OCTIO has secured a one-year contract extension with Equinor to provide maintenance services for the WellWatch system on the Oseberg C platform. OCTIO deployed the WellWatch seismic cable on the seabed, and Equinor utilizes the data acquired for continuous monitoring of an injector well for the cuttings waste injection program. This monitoring ensures caprock integrity while maximizing injection rates.
The benefits of a robust surveillance system are:
- Reducing the need for onshore transportation and disposal of cuttings waste
- Reducing the frequency for dedicated seafloor surveys. The initial yearly survey plan has been updated to a survey every 5th year
- Postponing drilling a new injector by extending the lifetime of the current injector well. The lifetime of the existing well injector well was initially estimated to be six years. With a continuous monitoring program, this extends the well-lifetime by a year and continues using the well for the injection program
Besides, Equinor acquired a 4D seismic baseline survey by using the WellWatch seismic cable already in place.
OCTIO installed the WellWatch system for Equinor as part of a technology demonstration project (DEMO 2000), partly funded by the research council of Norway (NFR). This system was the first-ever offshore installation dedicated primarily to monitor caprock integrity and to ensure safe injections. The Oseberg WellWatch system has been up and running 24/7 since 2013, with a system availability of 99.67% over this period.
License partner companies at the Oseberg field are Equinor Energy AS (operator), Petoro AS, Total E&P Norge AS, ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS.