Over the past century the petroleum industry has met the vast majority of global energy demand and continues to do so despite a recent and continuing drive towards de-carbonization (Rockström et al., 2017). At the end of their economic life all petroleum wells must be properly decommissioned, the cost of which is colossal. Almost 50% of the total decommissioning cost is associated with well plug and abandonment (P&A) whereby an energy well is sealed in perpetuity. A key aim of decommissioning is to prevent leakage of petroleum fluids into the environment, particularly greenhouse gas emissions to atmosphere, which contribute to climate change and global warming (Cahill et al. 2019). As industry prepares to undertake the decommissioning of hundreds of thousands of wells in the coming decades (Vrålstad et al. 2019), significant knowledge gaps persist with respect to what constitutes an optimal and cost-effective P&A configuration, as well as how to predict performance over time. For example, key questions remain unanswered such as; what are the typical construction configurations employed and how have they varied with time? What are the associated costs? How and where has performance been assessed and by what methods? How have varying P&A configurations performed with time (e.g. do they leak and if so at what rates and how often)? What risk factors contribute to poor performance? And, can we predict performance with time?
This Ph.D. project aims to address these key outstanding questions and contribute towards optimizing the decommissioning process:-
1. Systematic literature review on global well decommissioning and P&A practices. The literature review includes an overview of global historic and current well P&A practices, information on performance, cost evaluation and identification/assessment of risk factors for sub-optimal performance.
2. Data Analytics of existing P&A well data towards understanding performance and risk factors
Relevant regulatory and industry data for on- and off-shore wells from the UK, U.S., Canada and other regions will be assessed (e.g. the UK OGA’s newly updated NDR for all continental shelf wells). Advanced statistical data analysis methods (e.g. multivariate analyses, multilevel logistic regression etc.), as well as machine learning techniques, will be employed to gain insights on the performance of different P&A configurations from data held on the tens of thousands of existing wells abandoned over the past century. From these analyses, risk factors for sub-optimal performance will be identified and a risk tool developed. This component will be directly linked to ongoing projects with the UK Environment Agency and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (for which there may be opportunity to visit on a research stay as part of the Ph.D.).
3. Well P&A modelling for performance assessment and optimal design
How to Apply
Please complete our online application form. Please select PhD Petroleum Geoscience programme and include the project reference, title and supervisor names on your application. If these details are not included your application may not be considered. Please note that applicants may only submit ONE proposal.
Please also provide a supporting statement outlining how you would approach the research and upload this to the research proposal section of the online application. You will also be required to upload a CV, a copy of your degree certificate and relevant transcripts and one academic reference. Until your nominated referee has uploaded their statement, your application will not be marked as complete and will not be considered by the review panel.
You must also provide proof of your ability in the English language (if English is not your mother tongue or if you have not already studied for a degree that was taught in English). We require an IELTS certificate showing an overall score of at least 6.5 with no component scoring less than 6.0 or a TOEFL certificate with a minimum score of 90 points.
Timetable
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of April 2021. Applicants MUST be available to start the course of study on a full-time basis in September 2021.
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