer

Deployment methods vary from wireline (E-line or Slickline), drill pipe, coiled tubing, Cat line or crane on the
production platform where work space is limited.

Plug and abandonment operations routinely take place on offshore platforms with limited work space. This makes
it difficult to deploy tools by conventional methods. Use of coiled tubing facilitates the process by economically
setting inflatable packers and placing cement plugs in the wellbore to perform the abandonment operation.
Standard well abandonment operations are often performed by installing bridge plugs and cement plugs to
prevent cross flow of production and permanently isolate a zone to prevent possible differential pressure build up
2 OTC 23923

from below. Plug and abandonment operations are a critical part of operating an oil and gas field as the risks
associated with not properly abandoning a well could represent serious safety concerns and hazards to the
environment.

Decommission

Oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico will have to permanently plug nearly 3,500 temporarily abandoned wells and
dismantle nearly 650 production platforms that are no longer used according to government information in an
article published by MSNBC.com. Structures that sit idle or inactive are continuing to age becoming a high
environmental risk especially during storm season. Federal regulations regarding environmental protection for the
Gulf of Mexico require operators to prevent migration of fluids from the wellbore and establish a permanent barrier
to the existing geologic formation, plug and abandon operations must be performed reliably and to the highest
standards.

P&A is the first stage of an offshore decommissioning program in which tubing, casing strings, and conductors are
cut and removed below the mud line and cement plugs are set at various depths across former producing
horizons. A large majority of the existing temporarily plugged wells in the Gulf of Mexico exhibit gas migration to
surface between different casing strings. This must be effectively isolated to prevent cement contamination and a
valid pressure test is required to validate seal before decommissioning can proceed.

Wells in the Offshore Continental Shale (OCS) must be permanently plugged and abandoned within 1 year after
the lease terminates. The Minerals and Management Services (MMS) may require that a well be permanently
plugged before lease production ceases if it endangers safety or the environment or if it is not useful for lease
operations and is incapable of producing in economic quantities. Wells may also be shut-in or temporarily
abandoned throughout their life cycles for mechanical or technical reasons or because they are not producing in
economic quantities.

Inflatable packers offer a great selection of alternatives to address customers’ needs whether used for permanent
plug and abandonment or temporary abandonment due to storms or surface equipment change out. Several
factors dictate the type of packer to be used. Application, differential pressure requirements, well string
configurations or casing restrictions and setting method all need to be considered. Available platform rig-up space
and simultaneous platform operations can also affect packer selection.

Permanent Well Abandonment

Case History 1

An operator in the Gulf of Mexico had a P&A project that required milling a window out of the 8-5/8 in., 28 lbs/ft P-
110 (8.017 in. ID) production casing into 13-3/8 in., 68 lbs/ft P-110 (12.415 in. ID) surface pipe to stop gas
migration and prevent cement plug contamination. Due to 7.89 in. casing restriction, the tool of choice was 425-
SS-05 single set packer with 738 VE full cover inflation element. Maximum element working pressure 2,151 psi
set inside 12.359 in. casing ID (figure 1).
Normally a 20 ft to 30 ft window section is required to set a normal packer. The above packer was able to set
inside 10 ft long window translating into savings to the operator due to shorten milling operations.
Packer assembly consisted of 425-SS packer with 738 VE element (figure 2) and ball choke in setting sleeve with
circulation ports open and bull plug below. Above, a TAMCON (mechanical sealing tubing disconnect) was placed
to disconnect work string to spot 50 ft of cement. Operations were performed with the platform crane and setting
depth was 2,100 ft inside 8-5/8 in. casing.
Once on depth inside the window, setting ball was released and gravitated to bottom. Pressure was applied to set
the packer and weight applied to verify anchoring. Pressure was increased to shift setting sleeve and trap inflation
pressure.
Found neutral weight and rotated work string to the left 1/4 turn and disconnected leaving packer on bottom. Well
was shut in overnight monitoring pressure or gas bubbles. Next morning 50 ft of cement was spotted above the
plug and work string retrieved from the well.
OTC 23923 3

Figure 1 Figure 2

Case History 2

Another major operator in the Gulf of Mexico had a four well P&A project that also required milling windows
between 13-3/8 in., 86 lbs/ft P-110 casing (12.125 in. ID) and 20 in., 94 lbs/ft (19.124 in. ID) K-55 surface string
annulus and setting a cementing packer to stop gas bubbling to surface. The standard milling operation for a 15 ft
long window to be able to set a well known vented packer required approximately 9 days costing $ 90K per day.
Working with the operator, a 425 SS cemented packer was deployed that only required 5 ft 7 in. long window and
took only 5 days to mill instead of the 15 ft long window as initially planned. This translated into savings to the
customer.
A 425 Single Set with 11 in. VE full covered element was used with ball choke in setting sleeve, nose guide and
circulating ports closed. Work string used was 3-1/2 in. IF so a safety joint was placed on a 2-7/8 in. 10 ft pup joint
between the TAMCON and packer. JSA was carried out to make sure operational procedures were clear and
understood since the operation was going to be performed with the platform crane.
Prior to running the packer, a clean out trip was made with mill and new cutter knives on a power swivel to clean
the window and correlate depth. Pipe was marked where the packer will be set inside the window. (figure 3)
Picked up packer and run to depth. Circulated 10 bbls of water to clean work string and released setting ball
allowing it to gravitate. Once on seat, inflation was initiated with 500 psi holding for 5 minutes to allow element
squaring off. Inflation pressure was increased in steps until 1,600 psi was achieved to shift setting sleeve to
closed position trapping inflation pressure in the element.
Slacked off work string weight on packer and monitor annulus for bubbles. Well stable with no signs of bubbles.
Rigged up wireline and set cast iron bridge plug inside 2-7/8 in. 6.5 lbs/ft 10 ft long pup joint above packer. Run in
with dump bailer and placed 10 ft cement above the plug. Cement and plug tested, disconnected from packer by
rotating TAMCON 1/4 turn to the left and picking up work string. Placed work string above the stinger and pumped
cement on top of packer. Pulled work string out of the hole. Closed blind rams on BOP and monitor for 24 hours.
4 OTC 23923

This P&A application with inflatable packer allowed operator to modify standard operating procedures to reduce
milling operations in the remaining wells of the four well project. This reduction saved the customer $ 1.44 M

Figure 3

Temporary Well Abandonment

Case History 3 - Wireline conveyed

A subsea well needed to have wellhead repairs due to leaking seals so the operator needed a secondary barrier
in addition to the tubing mounted safety valve. The operation was to be performed rigless so a multifunctional
supply vessel equipped with a Remotely Operated Vessel (ROV) was brought in to have an inflatable bridge plug
assembly run and set on slickline.
The job consisted of running the plug through a 2.992 in. ID sleeve installed inside the subsea tree on bottom of
BOP stack and set in 4-1/2 in. 12.75 lbs/ft 13% chrome with 3.958 in. ID, remove and replace BOP then retrieve
the plug. TAM's E-Select program selected size 213-RP with 250 TE element Slats up capable of 4,021 psi
working pressure from below with 1,200 psi inflation pressure.

To reduce the downhole risk, the self-contained setting system with its onboard power was used to set the
inflatable bridge plug in this application even though electric power was available via the wireline unit. The tool
used in this application was a battery-operated, computerized setting system designed to convey and set
inflatable bridge plugs on slickline or electric line. The setting tool assembly can be used to set inflatable bridge
plugs ranging from 2-1/8 in. to 14 in. OD. The setting system consists of onboard battery power which drives a
downhole pump to inflate the bridge plug with wellbore fluids (or fluid carried in from surface when dictated by
OTC 23923 5

downhole fluid conditions). In this application, as the plug was to be set on slikline, the Slikpak Plus Setting
System was selected with carry fluid reservoirs system to make sure clean fluid was used to inflate the packer.
The carry on system is only used when wellbore fluid type and condition is unknown. Due to the low temperature
requirement, alkaline batteries were used to power the motor.

The setting system completes the inflation cycle by locking in the inflation pressure and disconnecting from the
bridge plug. The bridge plug inflation sequence is recorded by a timer and transducers inside the tool, providing
data files which are downloaded for post job analysis. The timer records relevant downhole and setting tool
parameters to ensure the tool-setting sequence was completed properly to meet the job requirements. The bridge
plug can be left in the well permanently or temporarily and also provides options for retrieval with industry
standard retrieving tools for coiled tubing or wireline operations.

The tool string was picked up and lowered via wireline unit. Once on bottom, an ROV removed the tree cap and
guided tools inside the well. The plug was then run to 4,352 ft deep. Once setting depth was reached, the tools
were held with no string movement so the inflatable bridge plug setting system could recognize the pre-
programmed activation time to initiate the setting sequence. The electronic cartridge was programmed for
redundancy to ensure the pump would not operate unless the pre-programmed run-in-hole time and a thirty
minute “no-motion” time had elapsed. The “no-motion“ period ensures the bridge plug does not prematurely inflate
while running in hole.

Once reaching setting depth, slack off and pick up weights are recorded and the string needs to remain stationary
at setting depth. After 30 minutes of no motion, the computer sends a signal to start the inflation process. Once
completed, weight is slacked off to verify plug anchoring. Slikline is pulled to activate the pull intensifier to
complete the inflation process and release from the plug.

After setting the inflatable bridge plug, the setting system timer and transducer data files were retrieved from the
tool string for post job analysis. From the acquired data, it was confirmed that the setting system functioned
properly throughout the job and progressed through each of its pre-programmed phases after reaching setting
depth.

BOP was released and pulled to surface. New BOP was lowered, installed and pressure tested against the bridge
plug. Tried to retrieve running tool but it would not release from BOP stack. The operator decided to pull BOP
stack and set SSR plug in hanger leaving the 213-RP plug set in the well to be retrieved at a later date. Up to
publishing date, plug has not been retrieved.

Conclusions

Inflatable packers over time have been proven to be very reliable offering flexibility whether used for zonal
isolation, temporary or permanent well abandonment or as storm packer during storm season. Historically
inflatable products have been treated as temporary solutions but over time they have gained customer trust and
shown to be long term solutions depending on the application. Though field-proven through many years of
successful use, inflatable tool technology is still a relatively niche area of the oil and gas business. One may
assume that lack of information on the capabilities and reliability of inflatable packer bridge plugs for these types
of operations is not being adequately conveyed to the operators/oil companies and has lead to lack of more
widespread usage of these tools.