Oil & Gas UK, a representative body for the UK offshore oil and gas industry, has issued new guidelines on wells with high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) properties.
Oil & Gas UK said that the guidelines, published on Friday, are a part of its commitment to continually review and improve the safety and performance of all aspects of well practices on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
Mike Tholen , upstream policy director at Oil & Gas UK, said: “Even in a mature basin, the high-temperature high-pressure resource base remains an exciting opportunity.
“The Guidelines for HPHT well design, operation, and maintenance published today have been developed by Oil & Gas UK’s Wells Forum to share industry knowledge and best practice for the benefit of both well operators and drilling contractors alike.
“Building on Oil & Gas UK’s Well Integrity Guidelines published earlier this year, this publication provides additional information in areas including project planning, well design, HPHT cementing and well construction operations, well testing and abandonment.”
The industry body added that the guidelines on HPHT wells provide the sector with a common framework to outline good practice, reduce operational complexity and improve safety performance.
For the purposes of the guidelines, high pressure is defined as either the pore pressure of any porous formation to be drilled exceeds 0.8 psi/ft or which requires the deployment of pressure control equipment with a rated working pressure of more than 690 bar (10,000 psi).
High temperature is defined as a temperature of an undisturbed bottom hole greater than 149 degrees Celsius (300 F).