You’ll study the technologies and procedures involved in the plugging and abandonment of oil and gas wells prior to decommissioning.

You’ll get an overview of the origins of petroleum, factors influencing the commerciality of fields, and the technical and economic requirements for decommissioning.

You’ll learn about the application and limitations of materials including cement slurries, gelled pills, mechanical plugs, inflatable plugs and sand plugs, focusing on installation procedures, reliability and long-term (decadal) monitoring of well integrity.

This course covers the following areas:

• Overview of subsurface, reservoir and petroleum geology.
• Characteristics and challenges of depleted reservoirs.
• Specific regulations and legislative drivers associated with well abandonment.
• Assessment of different types of well plugging and abandonment methods and associated technologies.
• Requirements for and cost of well plugging and abandonment.
• Material, wellbore knowledge, reliability, and long-term monitoring of well plugs.
• Slurry design, plug place methods, procedure and testing.
• Well plugging and abandonment project planning and field operation.
• Threat, risk and technology challenges.

The course also gives you a general overview of reservoir and petroleum geology, with an emphasis on depleted reservoirs and associated challenges for P&A.

You’ll explore key aspects of regulatory and legislative drivers, becoming familiar with P&A regulations set by regional and national governments.

To ensure you’re equipped with a comprehensive knowledge of the P&A process, you’ll also cover project planning and implementation costs, with real-life case studies used to support your learning.