Qualifying barite plugs as a barrier

Hello everyone,

The barite plugs are widely used in well control operations as an emergency barrier to stop the flow and provide isolation from a source. In such cases, anything what stops the flow could satisfy the objective.

Also, I came across conversations when barite plugs we considered or used as a planned abandonment barrier.

In upcoming abandonment operation, we consider using barite plug as a temporary suspension barrier (together with production packer) to remove vertical subsea tree from a well and install rig BOP.

However, we don’t know how long the barite plug needed to qualify as a barrier. We were told that a barite plug as short as 3m can become an effective “flow stopper”. From a standard or policy point of view, it is very different: “something stopping a flow” and “a qualified barrier”. A cement plug of 30m is qualified as a barrier by many policies and industry guidelines. Is there any industry experience in qualifying a barite plug as a barrier?

Would anyone can direct me to an industry literacy or standards where barite plug was qualified as a barrier?

Any personal experience of qualifying barite plugs as a planned barrier are also welcome.

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