Abrado announced today that it has successfully completed a complex Dual-String Casing Section Milling plug and abandonment project on the South American continental shelf using its proprietary Medusa® expandable casing section-milling technology.

Previous attempts by the Operator to P&A the well proved unsuccessful; including perforating through casing and squeezing off cement to eliminate sustained casing pressure (SCP). It was decided that section milling through two casing strings out to sound casing/formation would deliver a final seal in the wellbore to allow for permanent abandonment. Due to the complexity of the wellbore architecture, deep and intermediate cement barriers were successfully set in place after Abrado section milled extended length dual string windows in the 9 5/8” X 13 5/8” casing. The lower window was under-reamed by Medusa® to virgin formation to accept an inflatable packer and the upper window outer 16” casing was scrubbed clean by Medusa® to optimize cement bond efficiency in both cases.

Medusa’s ability to mill both downwards and upwards as a contingency in the same run, coupled with the tool’s ability to be “non-damaging” to the next casing string was paramount to the success of the project. Abrado supported the project in country with project management and onsite P&A expertise.

“Major Operators challenged with reducing their global P&A liabilities continue to choose Abrado as the technology leader in Multi-String Casing Section Milling Services for permanent abandonment,” said Kevin Rice, Abrado CEO “This was a particularly challenging job due to the eccentric positioning of the casings, the flush joint casing connections and the fact that the 13 5/8” casing was Q-125 grade. Our unique range of Medusa® Expandable Casing and Tubing Section-Mills continue to deliver results for globally for Operators looking for the most cost effective permanent P&A outcomes. Where possible, Abrado continues to raise the bar on P&A verification by combining its proprietary line of downhole video cameras to visually inspect and validate its window milling operations as well as barrier sealing”.