Cement plug locations

30 April 2015 Hi all,

I'm trying to get a better understanding of P&A operations, specifically setting cement plugs. I've looked at a number of case studies for abandonments, which show before and after well schematics, but what none of these documents do is explain why a particular location was selected for a cement plug. I.e. some wells have plugs across the perforations, some have the plug right above the perforations and others have plugs set on top of mechanical plugs inside the tubing way above the perforations.

Does anyone know of a good source that explains this selection process in detail? It would be good to understand what considerations are made when designing a plugging procedure. For example, why would one choose to set the plugs on top of mechanical plugs inside tubing as opposed to just setting a long combination plug across the formation? I'd imagine there's an 'ideal' scenario that you start with and then depending on the condition of the well you're working with, you would progressively have to move onto more complex/expensive options.

If anyone knows of a good textbook or online course that goes into detail on this topic, that would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance,
Rustam.

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