George E. King is a Registered Professional Engineer with over 43 years oilfield experience since starting at Amoco Production Research in 1971. His technical background includes research on energized fracturing, workovers. chemicals, acidizing, well integrity, horizontal wells and unconventional  formations. He is a Distinguished Engineering Advisor with Apache Corporation.

Technical accomplishments include 70 technical papers, Distinguished Lecturer for the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Adjunct professor at University of Tulsa (at night), and ongoing work in well construction, completion, fracturing and production.  Presentations of teaching files and presentations are posted at www.GEKengineering.com

Awards include the Amoco Vice President’s Award for technology from Amoco in 1997, the 2004 SPE Production Operations Award and 2012 Engineer of the year for the Houston Region of Society of Professional Engineers. 

Education includes a BS, majoring in Chemistry from Oklahoma State (1972), a BS in Chemical Engineering from University of Tulsa (1976) and a MS in Petroleum Engineering from  University of Tulsa (1982).

 Presentation title & Overview

Well Integrity – Basics, Prevention, Monitoring, Red Flags & Repair Options

As humans develop and utilize their natural resources, enduring isolation integrity that results in separation and protection of resources, including but not limited to mineral and water resources, is the single most important objective in subsurface operations.

Knowledge of the subsurface and the activities that humans invoke and monitor, both in the short term and the long term, are the factors of interest. Enormous amounts of scientific study have shaped the development industries of building, mining, oil and gas operations, geothermal activities and ground water withdrawals. No industrial development is perfect and all can be improved with technology.

How we operate within the scope of our activities, what we leave behind and how we react to intended or unintended consequences of activities is the deciding factor in success or failure of our protective intentions.

This talk will examine modern well integrity approaches, problem areas, technology gaps and developing technology. It will also place well integrity and integrity failures in context with other subsurface problems.

 Outline:

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Why are we dealing with the subsurface?

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What is well integrity? How do we achieve it?

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Basic initial well design objectives and methods of abandonment.

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How permanent is it?     Failures by Era of technology available.

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What are the warning flags and how do we monitor the isolation?

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What can be done when isolation fails.

 •       Putting human subsurface operations in context.