Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway has carried out an audit of how ConocoPhillips planned and executed permanent plugging and abandonment of wells at Ekofisk 2/4 A.
The Ekofisk 2/4 A facility was the first permanent platform on the Ekofisk field, and oil production here began in 1974. The facility was shut down in September 2013 and permanent plugging and abandonment of the wells started in August 2014.
The objective of the PSA audit was to investigate whether ConocoPhillips planned and executed the permanent plugging in compliance with the regulatory requirements.
In the audit, it was clear that many of the wells (18 out of 23) that are permanently plugged at Ekofisk 2/4 A lacked documentation in compliance with the regulatory requirements for permanent well barriers.
According to PSA, the audit identified non-conformities linked to well barriers in permanently plugged wells and deficient risk assessments. PSA also identified an improvement point linked to continuous improvement.
PSA has asked ConocoPhillips to document that their solutions meet the regulatory requirements from a long-term perspective, and provide their feedback by December 01, 2017.