Havtil monitoring temporarily P&A’d wells on Norwegian shelf
A survey of temporarily plugged and abandoned (P&A’d) wells offshore Norway this year shows that numbers have doubled between 2022 and 2024.
Since 2011, the Norwegian Offshore Industry Association (Havtil) has been performing surveys to determine the integrity of temporarily abandoned wells.
THREE60 Energy AS compiled a report based on the collected 2024 data, in which 488 wells were identified. Of these, 241 were classified as inactive production wells, up from 227 wells in the 2022 survey.
According to Havtil, the increase was mainly because this year’s survey included temporarily P&A’d wells, in accordance with the NORSOK D-010 Rev.5/2021 requirement, and inactive production wells in accordance with the EU Methane Regulation of July 2024.
This year, operators reported temporarily abandoned wells in different well integrity categories, with associated color coding according to Offshore Norge’s guidelines 117.
The numbers of wells in the orange and red categories totaled 33, up from 17 in 2022 to 33 in 2024. In these cases, the companies must take steps to ensure regulatory compliance, with Havtil monitoring their follow-up work.
Wells in the red category are said to have a failure in one well barrier, while the other well barrier is degraded. Those in the orange category also have a failure in one well barrier, but the other well barrier is intact.
All red category wells must be permanently plugged by 2025, while orange wells should be either reused or permanently plugged, or an undetermined plan should be declared.
