Well barrier principles provide a common approach to viewing well integrity, improving the consistency of managing well risks.

Application

A multinational company adopted the Wellbarrier illustration tool, to manage its large and diverse well population—the tool was applied for deepwater operations. The well integrity team took the following approach to prepare Well Barrier Schematics for wells: well barrier training; data gathering, categorizing well groups and defining well barrier elements; well barrier schematic drawings and verification. The well barrier principles, with Well Barrier Schematics, provided a comprehensive method to define and evaluate the wells’ mechanical integrity. The process was simple and readily applied to various well types throughout the entire well portfolio.

Benefits

• The software helped users to quickly reflect the status of the well barrier envelope and assured them that any planned deviations were in conformance and compliance with internal policy and local legislation.
• By utilizing the Wellbarrier illustration tool, as opposed to multiple Excel formats, a change in the barrier envelope could be documented offshore within minutes.
• The software is easy to use and enabled the rapid drawing of proposed barrier definitions. This provided a better understanding of the well barrier and well integrity status among stakeholders, streamlined approvals, and helped coordinate management of change documentation.

Conclusion

With its well portfolio now effectively managed and operating more efficiently than ever before, the operator concluded that understanding and applying well barrier principles should be considered a fundamental skill of every petroleum engineer.