Welltec® Annular Barrier (WAB®) Replaces Cement as a Primary Well Barrier

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, January 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Welltec®, the world leader in cost effective well solutions, is pleased to announce that its Welltec® Annular Barrier has been successfully utilized to replace cement as a standalone, primary well barrier for the mitigation of surface annular pressure build-up. 

Following on successful ISO 14310 V0 qualifications in Denmark in November 2014, the 9 5/8" V0 WAB® was subsequently approved, deployed, successfully expanded and subsequently verified in a field which has historically been challenged by B surface annular pressure buildup. 

Pressure build-up in the B annulus can potentially result in catastrophic well failures, lost production, high costs for remediation, extensive monitoring and control requirements.  

 "Approximately 40% of the global well stock suffers from failed barriers, cement contributing to a majority of these failures" states Paul Hazel, VP of Well Completions. "This product provides a new solution for operators to capitalize on." 

Prior to this operation, cement has been the main approved well barrier qualified to ISO/API and other industry standards for the use of mitigating annular pressure build-up. 

The Welltec® Annular Barrier is a unique, metal expandable barrier with a large expansion ratio and high delta P capability. As a qualified, stand-alone barrier, it precludes the need for cement.  

A brief description of the levels of ISOstandards for packers can be found at Petrowiki® - http://petrowiki.org/packer_standards_and_classifications.  Welltec® is the pioneer and the world's largest provider of downhole robotic solutions for deployment, milling, clean-out and mechanical solutions. And our novel, expandable metal annular barrier's (WAB's) capabilities have been accelerating and can now provide an alternative to cement as a primary well barrier.