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DECOMMISSIONING

CASE STUDY
PACK.
Operators are now under increasing pressure to reduce
costs and the focus on decommissioning is that much CONTENTS
greater. However, the scale of cost reduction required
means looking beyond immediate short-term efficiencies One-Stop 3
and thinking more strategically of ways to reduce costs Decommissioning
in the long term. Solution

Claxton’s growing catalogue of success across the life SABRE Abrasive Jet 5
of field, including being involved in many of the original Cutting System Used to
drilling projects in the North Sea has enabled us to provide a decommissioning Abandon Camelot
capability that often exceeds those of much larger competitors.
The World’s First 7
Our well abandonment experience stretches back over 20 years, and we Rigless Platform Well
performed the world’s first rigless platform well abandonment campaign Abandonment
on the Esmond, Forbes and Gordon field in 1995.
Claxton Saves £1.5M with 9
With Claxton’s extensive knowledge and experiences of well decommissioning Rigless Tubing Recovery
projects around the world, we define our unique offering as one that considers
best practice that can be applied at different stages of the decommissioning Rising to the Challenge 10
process. We are also able to draw from interconnected disciplines from across of Rigless Slot Recovery
the Acteon group of companies and third party partnerships for specialist
analysis work and manufacturing/machining where required. This enables us Jack-Up Boat Well 12
to define a full service offering for projects on a case by case basis. Decommissioning
Claxton have continually invested in our team and proprietary tooling with the
result that today the company has completed over 280 cutting and recovery
projects, over 85 wells cut and over 130 suspended wells abandoned –
some of which can found in this document.

Thank you for taking the time to read this case study pack. We look forward
to helping with your project very soon.

Laura Claxton
Managing Director

DECOMMISSIONING
CASE STUDY 02
PACK.
ONE-STOP
DECOMMISSIONING
SOLUTION
Comprehensive, bespoke and flexible services help an operator
plug and abandon their wells in the southern North Sea.

The field had been producing natural OBSOLETE INTERFACES has a low environment impact, using only
gas for over 40 years. At its peak, it AND HIGH DEMAND naturally occurring garnet minerals, air
supplied around 10% of the UK’s gas and water in its transonic-speed abrasive
requirements. In the 1990s, an infield The age of the wells is challenging. jet, which is capable of severing wells
drilling programme and new production Many of the well interfaces are obsolete, with multiple cemented casings. The
technologies revitalised the field. which means that some well intervention well-dewatering packer was also upgraded.
Nevertheless, many older wells had equipment needed to be developed
specifically for the campaign. The project scope also includes supply
reached the end of their operational
of on-site machinery, surface riser
lives, prompting the beginning of a The Claxton decommissioning team systems, bespoke interfaces, bandsaws
multiyear well abandonment campaign. worked closely with the operator to and drills to cut the recovered sections,
understand the project requirements. and debris caps and slings for safe
From the outset, it was clear that multi-string backload.
Claxton’s SABRE™ subsea abrasive
cutting system would be a vital part of
any campaign to cut and recover the
wells. However, SABRE’s growing
reputation meant that the units were in
high demand, with healthy backlogs,
and not immediately available.

RAPID REACTION
Claxton promptly manufactured a new
SABRE™ unit with a reduced footprint
designed specifically for the clients
campaign. This unit was deployed in
December 2013 and has since been in
continuous service. The system is
reliable, flexible and easily moved
between platforms and vessels. It also

DECOMMISSIONING
CASE STUDY 03
PACK.
BENEFITS
The operator is using Claxton’s
equipment and services to improve its
decommissioning efficiency and capacity,
which helps to reduce costs and release
resources for other projects.
The company was able to take
advantage of Claxton’s extensive riser
inventory to get what it needed quickly.
Claxton’s on-site machinery and skilled
engineers were also able to swiftly
deliver bespoke equipment.
Robert Leggett, Decommissioning
Product Leader, Claxton, said, “We
really wanted to work with the operator
on its campaign. I am delighted that
we were able to react quickly, including
manufacturing a SABRE™ system
specifically for the project. It is great to
see this and our casing-recovery
system in two years’ continuous
service and with more work to do.
The ability of our multi-skilled team to
move from one operation to another
without the need for continuous crew
changes was particularly valued. We
are now collaborating with the client on
new systems and methods of work to
further increase operational efficiency.”

DECOMMISSIONING
CASE STUDY 04
PACK.
SABRE™ ABRASIVE
JET CUTTING
SYSTEM USED TO
ABANDON CAMELOT.
Proprietary, field-proven Claxton technology
delivers reliable subsea cutting.

THE PROBLEM
There are serious doubts about whether King Arthur’s Camelot ever really existed. In
contrast, the UK North Sea gas fields and production platform of the same name certainly
did, though the evidence has disappeared.
The complete decommissioning of the North Sea Camelot fields and the removal of
Camelot Alpha platform began at the start of 2012 with the plugging and abandonment of
the fields’ six platform wells. The next stage was severance of the well casings some 5 m
below the seabed.

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CASE STUDY 05
PACK.
THE SOLUTION THE RESULT
This was a task for which Claxton was ideally qualified, as the Decommissioning Product “There was much communication with
Leader Robert Leggett explained: “We have established an enviable record in the North the client, and we jointly planned the job
Sea for this kind of work using our SABRE™ internal abrasive cutting system, which very carefully before we went offshore,”
enables us to sever all the casings within a well simultaneously, regardless of the loading said Leggett. “Once the job started, we
on the casings or any eccentricity. The system uses a mixture of air, water and abrasive had eight people, including supervisors,
garnet at up to 1000 bar to cut through the multiple steel casings and any cement within split into two teams that shuttled back
the various annuli. We generally then drill and pin the casings so they can be safely and forth to the platform, thus ensuring
withdrawn in a single operation. virtually 24-hour working.”
“Part of the process is to prove that we have achieved complete severance within the In addition to the severance work,
well; for this, we use a Claxton-designed jacking system to raise the combined casings Claxton designed and supplied a
temporarily and then ease them back down for complete removal later.” bespoke lifting cap for the well casing
sets. This enabled each set to be easily
This was the process Claxton followed with the Camelot wells, which contained casings
and safely recovered using a heavy-lift
ranging in diameter from 95⁄8" to 30". The cutting process presented a few challenges for
barge in a separate operation carried out
the team, of which one was working out how to accommodate the various components
after the Claxton team had left the site.
of the SABRE™ system in the limited deck space available on the small, normally
unmanned Camelot platform. The SABRE™ system was introduced
in 1997 and has now been used to
Support beams were used to spread the load of the components required to run the
sever about 85 wells in the North Sea
SABRE™ system. The beams also provided a secure foundation for the jacks used
and the Gulf of Mexico. This includes
to confirm the cuts. The Claxton team also designed a skidding package to shift the
16 wells in a campaign that was part
equipment between the wells, thereby reducing reliance on the platform crane and
of the Shell/Esso Indefatigable field
shortening the overall time taken for the job.
ecommissioning project in 2011.
SABRE™ is fast becoming the tool of
choice for this kind of work because of
its performance, flexibility and reliability.

Caption

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CASE STUDY 06
PACK.
THE WORLD’S
FIRST RIGLESS
PLATFORM WELL
ABANDONMENT.
Claxton performed the world’s first rigless platform
well abandonment over a decade ago - developing
a methodology that has subsequently been used on
multiple slot and conductor recovery projects.

THE PROBLEM
During 2003, a 38-year-old well in the Southern North Sea was identified as having
suffered a corrosion fatigue failure of the 20" conductor approximately 6 m below sea level.
Consequently, the well was immediately shut in.
Claxton had already built an impressive track record of performing platform well
abandonment/slot recovery on the Maureen, Esmond, Gordon, Beryl and Rijn platforms,
and was an obvious choice for this well abandonment project.

THE SOLUTION
Claxton provided a conductor recovery system to interface with the Leman platform
comprising lifting support beams, boom cranes and a hydraulic jacking system.
Much of this equipment was bespoke for the project and Claxton fast tracked this
design and build activity to meet a tight weather window, as the operator was
concerned the conductor would not survive the harsh North Sea winter.
The project required the full Claxton casing recovery package, including the positive-grip
slip-type tension ring, drilling and pinning and bandsaw machines, to achieve a multiple
casing string recovery of the 95⁄8"-, 13 3⁄8"- and 20" casings to surface.

Claxton’s solution has subsequently


been used multiple times - such as on
this slot recovery for Maersk.
Caption

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CASE STUDY 07
PACK.
THE RESULT
Claxton, working with other Acteon
companies, successfully completed a
totally rigless well abandonment on the
normally unmanned platform. This was
achieved within the allotted timeframe.
All of the following activities were
performed without using a rig:
• Downhole perforating and cementing
operations
• Subsea tree removal and tubing
severance and recovery
• Severance of the casing strings below
the mudline
• Recovery of the casing string. Claxton designed and built this bespoke
recovery platform/false rotary at short notice
The operator indicated that the overall to interface with the Leman platform and
operation was achieved at less than enable the abandonment to be carried out at
a fraction of the cost of using a rig.
50% of the cost of an equivalent
rig-based solution.

The fleet of tooling Claxton mobilised to


abandon the well included tension rings to
interface with the conductor, a hydraulic
lifting package, casing bandsaws, drilling and
pinning equipment, and lifting adaptors.

Caption Caption

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CASE STUDY 08
PACK.
CLAXTON SAVES
£1.5M WITH
RIGLESS TUBING
RECOVERY.
Novel tooling package deployed to deliver
significant savings.

THE PROBLEM THE SOLUTION THE RESULT


A client needed to recover 5000 m of Claxton designed a rigless recovery The client saw clear cost- and time-
tubing from five wells. The company system to interface with the client’s saving benefits from the rigless solution
chose Claxton to provide skilled service platform and enable tubing to be pulled and subsequently instructed Claxton to
technicians and a bespoke recovery in lengths of 10-12 m. A Claxton crew of evaluate similar methods for other
system. 12 service technicians worked on a platforms. The cost savings per well are
24-hour basis to recover 3½- and 4½" estimated at £300,000 - totalling up to
tubing from the five wells on the platform. £1.5 million for the campaign.
A 1000 m length of tubing was
recovered from each well in an average
time of about three days per well. The
average string weight was 27,000 kg.

More services from Claxton to assist


with aged assets:
• Rigless slot and conductor recovery
• Platform and subsea well
abandonment
• Additional platform slots
• Replacement / retrofit conductor
centralizers and conductor guides

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CASE STUDY 09
PACK.
RISING TO
THE CHALLENGE
OF RIGLESS
SLOT RECOVERY
Claxton delivers innovative
solutions in Denmark.

THE PROBLEM
When Maersk contacted Claxton in April 2013 bout a slot recovery job, it was
apparent that the task in Tyra East field in the Danish sector of the North Sea would
be a little more complex than the mechanical removal of casing followed by drilling
a sidetrack well. The original well was drilled in the 1980s and, during its construction,
a large piece of downhole equipment, the bottomhole assembly (BHA), had become
stuck in it and prevented the well from being completed and contributing to gas
production from the reservoir. Maersk’s decision to recover and reuse the slot would
involve removing the BHA.

DECOMMISSIONING
CASE STUDY 10
28 PACK.
THE SOLUTION
Claxton had an established relationship The BHA was too heavy to recover in
with Maersk for the supply of whipstocks one piece which meant that it would
for slot recovery and, during the have to be cut subsea,” the project
initial consultation, Claxton engineers engineer continued. “We used two sizes
suggested a rigless approach, as one of diamond wire cutting machine, the
of the project engineers at Claxton smaller to sever only the exposed BHA
explained. “A rigless operation would and a larger to cut through both the
help to minimise the cost and provide a remaining conductor stump and the BHA
more flexible approach to project timing. simultaneously. A key consideration here
This was critical because the area for the was making the cut so that it left a smooth
operation had logistical issues around and flush surface on the end of the
rig moves with the potential to greatly conductor. Once the cutting machine had
complicate the project.” sliced through the conductor and BHA,
we were able to recover the top section.”
Claxton’s team visited the well in May
2013 to assess the situation and develop During planning, the orientation of the THE RESULT
a recovery plan. The BHA stuck in the remaining BHA relative to the conductor
conductor pipe was about 15 m long and stump was uncertain. This required “This was a fairly unusual slot recovery
had a diameter of 8-9”. About 6-9 m of it Claxton to create a unique whipstock project,” the project engineer said,
was protruding above the seabed. with a slot beneath the landing plate “Our initial plan called for a little over
20 working days, but we managed to
that would enable it to capture securely
After working with Maersk to fully complete it in less than 16 days,
the exposed part of the BHA in any a figure that included more than three
assess the nature of the challenge,
orientation. The top half of the whipstock days waiting-on-weather. Naturally,
Claxton brought in the multidisciplinary
would rotate on this base and enable the we are delighted to have successfully
team needed to deliver the project.
new well to be kicked off in any direction. completed the first rigless recovery
This involved close integration and
Claxton’s experience and knowledge of of a stuck BHA in the North Sea.
collaboration with specialist cutting The key to the success of this project
whipstock design was the key to providing
companies and a dive support vessel was teamwork. The simultaneous
an effective engineered solution.
from Royal Boskalis Westminster NV. operations were conducted smoothly
and with great efficiency.”
The programme started by deploying
a specialist casing cutting system to The senior drilling engineer from
remove a section of the conductor and Maersk drilling department, echoed the
leave the stuck BHA intact but exposed. significance of the collaborative approach,
This approach called for modification of “This was a very challenging piece of
work requiring integrated planning across
the cutting equipment and the subsea
many departments and companies, not
application of a system that is normally to mentio the extensive amount of design,
used on the surface. manufacturing and testing of equipment
“Once the conductor was cut and Claxton designed especially for the job in
double-quick time.”
removed, we prepared a bespoke
lifting device using an air hoist on deck Safety and deadlines were the main
deployed through an A-frame while divers concerns for this operation and the
clamped the lifting gear to the BHA. rigless approach saved substantial
rig time and reduced the associated
costs while increasing flexibility of
the project timings.

DECOMMISSIONING
CASE STUDY 11
PACK.
JACK-UP BOAT
WELL
DECOMMISSIONING
Operator uses the Claxton SABRE™ subsea abrasive
cutting system to reduce rig costs.

Responsible operators are actively IS A RIG REQUIRED? A COST-EFFECTIVE


plugging and abandoning offshore wells SOLUTION
that have reached the end of their The operator wanted a safe and
operational lives. This decommissioning cost-effective way to decommission a Claxton provided well abandonment
work provides long-term protection for well in Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. services that were deployed using a
people and the environment, and helps Traditionally, this work scope, which flexible line from the back of a boat,
to protect a company’s reputation and included cleaning and dredging the without the need for an expensive rig.
secure its licence to operate. However, Well, placing cement barriers in the These services included the use of the
the economics of fulfilling well bore and cutting and recovering the SABRE™ subsea abrasive cutting
abandonment obligations can be casing, would require the use of a rig. system, cement deployment equipment
challenging, particularly where a rig However, the client wanted a safe and and packers. Claxton also supplied
needs to be mobilised to allow the work efficient solution that could be deployed and managed third-party ROV and
to be performed safely. from its existing jack-up workboat. cementing services.

DECOMMISSIONING
CASE STUDY 12
PACK.
Critically, specialist tools and
deployment equipment enabled the
use of the relatively small, jack-up
workboat, which was already available
to the operator.
The flexible SABRE™ system uses
high-pressure abrasive water jets at
transonic speeds to cut through multiple
cemented casings. Casings can be
cut and recovered simultaneously or
individually. The system has a low
environmental impact, using only
naturally occurring garnet, water and
air in the jet.

BENEFITS
Claxton’s decommissioning, design
engineering and offshore teams worked
closely with its supply chain and the
operator to successfully abandon the
well. The ability to perform the work
from a jack-up boat removed the need
to mobilise a rig, saving rig mobilisation
and rental costs.
Robert Leggett, Decommissioning
Product Leader, Claxton, said, “Working
with the client to successfully abandon
the well was a pleasure. This project
was particularly memorable, as we
believe that we achieved a first with the
placement of a cement barrier nearly
300 m below the mudline using a
flexible line from a jack-up boat. Our
experience with SABRE™ and related
plug and abandonment services were
key to to the project’s success. We
have since worked with the client on
numerous similar well abandonment
assignments, strengthening our
excellent long-term relationship.”

DECOMMISSIONING
CASE STUDY 13
PACK.
MAKE
IT
HAPPEN.
Trust Claxton to make your project happen.

CLAXTON CAPABILITIES

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Over 280 operators, contractors and rig Crane camera systems Drilling templates Workovers

owners have trusted Claxton to make their Wellhead design/supply Rigless abandonment Cellar deck centralizers

projects happen across the entire life of field Cold cutting Subsea manifolds Decommissioning & abandonment

– visit our website to find out why, or learn Equipment rental Subsea well abandonment Conductor guide centralizers

more about any of the products on this page. Tension rings & tension systems Protective structures Slot conductor recovery

Drilling riser system supply Wellhead maintenance Cement top ups


www.claxtonengineering.com
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Tieback engineering Equipment repair and refurb Internal centralizers

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