Project Highlights
Client: International energy operator
Asset: North Sea field development
Work executed: Autumn 2025
Our well control team supported blowout contingency planning for the upcoming field development project in the North Sea. The hydraulic modelling and well control advisory support enabled the client to validate a credible well control strategy, strengthening emergency preparedness, safety assurance, and regulatory confidence in the unlikely event of a blowout.
By simulating various well control scenarios, our well control team identified potential challenges associated with relief well kill operations and delivered tailored well kill solutions to address them. These measures ensure that a worst-case blowout can be controlled within an acceptable timeframe using a relief well — the last line of defense when other intervention methods are unsafe or ineffective.
Client challenges
Before drilling, and to comply with regulatory requirements, operators must demonstrate that a blowout can be controlled by drilling a single relief well.
In this project, our client engaged our well control team to identify scenarios in which a relief well would need to intersect a shallow-set casing at a high attack angle. This configuration is technically challenging and relies on Passive Magnetic Ranging (PMR) to accurately localise the blowing well.
However, the detectability of steel casings using PMR depends on their remnant magnetic field, which can vary based on the casing’s manufacturing history. As a result, there is no guarantee that the casing would be detectable at a sufficient distance.
What is pre-magnetization of casing?
Pre-magnetization of casing is a cost-effective method for enhancing detectability when using Passive Magnetic Ranging (PMR) techinuqe. This approach is valuable in situations where:
- Well-avoidance is critical due to dense well clusters
- Salt formations interfere with ranging tools
- Relief wells must intersect at shallow depths
- Active Magnetic Ranging (AMR) is impractical
By enhancing the magnetic field of the steel casing, PMR becomes more reliable for locating and intersecting an uncontained well.
Our solutions
Our well control experts developed robust well control strategies through comprehensive blowout contingency planning. They identified and addressed the key challenges with tailored mitigation measures implemented to increase the likelihood of a successful well kill operation.
To enhance the intersection strategy, our team introduced pre-magnetization of the casing. This created a stronger and more predictable magnetic signature, improving the accuracy and effectiveness of ranging during a relief well operation.
The outcome
The client can now demonstrate a credible and effective strategy for regaining well control through a relief well in a worst-case blowout scenario. Challenges related to ranging accuracy and relief well design were successfully mitigated, reducing both operational risk and the potential costs associated with a kill operation.
AGR’s offers Casing Magnetization globally in partnership with Vector Magnetics LLC. The method has been refined over the past 10 years and has been successfully deployed on more than 40 complex wells.
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Meet our well control team at the Borekonferansen 2025 and let’s continue the conversation on well control and effective blowout contingency planning in Stavanger on 28–29 October 2025.