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PETROMAKS2-Stort program petroleum

Development of Environmentally Friendly Metakaolin-Based Geopolymers for Oil Well Cementing and Well Abandonment - MGeo

Alternative title: MGeo - utvikling av miljøvennlig geopolymer for brønnsement og plugging av oljebrønner basert på bruk av metakaolin.

Awarded: NOK 3.0 mill.

Project Number:

328733

Project Period:

2021 - 2024

Organisation:

Partner countries:

All drilled wells are permanently abandoned when no longer being economically viable and reaching the end of their lifecycle. While previously seen as “something that will happen in the future”, permanent plugging and abandonment (P&A) of wells represents an increasing challenge on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and the backlog of wells is also building up in Brazil and other regions. As a result, the oil and gas industry is faced with a significant and costly cleanup job. More than 4,000 wells are set for P&A on the NCS alone at the cost of €m 4-40 per well. In Brazil, the regulator ANP points to 694 wells to be P&A’d already during the period 2021-2025. Cement and cementing operations contribute directly to but 5% of the total P&A costs. However, a failure of the operation or from using cement as material, can result in re-abandonment of the well and thus more than doubling the total P&A cost. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is the prime material used today as zonal isolation material for primary cementing to maintain well integrity and P&A. Geopolymers (GPs) are a class of inorganic polymers. GPs do not need calcination and are produced from natural minerals (“artificial rocks”). Generally, CO2 emissions of GPs are between 70-80% lower than OPC-based concrete. In this project, SafeRock AS (NO) and TECCIM Ltda (BR), in partnerships with the University of Stavanger and Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, plan to develop kaolin-based GPs for utilization in P&A for the O&G industry, with later potential also for CCS and geothermal wells.

All drilled wells are permanently abandoned when no longer being economically viable and reaching the end of their lifecycle. While previously seen as “something that will happen in the future”, permanent plugging and abandonment (P&A) of wells represents an increasing challenge on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and the backlog of wells is also building up in Brazil and other regions. As a result, the oil and gas industry is faced with a significant and costly cleanup job. More than 4,000 wells are set for P&A on the NCS alone at the cost of €m 4-40 per well. In Brazil, the regulator ANP points to 694 wells to be P&A’d already during the period 2021-2025. Cement and cementing operations contribute directly to but 5% of the total P&A costs. However, a failure of the operation or from using cement as material, can result in re-abandonment of the well and thus more than doubling the total P&A cost. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is the prime material used today as zonal isolation material for primary cementing to maintain well integrity and P&A. OPC’s shortcomings are summarized in technical and environmental aspects, including an exceedingly high carbon footprint. Geopolymers (GPs) are a class of inorganic polymers made of aluminosilicate materials through polycondensation. GPs do not need calcination and are produced from natural minerals (“artificial rocks”). Generally, CO2 emissions of GPs are between 70-80% lower than OPC-based concrete. In this project, SafeRock AS (NO) and TECCIM Ltda (BR), in partnerships with the University of Stavanger and Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, plan to develop kaolin-based GPs for utilization in P&A for the O&G industry, with later potential also for CCS and geothermal wells. Mining companies and oil operator companies have joined the team as active sparring partners to mature technical and commercial aspects and support a future value chain, including Equinor and Petrobras.

Funding scheme:

PETROMAKS2-Stort program petroleum