OIS Eases Well Decommissioning Burden

Offshore Installation Services Ltd (OIS), an Acteon company, launched a new service designed to help operators fulfill their suspended well decommissioning plans. Wellintel is a well data collection and review service that gathers and prepares the information operators require before they start a decommissioning program. OIS engineers with extensive well abandonment knowledge and detailed understanding of the entire decommissioning process will deliver the service.

Operators having an up-to-date well inventory and regulatory documentation ready for submission to DECC and the HSE can take advantage of commercially efficient opportunities such as multi-client abandonment campaigns that may arise at short notice.

Decommissioning offshore assets is a key challenge for the U.K.’s offshore oil and gas industry. The U.K. government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is prompting operators with assets that require permanent abandonment to expedite the process.

For many operators, the main obstacles are lack of time or limited in-house resources to deal with the critical tasks required to prepare for decommissioning. The Wellintel team will help by collating well-specific data, such as end-of-well reports and well status diagrams, and the initial assessment of well categorization in accordance with O&G UK guidelines, which is required to identify which assets are available and suitable for vessel-based abandonment, thereby easing the burden on operators.

The Wellintel service can also support operators with preparing the submissions to DECC and the HSE that are required before starting a decommissioning program. These submissions include the oil pollution emergency plan, PON 5 (application to abandon a well), PON 15f (permit to use and/or discharge chemicals during well abandonment), the Marine Coastal Access Act licence and the HSE notification.

Since its launch, Wellintel has attracted a high degree of interest amongst North Sea operators who recognize the value of this approach. One operating company has already started using the service as part of its decommissioning strategy.

One of the key features of the proposition is that the costs of the Wellintel service are deductible from future abandonment work by OIS, as Tom Selwood, OIS vice president commercial and business development, explained. “Once the Wellintel process is complete, OIS can provide well abandonment solutions, including vessel charter, marine management, equipment and personnel, and full offshore project management for any suspended wells that are suitable for vessel-based abandonment. Operators that use OIS for back-of-boat suspended well abandonment work within 18 months of using Wellintel can recover the costs incurred against the project management fees associated with the well abandonment project.”

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