Wireless Barrier Monitoring improves operational efficiency.

13th December 2017

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30 years of continuous success has placed Metrol at the forefront of downhole wireless telemetry ensuring robust communications with our pressure monitoring devices. Our collection speeds are unequalled, our scan rate and duplex data transfer ensure definition and certainty in leak detection. 

During a recent campaign where two shallow set plugs had been set, a leak was detected and the sealing integrity of the upper plug was lost. It was necessary to replace this upper barrier twice before a successful double barrier pressure test was achieved.  Monitoring the pressure between the barriers and collecting data on the rig from all three pressure tests was accomplished wirelessly, without intervention. It should be noted that many systems are slow to transmit, and can suffer from rig noise interference, requiring a wireline intervention to interrogate the gauges. In this case the operational impact of the leak was understood and mitigated by the efficient performance of Metrol’s SENTINEL-BM.

In the drive for ever-more efficient well management, wireless barrier monitoring can deliver major benefits. Metrol’s SENTINEL-BM technology provides assurance and reduces risk, while improving resource planning and delivering significant operational cost savings. 

Globally, concern over safety and environmental protection is driving standards and regulation. Australia’s 2006 legislation - the OPGGS Act - requires increasingly stringent standards for structural integrity, with the country’s NOPSEMA authority now pursuing a cost recovery role. In Norway NORSOK D-010 guidelines require that two well barriers are present in the well at all times and that the integrity and function of the barrier shall be verified at the time of construction. SENTINEL-BM provides precise data wirelessly to confirm barrier integrity, rather than relying on returned volumes. As well as helping to optimise field development plans for greater efficiency, Metrol’s SENTINEL-BM plays an important part in achieving regulatory compliance.