Sustained casing pressure (SCP) and surface casing vent flow (SCVF) are common challenges that arise as wells age. Over time, cement quality can deteriorate, leading to the formation of micro-annuli, gas migration, and unwanted flow of hydrocarbons at the surface. Darcy's members expect increasingly stringent regulations in the near future due to several headwinds: Gas migration emissions were historically poorly quantified but are now estimated to be larger than previously thought, as superemitters are found and fixed the relative importance of gas migration will increase, and public pressure is leading to legislation that is shifting end of life well costs from the public to E&Ps.

In partnership with Renegade Services, Shell Global Solutions International has developed the Local Expander Annular Squeeze Tool, designed to safely and economically close micro-annuli and mitigate gas migration. This session hilighted several case studies demonstrating the tool's effectiveness in the field and provided details on its operational benefits (rigless, e-line deployable, undamaged casing). The economic benefits were summarized by one user of the technology who mentioned that the tool would only have had to been successful 20% of the time to be more economical than traditional perf and squeeze operations.