Page 43: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Mar/Apr 2025)

42 44

wells in the North Sea were drilled before diver-less sys- its high-profle pre-salt—are also nearing abandonment tems became standard,” says Richards. “That’s more than a thresholds. Richards anticipates that knowledge transfer, thousand wells that still require diver intervention.” not just hardware, will be Well-Safe’s key export.

The onboard D300 sat dive system allows divers to per- form critical mechanical operations—manipulating valves, CCS AND THE NEXT PHASE OF reinstating hydraulic control lines, or removing structural LATE-LIFE STRATEGY debris—that ROVs can’t handle reliably. This eliminates The overlap between well decommissioning and carbon the scheduling complexity of mobilizing a separate dive capture and storage (CCS) is increasingly relevant. Many support vessel and allows Well-Safe to execute diving and legacy assets being abandoned today could become future rig-based abandonment operations in parallel. CCS injection sites—or at least must be assessed for CCS

The integration of SIMOPS (simultaneous operations) integrity risks. “If you’re abandoning a well in a feld with further enhances effciency. “We can have divers preparing CCS potential, your barrier strategy needs to refect that,” one well while we're setting mechanical barriers downhole Richards explains. “And conversely, if you're assessing a site on another. It’s a force multiplier,” Richards says. “And if for CCS, you need to understand the integrity of every something unexpected comes up—like a leaking line—we legacy well. This is where our work directly supports future have the inbuilt capability to intervene without delay.” emissions mitigation.”

Well-Safe has already supported several CCS pre-assess-

TECHNOLOGY IN CONTEXT: ment projects and sees this as a natural extension of its

BEYOND THE SILVER BULLET technical base.

While emerging technologies are critical, Richards cau- tions against overreliance on novelty at the expense of fun- CASE STUDY: damentals. “There’s a tendency in decommissioning to look SIMOPS IN THE SOUTHERN NORTH SEA for silver bullets,” he says. “But the biggest cost and risk A recent campaign using the Well-Safe Protector on a reductions still come from front-end design—barrier strat- Southern North Sea platform illustrated the advantages egy, risk analysis, contingency planning. If we can eliminate of integrated, fexible operations. The team executed SI- a barrier through engineering, we might cut P&A cost by MOPS by performing digital slickline work from a moon- 50%. No tool offers that magnitude of impact.” pool while simultaneously deploying the BOP through

That said, technology plays a vital role when thought- the main rotary. The operation allowed for effcient plug fully deployed. Well-Safe is actively exploring or utilizing: placement without repeated BOP rig-up/rig-down between - Thermite plugs, used to create foundational sup- wells. Midway through the campaign, a velocity string— port for conventional cement barriers in diffcult geometries; not listed in the well records—was discovered in one well- - M ulti-casing logging tools, enabling better diag- bore. Rather than halting operations, the team sidetracked nostics of annular pressure or barrier condition in old to other wells, while a parallel onshore team engineered completions; a recovery plan. By the time the program returned to the - Lightweight BOP systems using explosively actu- problematic well, the necessary tools were staged and ready, ated shear rams, a solution for wellheads that can’t support allowing abandonment to proceed without NPT. full-weight hydraulic systems. “That’s the reality of decommissioning,” Richards says. “These tools expand the envelope of what’s possible— “Unknowns are part of the job. But with the right struc- but they don’t replace rigorous planning,” Richards says. ture, you can solve problems without losing time.” “We treat technology as another instrument in the tool- box—not the blueprint.” ENGINEERING THE EXIT

Well-Safe’s philosophy is rooted in treating decommis-

GLOBAL GROWTH, REGIONAL ADAPTATION sioning as an engineering discipline—not just a regulatory

Well-Safe is currently expanding into Asia-Pacifc, with obligation. With purpose-built assets, a focused team, and a new offces in Kuala Lumpur. The shift is driven by grow- methodical approach to risk and cost reduction, the company ing decommissioning demand in Australia, Southeast Asia, is helping operators navigate the late-life phase more strategi- and eventually Brazil. “Southeast Asia is looking closely cally. “Decommissioning isn’t just about removing a liability,” at North Sea P&A practices,” Richards says. “But it’s not says Richards. “It’s about applying engineering to secure the a straight export—you have to adjust for different well subsurface for the next 100 years—whether that’s for perma- types, geological conditions, and regulatory regimes.” nent abandonment, CCS, or something else entirely.”

Australia’s offshore infrastructure is approaching end-of- For a sector confronting the full arc of the asset lifecycle, Well- life, while Brazil’s shallow water assets—less visible than Safe Solutions is engineering not just an exit—but a legacy.

march/april 2025 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 43