CASE STUDY
Proactive well integrity
management
Pulsed eddy current (PEC) technology helps to improve well integrity
T
he North Sea is a mature basin
with a well-established infrastructure.
Consequently, significant investment
is necessary to maximise the economic
recovery of oil and gas. The hundreds of
wells across the North Sea are among the
extensive assets and facilities that require
a focus on asset integrity and that must
be maintained for safety, protection of the
environment and continuing production.
For example, wellhead support casings
can deteriorate over long periods of time
through corrosion, and, in a worst-case
scenario, this may lead to structural failure
unless integrity management programmes
are followed.
Shell Global Solutions has worked
closely with Shell U.K. Exploration and
Production Limiteds upstream business
(Shell UK E&P) over the last few years
on an inspection campaign to assess the
integrity of its wells. This was a major
technical challenge, as corrosion in
offshore wells occurs predominantly at sea
level in the space (the D annulus) between
two concentric, vertical tubular conduits:
the surface casing and the outer conductor.
A method was needed to overcome the
16 impact
difficulties of access and of working on
producing wells.
Together, Shell Global Solutions and
Shell UK E&P developed the D-PEC
well inspection method. This is based
on PEC technology in which a pulsed
magnetic field induces eddy currents in
the steel being examined. PEC technology
determines the wall thickness of the pipe
by sensing the decay of the eddy currents.
The D-PEC tool more than meets the
requirements for the casing inspection,
says Ian Taylor, Principal Production
Technologist, Well Integrity and Well
Completions, Shell U.K. Exploration and
Production Limited. The method can
measure wall thickness through deposits
without contact between the sensor and
the steel surface. A two-man crew performs
a D-PEC survey using a portable unit while
the well remains in production.
The inspection campaign identified
clearly where remedial action was
necessary and where it was not. The
survey also indicated that it was impossible
to predict which wells were at risk from
corrosion and which were not. Corrosion
did not seem to correlate directly with
the age of the well or factors such as
operating temperature or communication
with seawater.
During the D-PEC survey, we found that
some D annuli were blocked by debris
or corrosion deposits, and could not be
inspected, explains Taylor. This prompted
us to develop C-PEC inspection equipment
for accessing wells via the C annulus
valve that could negotiate obstructions.
C-PEC technology gave us an option for
inspecting wells that could otherwise not
be inspected through the D annulus.
An umbrella-like construction was
designed for negotiating the obstructions and
positioning the miniaturised probe on the
steel surface. Closed, it is lowered into the C
annular space and past any obstruction. A
miniature chemical timer, inspired by a British
pencil detonator of World War II design,
then opens the device. An international
patent application has been filed for PEC
inspection of well casings.
The PEC technologies offer field
operators simple ways to monitor for
progressive corrosion and can have
commercial benefits. Knowledge of
well integrity enables better planning of
production deferment and more accurate
production forecasting.
Regular health checks of the corrosion
status of wells help us to plan more
targeted and cost-effective workover
programmes and to focus on those wells
that require urgent attention and remedial
action, concludes Taylor.
For more information contact:
Diederick Bax
Email: diederick.bax@shell.com
Issue 1, 2010 www.shell.com/globalsolutions