Development and assessment of permanent well abandonment programs for two oil wells in accordance with national and international standards

Abstract

During well abandonment operations, oil and gas companies face a regulatory framework that is, in many cases, limited and outdated. In this study, the technical requirements of Ecuadorian, Colombian, Peruvian, Argentinian, and Canadian regulations were compared, along with ISO 16530-1, API RP 65-3, and Norsok D-010 standards. In addition, operational programs related to permanent well abandonment were developed and analyzed in accordance with both national and international standards, including their corresponding economic evaluation. Two wells from Block X, JY-1 and JY-2, were selected based on the causes of their abandonment. The results showed that the Norsok D-010 standard complies with 87.5% of the established technical requirements, which is why this standard was selected for application in the operational programs, while the national regulation presented significant gaps, meeting only 16.66% of the requirements. Furthermore, the implementation of Norsok D-010 does not differ significantly from the estimated costs under Ecuadorian regulations, which suggests the possibility of incorporating more rigorous international technical standards into the national framework without increasing costs.