Well Control on Delfi for CCS

Background
There is currently no commercial tool that can support well control events or provide decision support for CO₂ wells. Various expert tools (including OLGA) have been used, but CO₂ requires special solutions and expertise that is not globally available to cover upcoming CO₂ storage activities. Forecasts from the IEA indicate steady growth in CO₂ injection until 2070 to achieve the two-degree target. This suggests a significant number of users and good growth for an application like the one we plan to develop.

Many have argued that the risk of well control will not be as high because wells will be pre-drilled. However, it is a fact that about half of well control incidents occur in connection with maintenance operations. And in the time frame dictated by the two-degree target, there will be a need for maintenance and drilling of new wells in reservoirs containing CO₂.

Although it is important for SLB to create a healthy economic operation around the developed application, the main benefit of this project is the reduction of the risk of a serious well control incident, with all the negative consequences of such an incident. A serious incident or blowout could, in isolation, lead to significant emissions and increased energy and resource use to regain well control. In addition, serious incidents will quickly lead to at least a temporary stop in activity, with consequently negative implications for the chances of achieving the two-degree target. We saw this, for example, after the Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010.

The project will therefore have potential in terms of profitable software development as well as a significant reduction in risk.

Goal
The goal is to accelerate the development of a new cloud-based system for planning, operational monitoring, and training with CO₂ wells, as well as to develop a market-leading solution for well control in CO₂ wells in the same way that Drillbench fulfills the role for conventional wells.

At the same time, there is significant potential to increase the number of users through improved accessibility, cloud-based solutions, and automation, to simulate well control events and thereby reach a user group beyond the expert level.

Activities
The project is divided into three deliverables:
1. The user can perform simulations using the standardized Driller’s method with CO₂ composition.
2. Support for running custom simulation sequences using a dedicated workflow.
3. The user can define the inflow volume (including a gas filled wellbore) and simulate shut-in or bullheading CO₂ back into the formation.

Results
The project partners will, during the project, utilize the functionality made available via https://portal.digital.slb.com/home. This will be an ongoing process throughout the entire project.
It is an objective to make all functionality available to everyone by project end.
 
Publications
SLB plans to present the project at relevant international conferences.