5th Meeting of the Wellbore Integrity Network

Publication Overview

The IEA GHG Wellbore Integrity Network has been running for 5 years now, and the meeting in 2009 was held in Calgary, Canada. The attendance for the meeting covered the usual mix of industry, academia, research and regulators, but there was a noted increase in attendance from industrial companies. This was demonstrative of the local area that the meeting was held in, with a large number of oil companies working in the surrounding province. This increased industry representation moved the discussion sessions to areas previously not addressed, or only addressed in brief outline, and this is indicative of the progress of the meeting and its continued worth. A possibility for the future of the network will be an alteration in its role, from pure research into wellbore integrity, materials and abandonment procedures, to one of education of industrial operators, and the broaching of the gap between experience gained from the oil and gas industry, and the needs and demands of regulations relating to CO₂ Capture and Storage (CCS) operations.

Publication Summary

The format of the meeting allowed for short 20 minute presentations, with allocated time for questions, and also for prolonged discussion sessions where ideas and experiences were discussed at a greater level of detail. These discussion sessions are the primary focus of this report, and the presentations are available on the network webpage for reference. The meeting also encompassed thoughts for the future direction of the network, and the final session split the delegates into 3 breakout groups to discuss possible content for a status report to be issued by the network.

Presentations covered 4 areas; risk and regulatory environment, field studies, remediation and leakage, and modelling of wellbore processes. The facilitated discussions followed each session, and generated insightful debate amongst participants.

Again, the level of involvement that continues in these meetings demonstrates the continued relevance of wellbore integrity as a topic for investigation, and the gradual transit between research biased to industry experience is an important step in moving from research to demonstration.