Annular Pressure Successfully Eliminated

CITADEL EQUIPMENT: PreNup Plug Placement Aid

OPERATOR: Noble Energy BASIN: Denver-Julesburg PLUG TYPE: Abandonment 

PLUG LENGTH: 600 feet TOP OF PLUG DEPTH: 820 feet TAILPIPE: 2.375 EUE Fiberglass tubing

RELEASE PRESSURE: 1,000 psi

CHALLENGE: A vintage vertical well in the DJ basin had surface gas pressure migrating through the annulus between the 8.625 surface casing and the 4.500 production casing. Conventional abandonment methods had been ineffective in eliminating gas migration.

SOLUTION: The Citadel Casing Solutions PrenupTM Plug Placement Aid was selected to facilitate accurate and undisturbed plug placement. The use of the Prenup enabled the use of an optimized cement slurry in which the thickening time was equal to placement time. The Citadel Jetting Diverter was also utilized for 360° hole cleaning, specifically targeting a washout below the surface casing shoe.

RESULT: The cement plug was set successfully and workstring returned to surface without incident. Cement was tagged within 20 ft of the designed plug top. There was ZERO surface pressure after monitoring the well for a week. The use of the PrenupTM Plug Placement Aid allowed for successful abandonment of the well and mitigated future remedial work.

“The Prenup allowed us to eliminate bradenhead gas on one of our vintage wells. We’re very happy to have a tool that allows us to set a competent plug in challenging applications.”

-DJ Production Engineer, Noble Energy