A long-time P&G customer wanted to continue development on several uncompleted wells in Northeast Pennsylvania but could not do so until an abandoned well on the pad was properly plugged. Unlike most abandoned wells, this gas well had never been produced. Instead, it was abandoned during the drilling process due to a drill string twisting off in the lateral. Two temporary cement plugs had been placed in the annulus but had since begun to leak. Additionally, after rigging up on this well, an unknown obstruction was encountered at 50 feet with the potential of trapping 4,500psi of original reservoir pressure underneath.
P&G reacted quickly by arranging for a rig-assist snubbing unit and 10k “big bore” BOP stack to be mobilized to the location in three days. After punching through the obstruction at 50 feet, the rig crew circulated hundreds of barrels of drilling mud out of the well and cleared out the leaking plug at the intermediate casing seat. P&G cement teams used a combination of API Class H and Class A cement slurries to add additional plugs down hole, replace the plug at the intermediate casing seat, and add a plug at the surface casing seat. Although this project presented numerous unpredictable obstacles, P&G’s problem solving and mental agility allowed the project to be completed on budget.
