After producing gas for more than 20 years, Coretrax was contracted by Spirit Energy to abandon all six wells on the unmanned Markham ST-1 platform. Located in the southern North Sea, the ST-1 is supported by a four-leg steel jacket in a water depth of 31 metres.
The Coretrax CX-2® bridge plug was selected as the ideal tool for cement plug operations. It is a permanent cast iron bridge plug designed to set with a combination of hydraulic pressure and mechanical pull. Constructed from drillable materials, the standard packing element is rated at 300oF. The CX-2 bridge plug comes with a built-in setting mechanism for greater efficiency. To minimize cement disturbance when pulling out of hole, the integrated running tool also has a slick OD and large ID.
It is common in P&A activity of this kind to have debris, such as rust, scale, and other foreign fragments, present in the well casing. To ensure the safe and effective installation of the bridge plug, a thorough cleaning run must be performed.
As a specialist provider of wellbore clean-up and abandonment solutions, Coretrax deployed its CX-Superflow, a fully sacrificial combination scraper and brush tool that can be run alongside the bridge plug at the same time.
Set at nearly 1,100 metres (3,500 feet), the tool eliminates the need for a dedicated scraper trip prior to packer or plug setting. This saved the operator an average of 3.8 hours rig time per well.
In conjunction with the CX-2 efficiencies, the use of both tools saved Spirit Energy a total of 8.1 hours per well and more than two days operating costs across the four-month project.
Coretrax realized further savings for Spirit Energy by providing full training for personnel in how to run and set the plugs which delivered ongoing efficiencies.
Key benefits:
- Built-in setting mechanism for greater efficiency
- Clean and plug completed in one run
- Eliminates the need for a dedicated scraper trip prior to packer or plug setting.
- Cement disturbance minimized
- Full training provided
