Alternative Remediation Technique for Safely and Reliably Performing Single-Trip Perforation and Squeeze Operations

Abstract Complex wells lead to complex abandonment strategies, which lead to creative solutions for early-life to end-of-life well operations. When balancing unknown well conditions with personnel safety, operator standards, and government requirements, effective solutions that satisfy all are difficult to develop. Multiple well entries are often required, exposing the operator to costly, time-consuming, and high-risk operations. Successful well intervention is critical for well integrity, maximizing oil and gas production, and ensuring operational safety. In the case of a Hess-operated deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico, drilled in 2006 and temporarily abandoned in 2007, the complexity of well entry was high due to the development of multiple flaws in the wellbore. A risk assessment of a traditional multi-trip system resulted in high-risk well integrity issues, subjecting the team to potentially severe safety breaches, leaving the team to devise an innovative alternative. Through collaboration between Oilfield Services Professionals (OSP) and Hess Corporation, a single-trip system solution reduced risk and provided a safe plan forward. This paper introduces the alternative single-trip remediation technique designed for safely and reliably performing perforation and squeeze operations. The proposed method integrates hydro-mechanical perforation technologies with an improved squeezing mechanism, enabling the execution of both processes in a single trip. This integration reduces operational time and minimizes the Health, Safety, & Environmental (HSE) impact and risks associated with standard practices. Through a series of pre-job qualifications and field studies, this technique successfully demonstrated significant improvements in operational efficiency and safety. The application of the developed solution provides a comprehensive evaluation of the single-trip system's performance, including comparisons with traditional methods and discussion on its versatility for various wellbore designs. The results indicate a notable reduction in non-productive time (NPT) and enhanced control over the perforation placement and quality of cement squeezes. Adopting this single-trip approach enhanced well-remediation operations, offering substantial cost savings and improved safety outcomes for the oil and gas industry.