Introduction to Well Integrity
As we all know, Deep Water Horizon Accident (Macondo) brought the attention of all stake holders in Oil and Gas Industries that there are still a lot of space for improvements in term of running the business safely and reliably. The most valuable lesson learned from the Macondo accident is about understanding well integrity concepts. The well integrity itself is the condition where all subsurface/formation fluids (both Hydrocarbon and Non-Hydrocarbon) in a well are contained within design boundary. By keeping good well integrity the accident/incident like Macondo and other well control problems can be prevented from happening.
To ensure that we have good well integrity, we shall develop a robust well integrity management system that continuously implemented in all activities. The system is the application of technical, operational and organizational solutions to reduce risk of uncontrolled release of subsurface/formation fluids throughout the life cylce of a well." (Norsok D-010, Revision-4 June 2013)
Several Agencies and Bodies from several countries such as PSA (Norway), NOPSEMA (Australia), DEA (Denmark, BSEE (US), HSE-ED (UK), and ERB (Canada) started reviewing their Standards and Guidelines to adopt all lesson learned from the Macondo accident. Currently, there are several Standards and Guidelines that available for well integrity such as:
- NORSOK Standard D-010 Rev.4, June 2013 : Well Integrity Guidelines
- OLF (Norwegian Oil Industry Association) Rev.4, June 2011: Recommended Guidelines for Well Integrity).
- ISO TS 16530-2 Well Integrity – Part-2 : Well Integrity for the Operational Phase)
- Oil and Gas UK, OP095, Issue-s, June 2014 : Well Life Cycle Integrity Guidelines,
- Numerous Standards, Guidelines, and Recommended Practices from API, ISO, OGP, NACE, etc.
Those Standards and Guidelines are available and can be used by the industries for their activities. Each entity or company can modify them to match with their needs or requirements.