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The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) recommends testing a well for surface casing vent flow prior to any surface abandonment. Western Well Integrity Ltd. personnel have the experience to report a well’s surface casing vent flow volume and characteristics. This testing is important, as it can determine whether the well falls within the Serious or Non-Serious category, which carries different implications, some with considerable costs. Accuracy is essential to prevent false results that may wrongly categorize a vent flow issue.  

Before beginning any surface abandonment on a well, the AER recommends that the well be tested for any signs of gas migration. Simply put, GM means any gas (methane) that is flowing outside of the outermost casing string of a well up to the surface.  

Using specialized detection equipment and techniques refined with years of experience, Western Well Integrity Ltd. is able to definitively report on whether or not a well is exhibiting GM. Combined with quality soil-gas samples for compositional and isotopic analysis, we can help in finding the formation source to expedite repairs.  

Our experience also helps to eliminate the possibility for false test results. A false positive could mean unnecessary and costly engineering and abandonment work for a licensee when in fact there was no GM issue. A false negative result can have the opposite effect, with a well being cut and capped when it actually needed repairs. This results in a future well re-entry that comes with its own substantial costs and landowner issues.  

We are able to fulfill regulatory requirements for SISCP by using remotely operated equipment to monitor pressure and flow. This technology can also be used when repairing well integrity issues by monitoring a well’s pressure and flow characteristics in real-time to observe if an intervention was effective. This can help expedite well servicing operations, saving the licensee time and money.

As towns, cities and industrial areas grow, they often begin to expand into areas with historic oil and gas fields. The staff at Western Well Integrity have visited hundreds of these sites to help developers and producers locate wells, evaluate the gas migration status of the wells and their proximity to proposed areas of development. A thorough report is then produced that helps with planning minimum setbacks from the wells when constructing nearby.

The technicians at Western Well Integrity are able to help you meet your regulatory obligations by performing inspections of your low, medium and high-risk suspended wells. Our suspended well checklist and reporting system ensure all parameters are measured and your well stays in compliance. 

Western Well Integrity personnel are also experienced with testing GM and SCVF of wells at thermal facilities, such as SAGD and Cyclic Steam wells. The high temperatures commonly encountered and the thermodynamic characteristics of these surface casings present their own unique challenges, however our technical processes can differentiate between a well that’s emitting steam and one that has actual SCVF occurring.  

The personnel at Western Well Integrity have located thousands of wells in the remote regions of Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan. Many of these wells have already been surface abandoned and cut-and-capped, with no obvious route or indication of the presence of a well. Using data from a variety of sources, Western Well Integrity personnel can safely plan and execute the testing on these wells using a variety of access methods. Personnel have undergone ATV/UTV and ARGO training.

Let us help you manage your GOR testing requirements.  We have the technical field staff and equipment to get you the results you need to meet your obligations within Alberta and Saskatchewan.