Category Archives: Abandonment and Decommissioning

USA: Nexen’s Kakuna Well Fails to Impress

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Nexen Inc. today reported that drilling operations are complete on the Kakuna sub-salt exploration well on Green Canyon block 504 located approximately 180 miles southwest of New Orleans in deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

The well did not encounter commercial hydrocarbons, and is now in the process of being plugged and abandoned. Kakuna was drilled to a depth of 30,300 feet at a total cost of approximately $120 million, net to Nexen ($80 million after-tax).

Nexen is the operator of Kakuna with 72.5 %, while Statoil owns the remaining 27,5 %. Norway’s oil giant Statoil farmed into the Kakuna prospect in June 2011.

Nexen owns a broad inventory of exploration prospects in the Gulf of Mexico, including the sub-salt Miocene play in the central Gulf of Mexico and the Norphlet play surrounding our Appomattox discoveries.

The company’s 2012 exploration program includes approximately 15 offshore exploration and appraisal wells in the UK North Sea, West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.

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Recap: Worldwide Field Development News (Mar 16 – Mar 22, 2012)

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This week the SubseaIQ team added 8 new projects and updated 32 projects. You can see all the updates made over any time period via the Project Update History search. The latest offshore field develoment news and activities are listed below for your convenience.

Africa – West
African Petroleum Secures Block Offshore Cote d’Ivoire
Mar 21, 2012 – African Petroleum has entered an agreement with Societe Nationale d’Operations Petrolieres de la Cote d’Ivoire (“PETROCI”) and the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire (the “State of Cote d’Ivoire”) to acquire exploration rights in offshore block CI-509. The permit is situated in the western offshore area of the Cote d’Ivoire, spanning 269,683 acres (1,091.37 square kilometers). African Petroleum will operate the block with a 90 percent stake, while the remaining 10 percent is owned by Petroci. The company expects to commence a 3D seismic program over Blocks CI-513 and CI-509 in mid-April 2012.
Ownership Change in License 20, Block 2714A
Mar 16, 2012 – Chariot Oil & Gas announced changes in equity ownership of its Southern Block 2714A resulting in Petrobras, the license operator, holding 30% interest; BP Exploration (Namibia) Limited acquiring an additional 20% equity making it the majority interest holder with 45%; and Enigma Oil & Gas Exploration (Chariot’s wholly-owned subsidiary) owning the remaining 25% interest in the license. The change in the equity ownership does not affect the current program for License 20, which contains the drill-ready prospect, Nimrod. As announced previously, the partnership plans to drill the exploration well Kabeljou-1 on the high-impact Nimrod prospect later this year.
Tullow to Further Explore Deepwater Tano License
Mar 16, 2012 – Tullow has identified several prospects in the Deepwater Tano license offshore Ghana. Three exploration wells are expected to be drilled on the block before 2013, which include: Wawa-1, Sapele-1 and Tweneboa Deep-1. Tullow said that Wawa-1 will target hydrocarbons which may have moved to a trap up-dip from the TEN oil and gas/condensate fields; Sapele-1, immediately south of the Jubilee field, will test a prospective turbidite lobe and Tweneboa Deep-1, is a material prospect below the TEN fields.
Project Details: Sapele (Ghana)
Tullow Finds Additional Pay in Enyenra Field
Mar 16, 2012 – Tullow Oil has successfully appraised the Enyenra-4A well in the Deepwater Tano License offshore Ghana. The well encountered oil in very good quality sandstone reservoirs. The company said that good evidence of communication with the Owo-1 discovery wells and the Enyenra appraisal wells confirm the extent of the Enyenra light oil field. Enyenra-4A, located 4.5 miles (7 kilometers) south west of Enyenra-2A and almost 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of the Enyenra-3A well, was drilled to define the southern extent of the field. Results of drilling, wireline logs, samples of reservoir fluids and pressure data show that Enyenra-4A has intersected 105 feet (32 meters) of net oil pay. Pressure data from the oil leg has demonstrated that the oil is in static communication with the oil seen in the other wells in the field, indicating a continuous oil column of approximately 1,970 feet (600 meters). The well will be suspended for later use. The Ocean Olympia (UDW drillship) drilled the well to a total depth of 13,695 feet (4,174 meters) in a water depth of 6,160 feet (1,878 meters).
Project Details: The Ten Cluster
Black Sea
Midia Resources Enters Muridava License Offshore Romania
Mar 22, 2012 – Melrose Resources has agreed to farm-out a portion of its equity in the EX-27 Muridava License, offshore Romania. The Romanian National Agency of Mineral Resources has formally approved the transfer of a 40 percent working interest in the block to Midia Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sterling Resources. Following completion of the transaction, Melrose will retain operatorship and a 40% stake in the concession, with the remaining equity held by Midia (40%) and Petromar Resources (20%).
Asia – SouthEast
Salamander Gears Up for Drilling in B8/38 License
Mar 22, 2012 – Salamander Energy has contracted the ENSCO 53 (350??? ILC) jackup to commence a four-well drilling program for License B8/38 offshore Thailand. The company will initially drill two development wells followed by exploratory drilling in May. The license houses the Bualuang oil field in 197 feet (60 meters) of water.
Project Details: Bualuang
Nido Updates Ops at Galoc Field
Mar 21, 2012 – Nido Petroleum announced that fabrication and installation of the turret mooring and riser system for Phase II of the Galoc field was progressing on schedule with production expected to resume at the end of 1Q 2012. Furthermore, the FEED for Phase II is being performed as planned and remains on track for FID in 2012.
Project Details: Galoc
S. America – Other & Carib.
Borders & Southern Encounter Rig Issues While Drilling Darwin East
Mar 16, 2012 – Borders & Southern reports that although drilling operations on Darwin East are going according to design, technical issues with equipment on the Leiv Eiriksson (UDW semisub) may result in another four to five weeks of activity on well 61/17-1. The operator said rig issues were resolved and drilling is progressing. Further announcements are anticipated once the well reaches total depth and wireline log interpretations are completed.
Project Details: Darwin East
Asia – South
Santos Finds More Gas at Sangu
Mar 16, 2012 – Santos has found a new gas reservoir through well Sangu-11 in the Sangu area with about 66 feet (20 meters) of good-quality gas pay. The well will be completed and tied into the Sangu facilities. The operator is continuing to assess the volumes and flow potential of the reservoir. After completing Sangu-11, the Seadrill jackup Offshore Resolute (350??? ILC) will be demobilized. Sangu-11 was the final well in a three-well drilling campaign in Block 16 PSC that commenced in September 2011. The first well, South Sangu-4, found gas in one target but was unable to add further reserves due to encountering anomalously high formation pressure, and had to be abandoned prior to reaching its primary objective. The second well, NE Sangu-1 drilled in December 2011, failed to encounter commercial hydrocarbons and was also abandoned.
Project Details: Sangu
Europe – North Sea
Premier Halts Fyne Development
Mar 22, 2012 – Premier Oil has decided to not move forward with developing the Greater Fyne area in the North Sea due to disappointing appraisal drilling results earlier this year. The operator said the development does not meet its commercial threshold. Fyne was slated to commence production in 2014.
Project Details: Fyne
Aker Solutions Scores FEED Study for Draupne Field
Mar 22, 2012 – Det norske awarded Aker Solutions a front-end, engineering and design contract for the Draupne field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The study is slated for delivery in 4Q 2012. First production from the development is expected in 2015.
Project Details: Luno, Draupne Project
BP Gets Green Light to Drill North Uist
Mar 22, 2012 – The Department of Energy and Climate Change has granted BP permission to drill the deepwater North Uist oil well, northwest of the Shetland Islands. The well is situated in Block 213/25c in a water depth of 4,232 feet (1,290 meters).
Project Details: North Uist
Catcher Field to Come Online in 2015
Mar 20, 2012 – Nautical Petroleum, a partner in the Catcher field, expects production to commence from the development in 2015. The final field-development plan (FDP) for the discovery will be submitted before the end of this year. Catcher is estimated to hold 135 MMbbl of oil. The Catcher field is located in the Central North Sea Block 28/9 in a water depth of 299 feet (91 meters).
Project Details: Catcher
Valiant Spuds Cladhan South
Mar 20, 2012 – Valiant Petroleum has commenced drilling at the Cladhan South exploratory prospect, located in Block 210/29c in the UK sector of the North Sea. Cladhan South is an Upper Jurassic channelized sand play immediately to the south of the existing Cladhan discovery with gross prospective resources estimated internally by Valiant to be 13 MMboe. The well is being drilled by the Sedco 704 (mid-water semisub) and is anticipated to take 35 to 40 days to complete.
Project Details: Cladhan
EPC Offshore Scores Lancaster Gig
Mar 20, 2012 – EPC Offshore received a contract to select the optimum concept for the development of Hurricane’s Lancaster field in the UK sector of the North Sea. The first phase of the project is expected to run until the end of the year with FEED engineering commencing in 2013. The development is situated on Block 205/21a in 509 feet (155 meters).
Project Details: Lancaster
Valiant Petroleum Enters Norvarg License
Mar 20, 2012 – Rocksource has signed a strategic asset transaction with Valiant Petroleum for a stake in the Norvarg discovery. The transaction includes the sale of a 13-percent stake, leaving a 7 percent stake with Rocksource. The transaction remains subject to certain conditions, including Norwegian government approvals. Rocksource is a partner in the Norvarg license, which Total operates with a 40 percent stake.
Project Details: Norvarg
FMC to Supply Subsea Equipment for Fram H-Nord Development
Mar 20, 2012 – FMC Technologies has signed an agreement with Statoil for the manufacture and supply of subsea production equipment to support the Fram H-Nord development. The scope of work includes one subsea production tree, one manifold and one multiphase meter. Deliveries are expected to occur throughout 2013.
Project Details: Troll Area
Xcite Spuds 9/3b-7 Well on Bentley
Mar 18, 2012 – Xcite Energy announced that jackup Rowan Norway (400′ ILC) has spud the 9/3b-7 development well commencing Phase 1A of the first phase development of the Bentley Field.
Project Details: Bentley
Trap Oil Acquires 15% Interest In Athena
Mar 16, 2012 – Trap Oil will acquire a 15 percent working interest in the Athena oil field from Dyas UK Limited, subject to DECC and Dyas partners’ approvals. The effective date for the transaction is Jan. 1, 2012. Ithaca Energy is the operator and currently holds a 22.5 percent stake in the block. Following completion of the acquisition, the remaining equity holders will be Dyas, the largest equity holder with 32.5%, EWE Energie AG with 20% and Zeus Petroleum with the remaining 10%. The field will be developed via four existing production wells and one water-injection well tied to a stand-alone FPSO, the BW Athena vessel. The vessel is expected to arrive at the Athena location this month and, since the majority of the subsea elements for the field have already been installed, all of the production wells are ready for hook-up.
Project Details: Athena
Noreco Comes Up Dry in Luna
Mar 16, 2012 – Noreco is in the process of completing exploratory well Luna-1X in License 1/11 offshore Denmark. The well did not encounter hydrocarbons.
Project Details: Luna
S. America – Brazil
Petrobras Discovers Oil in Santos Basin
Mar 20, 2012 – Petrobras has made a discovery of a high-quality oil accumulation in Block BM-S-8 in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin. The discovery was found during the drilling of well 4-SPS-86B (4-BRSA-971-SPS), unofficially known as Carcara, 144 miles (232 kilometers) off the coast of Sao Paulo State. Sampling confirmed the presence of oil at approximately 31 degree API in reservoirs 18,865 feet (5,750 meters) deep. The well continues to be drilled with the aim of determining the lower limit of reservoirs and to identify other possible zones of interest. Carcara is the third well drilled in the area of the Discovery Evaluation Plan of 1-BRSA-532A-SPS (Bem-te-vi prospect), and is 12.43 miles (20 kilometers) from the discovery well at a water depth of 6,650 feet (2,027 meters).
OGX Acquires Additional Stake, Reins of Campos Basin Blocks
Mar 20, 2012 – OGX has acquired an additional 20 percent stake in Blocks BM-C-37 and BM-C-38 in the shallow waters of the Campos Basin, from partner Maersk Oil. OGX will now assume operatorship of these blocks. With this acquisition, OGX plans to use its current operational structure to drill six wells in blocks BM-C-37 and BM-C-38, in order to confirm the extension of discovered accumulations and test the existence of new prospects in the area. OGX will conduct all necessary studies and tests aiming to convert its resources into reserves.
Project Details: Carambola
Other
Cairn Processing 3D Seismic Data Offshore Greenland
Mar 20, 2012 – Cairn Energy said that a number of play types have been identified on the Pitu block, which is geologically separate from other parts of West Greenland. The extensive shallow coring program undertaken by Cairn across the block in 2011 confirms the presence of micro oil seeps above structural closures already identified. All of the exploration evidence acquired to date points to the Baffin Bay Basin being oil generative and having multi-billion barrel potential. The 3D seismic acquired over Pitu in 1H 2011 is currently being processed, with final results expected in May/June 2012. Subject to the final interpretation of those results, exploration wells will be planned for the Pitu prospects.
Australia
Woodside’s Pluto LNG Ready for Start Up
Mar 22, 2012 – Woodside’s Pluto LNG project has reached ready for start-up and first gas has entered the processing train. First production of LNG will take place in the coming weeks, followed by deliveries to foundation customers and project participants Kansai Electric and Tokyo Gas. The initial phase of the Pluto LNG project comprises an offshore platform in 279 feet (85 meters) of water, connected to five subsea wells on the Pluto gas field. Gas will be piped through a 112-mile (180-kilometer) trunkline to an onshore facility.
Project Details: Pluto
Woodside Ramps Up Vincent Production with Infill Wells
Mar 21, 2012 – Woodside reported that the Vincent field has produced roughly 27 MMbbl of oil since start-up in 2008, with 2011 production around 8.5 MMbbl. In September 2011, the company boosted Vincent???s overall production rate with two infill wells (VNB-H5 and VNB-H6) coming online. This resulted in the Ngujima-Yin FPSO achieving its highest production rate of almost 53,000 bopd. Woodside will complete a third infill well at Vincent, VNB-H7, and bring it online in 1H 2012.
Project Details: Vincent
Santos Disconnects Mutineer-Exeter’s FPSO to Avoid Tropical Storm
Mar 16, 2012 – Santos has shut-down production at its Mutineer-Exeter oil field due to the approaching Severe Tropical Cyclone Lua. Mutineer-Exeter’s floating production storage and offloading vessel was disconnected March 15 and has been sailing to avoid the cyclone since then, a Santos spokesman said in a statement.
Project Details: Fletcher/Finucane
NZOG to Acquire a Stake in the Kaheru Permit
Mar 16, 2012 – New Zealand Oil & Gas signed a conditional agreement to acquire a 15 percent stake in the Kaheru permit (Petroleum Exploration Permit 52181) off the Taranaki coast. The interest acquired is from AGL Upstream Gas (MOS), a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL Energy Ltd. The other partners in the permit are ROC Oil (50% and Operator), TAG Oil (20%) and L&M Energy (15%). NZOG will pay $3 million for AGL’s stake, conditional on the joint venture making a commitment to drill a well (and on joint venture and Crown approval of the transfer of ownership from AGL to NZOG). The permit, which houses the Kaheru prospect, currently has a drilling commitment deadline of May 18, 2012, with a well scheduled to be drilled by May 18, 2013. The Kaheru prospect lies in 82 feet (25 meters) of water, and is 5 miles (8 kilometers) from shore.
Project Details: Kaheru
INPEX Grabs Prelude Interest
Mar 16, 2012 – INPEX has agreed to acquire a 17.5 percent participating interest in the Prelude FLNG project from Shell. This transaction is pending necessary governmental approval. The Prelude FLNG project is located in WA-44-L, approximately 295 miles (475 kilometers) north-northeast of Broome, off the coast of Western Australia. The project includes the Prelude and Concerto gas fields. These fields will be developed utilizing a FLNG facility and will produce at least 3.6 million tonnes per annum of LNG, along with 0.4 million tonnes per annum of liquefied petroleum gas and approximately 36,000 bopd of condensate at peak.
Project Details: Prelude
Asia – Far East
Roc Oil to Commence Beibu Gulf Proj. Development
Mar 21, 2012 – The Chinese Government’s State Oceanic Administration has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Beibu Gulf project, which compromises the development of the WZ 6-12 and WZ 12-8 west oil fields located in the South China Sea. This approval allows the company to commence offshore development activities on the project. Subject to final approval, onshore fabrication activities are ongoing and offshore pipeline installation is anticipated to commence during March. On completion of platform installation during 1H 2012, drilling activity is expected to start mid-year and will include four exploration/appraisal wells, which will be followed by the development drilling program. The operator anticipates first oil production from the Beibu Gulf project by the end of 2012 with full-field peak production anticipated by 2013.
Project Details: Beibu Gulf Project

 

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Norway: NPD Supports Statoil’s New Rig Concept for Subsea Wells

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The NPD encourages licensees in Statoil-operated production licences to support Statoil’s plans for using a new type of rig that is specially adapted for maintenance of subsea wells.

A letter sent to the relevant companies points out that recovery from producing fields is an important commitment area for the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. An increasing percentage of the oil production on the Norwegian shelf comes from subsea wells, and the number of wells is increasing. The NPD has noted that it could be challenging to both drill new sidetracks from the subsea wells and carry out maintenance.

“That is why the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is concerned with finding good solutions that can contribute to maintaining or increasing production from subsea wells,” says Torsten Bertelsen, director responsible for the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea.

Statoil has long worked on a new type of rig for subsea wells, a so-called category B rig. It is permanently equipped for cables, coiled tubing and slim hole drilling and is specially adapted to well intervention campaigns. This type of rig can be used on multiple fields with subsea wells.

Use of such a rig will contribute to improve rig capacity, increase the number of subsea wells and thus improve recovery from subsea wells.

In the letter to the licensees the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate asks the companies to support Statoil’s project or to present alternative measures or projects that can yield similar effects.

“A cooperation on the new rig type across production licences is considered good resource management,” says Bertelsen.

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Helix Orders Semi-Sub Well Intervention Rig in Singapore

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Houston-based subsea well intervention specialist, Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc., has signed a contract with Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary Jurong Shipyard in Singapore for the construction of its newbuild semisubmersible well intervention rig previously announced by Helix in February. The estimated value of the contract is US$385.5 million.

Owen Kratz, Helix’s Chairman and CEO, stated, “We are pleased to have selected a proven partner in Jurong Shipyard to leverage on our market and technological leadership in subsea well intervention. This new asset, engineered and designed based on the lessons learned from our successful Q4000 platform, is being constructed to meet an increasing market demand for specialized deepwater well intervention services worldwide. We look forward to the delivery of this new-generation advanced well intervention vessel and plan to expand this business segment even further.”

The semi-submersible well intervention rig will be built based on Bassoe Technology’s naval architectural design with Helix’s equipment layout. Featuring the latest technology, the rig is an efficient purpose-designed platform with capabilities to perform a wide variety of tasks, including conventional and extended top hold drilling, subsea construction, decommissioning well intervention, coiled tubing operations and twin ROV deployment.

Mr Don Lee, Senior General Manager, Jurong Shipyard’s Offshore Division said, “We are honoured that Helix has entrusted us with the construction of this highly specialised deepwater semi-submersible well intervention rig. This rig is Jurong Shipyard’s first specialised platform with well intervention and subsea capabilities and represents a significant advance for us in this growing new market segment. We would like to thank Helix for awarding us this contract, which is a testament to Jurong Shipyard’s rig construction capabilities and versatility in developing purpose-designed solutions for the offshore industry. We are committed to build on this new partnership with Helix and to meet their stringent standards of quality, safety and reliability

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USA: Tetra Buys UK’s Rig Cooling Specialist

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TETRA Technologies, Inc. has acquired Optima Solutions Holdings Limited (“Optima”) for GBP 40 million (approximately $62.7 million equivalent) plus contingent consideration to be paid in the future depending on profitability.

Optima is a leading provider of rig cooling services and associated products that suppress heat generated by the high-rate flaring of hydrocarbons during offshore well test operations. Established in 1999, Optima has grown rapidly and has served a diversified customer base in over forty countries from operational bases in Aberdeen, UK, and Perth, Australia. Optima’s expectations for continued growth are underpinned by excellent long-term relationships with key customers, increasing international expansion, and a robust market outlook.

Optima’s rig cooling systems provide safety from the extreme temperatures generated during flaring operations and enable high-rate well test operations to be performed without compromising installation integrity, installation operations and personnel safety. Optima’s rig cooling packages employ patented nozzle technology and a wide range of associated pumping equipment that provide users with exceptional performance, reliability and safety.

“With this acquisition, we are accelerating our strategic goal of offering our customers a broader range of well completion and production testing services, and we are expanding our presence in many significant global markets. Optima is a strong complement to our existing portfolio of well completion and production testing services, and we believe we can add value for Optima’s customers through our experience in, and understanding of, those businesses. We are impressed with the relationships and market position that Optima has built and intend to support them within the TETRA family. In addition, we expect this acquisition to be accretive to our consolidated earnings in 2012,” commented Stuart M. Brightman, TETRA’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Managing Director and founder of Optima, Jamie Oag, stated, “We are very pleased with our new ownership structure. We see this as the next phase in our strategic plan, increasing Optima’s global presence in a manner consistent with our best in class safety and service quality performance standards.” Mr. Oag went on to say that, “Both my fellow founder, Peter Bartholomew, and I, will remain with Optima, along with the remainder of our experienced management and operations teams.”

Simmons & Company International served as financial advisor to TETRA and Ernst & Young served as financial advisor to Optima.

TETRA is geographically diversified oil and gas services company focused on completion fluids and other products, after-frac flow back and production well testing, wellhead compression, and selected offshore services including well plugging and abandonment, decommissioning, and diving.

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UK: Wellbore Clean Up Specialist Eyes Turnover Increase

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Aberdeen-based oilfield services firm Coretrax Technology Limited has secured over £1.2million of contracts since the start of the year and expanded its team to 12 people.

Coretrax specialises in innovative oilfield services to the completion, cementing, abandonment and wellbore clean up sectors both in the North Sea and globally. The contract wins are for projects in the North Sea utilising Coretrax’s innovative wellbore clean up tools and chemicals.

The team in Aberdeen has also expanded with the appointment of a new business development manager and offshore supervisor both bringing many years of oil industry experience to the company. Coretrax plans to recruit a further 6-8 new staff in 2012 including a second graduate in design engineering.

Kenny Murray, director and founder of Coretrax, said: “We have had a really promising start to the year and I’m delighted with the new members who have joined the Coretrax team. Our focus this year is continual R&D to expand our range of products and services to provide solutions to operators with our team of engineers globally.

“Our innovative approach to wellbore clean up has also led to successful projects globally and we are completing successful contracts in Africa, Middle East and Asia. We will continue to expand both internationally and in the North Sea with on-going recruitment and new premises this year.”

Formed in 2008, Coretrax is a finalist in the ‘new idea’ category of SPE’s Offshore Achievement Awards taking place in Aberdeen this month. The company forecasts a turnover of £3million this year.

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UK: Red Spider Reduces Risk

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Red Spider, the Remote Open Close Technology specialist delivering multi-million pound savings and reduced risk to the oil & gas industry, has completed its biggest-ever deal with work valued at £1.5million to supply new products for well completion operations.

The agreement involves Red Spider supplying eRED-FB products, with deployment scheduled for this Summer in the UK North Sea.

The eRED-FBs will be used for a series of subsea dual ESP (Electric Submersible Pump) wells and will allow the removal of all wireline runs from the completions operations.

Red Spider’s UK sales manager Andy Skinner said: “We are very excited about the technology and believe it takes our ROCT products to the next level, offering unparalleled savings and risk reduction.’’

eRED, Red Spider’s first tool to use its patented ROCT for remotely operating downhole valves, has been used by more than 20 operators resulting in significant risk reduction and maximising production time by removing wireline runs from operations. The technology is on its way to becoming the industry standard solution for various downhole applications.

The valve has allowed major operators to save more than £300,000 during a single subsea completion operation, typically reducing slickline runs from 8 to 1. In deepwater workover operations, savings of up to 36 hours and £500,000 have also been recorded in a single job, as well as major reductions in risk.

It quickly became apparent from the eRED’s continuing success that there were other potential applications for ROCT in the completion of wells. Further customer requests led to nearly £2million of investment and over two years of extensive research and development work, which has resulted in products including the eRED-FB.

eRED-FB valves provide a downhole barrier that can be opened and closed by remote command, allowing the tubing integrity to be tested without using conventional plug and prong equipment. This eliminates the need to deploy traditional wireline methods which results in the following benefits:

• removing the requirement for rigging-up and rigging-down wireline units

• speeding up operations

• reducing risk to personnel and equipment

• reducing the risk of exposure to bad weather

• delivering savings of between 32 to 38 hours (£400,000 to £500,000)

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