Neodrill and Baker Hughes announced completion of the world’s first cut and recover operation for Wintershall Dea Norge in the Norwegian Sea. Rig time was reduced by an estimated 12 hours, with work to cut the surface casing moved off the critical path of the rig schedule.

The project enabled the rig to abandon the well site as soon as the cement plugs were in place. The surface casing was then cut from a vessel, using Baker Hughes’ new casing cutting tool. This optimized process removes the need for unnecessary, expensive rig time in the abandonment phase.

The new ‘cut and recover’ service will now be offered as part of Neodrill’s CAN-complete. The CAN-complete sees Neodrill offer a full service Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) solution to manage all aspects of a CAN installation, reducing the operator’s internal resource requirements and overheads. With the inclusion of cut and recover, the CAN-complete will now also reduce rig time in the abandonment phase by allowing the rig to leave the well site after setting the cement plugs.

Commenting on the news, Neodrill’s Chief Executive Officer, Jostein Aleksandersen said: “With every project, we carefully consider our approach and how it can be improved to drive forward even more cost savings for our clients. Our CAN technology has already been proven to reduce rig time by 2-4 days to establish a tophole foundation and now we are pleased to be reducing time in the abandonment phase too. As a team, we are very proud to have been involved in the world’s first ‘cut and recover’ operation. Working with Baker Hughes, we removed 12 hours from the rig schedule and delivered real cost savings for Wintershall Dea as a result.”

“The cut and recover service will be offered as part of our standard CAN-complete offering. At a time of uncertainty for the sector, we are proud to be bringing new solutions to the market that have a positive impact in terms of costs, safety and the environment.”

“The choice of the CAN-ductor was based on finding sustainable solutions for drilling in a sensitive area. It turned out to be economically sound also. The new recovery method is a continuation of the environmental focus and the cost-effective way of running this project”, Tore Øian, Head of Drilling in Wintershall Dea.

Tom Huuse, Director, Norway & Denmark Oilfield Equipment for Baker Hughes said: “We are very pleased to partner with Neodrill to deliver for Wintershall Dea this cut and recover operation, using our leading technology that improves safety and efficiencies. We look forward to support our global customer base with our technology offerings."