Why Use Rigless P&A?

Asset Retirement Obligation Series

Why Use Rigless P&A? Save Money! Save Time!

With the bidding phase complete and your contracts signed, the next step is to plug and abandon the wells. Under regulations set by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) all wells must be plugged and abandoned within one (1) year of either the last production or the lease expiration. It is the owner operator’s responsibility to ensure that well P&A happens on schedule.

Rigless P&A

In the Gulf of Mexico most P&A activity is done with a rigless equipment spread. Why? The main reasons are simple:

Costs for a rigless P&A operation average $60,000 per day.
The cost of bringing a rig to the site ranges from $200,000 to $1.2 million per day.

An operator’s potential cost savings for an average 7-day

P&A operation is $980,000 to $7,980,000, not insignificant.

Due to the cost savings, rigless P&A is TSB’s preferred method for well plugging and abandonment in the Gulfof Mexico, and in many otherareas around the world. There are situations with troubled wells and other circumstances that will require another method, but if rigless is a fit it should be used.

In addition to the cost savings, rigless P&A is:

Safe. P&A operations from a rig require 2 to 3 times more people than a rigless operation. Less people on site and less manhours worked means a lower chance of incidents.
Flexible. A rigless P&A spread can be set up on a platform, a diving support vessel (DSV) or a jackup rig.
Available. A rigless P&A spread can be mobilized much faster than a rig, making it easier to schedule in you decommissioning timeline.
Fast. Set up times for a rigless P&A spread average 4 to 8 hours, while a rig can take 72 to 96 hours to be ready to work.