Oil & Gas UK has published the second edition of its guidelines on materials used to plug for abandoned oil wells.
The guidelines are aimed at well-operators, manufacturers and regulators and comprise the current industry expertise on qualifying materials for suspension and well abandonment.
While cement is commonly used to safely seal and permanently abandon wells no longer used for exploration or development, the industry is developing and proposing new barrier materials including polymers, metals, grouts, rock formations and composites.
These guidelines incorporate the latest industry expertise in the process to ensure the proposed material is qualified to perform the envisaged function.
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