In a controlled offshore field trial, a major operator evaluated two competing approaches to BOP pressure testing and well barrier verification on sister drillships in the Gulf of America. The objective: determine which solution delivered faster, more accurate validation of well control equipment performance.
Traditional predictive analysis methods, commonly used in pressure decline analysis, rely on assumed coefficients rather than actual test data. This introduces uncertainty in well barrier testing, especially in complex subsea environments.
Operators required a solution that could:
IPT Global deployed its SureTec® PressureTesting Solution, a digital pressure testing software with a patented advanced analysis engine that leverages thermally compensated leak detection (TCLD).
Unlike conventional methods, TCLD:
This approach aligns with modern barrier management software strategies and supports BOP real-time monitoring across offshore operations.
Field trial results confirmed a clear performance advantage:
The operator concluded that SureTec PressureTesting provided superior efficiency and assurance in subsea BOP testing and overall well control equipment performance. This resulted in the operator changing their digital pressure testing provider from a competing company to IPT Global across all offshore operations.
As the oil and gas industry moves toward digital transformation, relying on assumption-based models is no longer sufficient. Advanced analytics provided through IPT Global’s SureTec platform deliver:
For operators seeking to optimize bop testing, well barrier element pressure tests, and inflow pressure testing, adopting real-time, data-driven analysis is critical.
Predictive models estimate. IPT Global validates.
Well integrity is essential to developing a well that safely performs as designed while minimizing risk to personnel, assets, reputation, and the environment. A well without proper integrity management can compromise the safety of the environment and those working on site.
Well integrity management, therefore, is immensely important. It is the act of achieving assurance through the proper design, construction, testing and maintenance of the well structure throughout all well operations. A standardized well integrity program assures processes are defined, consistent, reviewed and open to improvements.
Most operators have their own standards for well integrity solutions; however these standards can vary significantly for many reasons (region to region, for example). When integrity management is not standardized, a rig team may conduct inflow tests using a different approach than another. Workers at one site could utilize a dedicated solution for data management, while those somewhere else may decide Excel is a perfectly acceptable substitute.
Inconsistencies inevitably present challenges in deploying effective training programs, best practices, test analysis methods, acceptance criteria determination, and review and approval processes, to name a few. These challenges can in turn lead to reduced safety, reliability, and performance.
When you implement standards, you ensure everyone is looking at the same playbook. You avoid the confusion that stems from multiple job sites working in different ways — utilizing their own tools and processes. Instead, you establish norms, introducing consistency and enabling more streamlined well integrity management.
Standardization allows you to assume the same workflows are used everywhere. Tests are performed the same way. Maintenance schedules are on the same timeline. Data is stored in the exact same manner and reports are generated using the same software. Such an approach makes the act of ensuring well integrity much more consistent.
When all sites are operating on a single standard, integration and meaningful data analysis can take place. Cloud-based tools can allow you to connect to each location, monitor how things are going, and access whatever data you might need.
IPT’s well integrity solution is comprehensive, spanning the entirety of the well lifecycle. SureTec, SureView and our Industry Experts play roles in each phase, enabling standardization of processes, workflows and tools from start to finish. And because our solution is entirely digital, you can easily monitor work or access data from any site, regardless of where you are.
IPT helps you simplify well integrity management while also improving safety, reliability and performance. If you’re experiencing confusion and want consistency instead, contact IPT today to learn more about our standardized and integrated solution.
Positive pressure tests are crucial to deliver safe oil and gas wells, as testing confirms the integrity of the wellbore and its ability to function under design conditions and pressures. Pressure testing requirements are usually set by local regulatory bodies and operating company policies. For over 100 years, the oil and gas industry has relied on circular chart recorders (CCRs) to capture data from a test to manually interpret results.
CCR analysis is still a widely respected method to collect pressure test records. However, the data utilization is very limited as it is difficult to evaluate the test and use the data for additional purposes, such as artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
To this day, CCRs are used to perform positive tests on countless oil wells around the world. The issue with recording test results in this manner stems from its reliance on subjective human interpretation. If the human interpretation is incorrect, the consequences can be severe.
A positive test is intended to be scored using an objective pass-fail evaluation. Reliance on human interpretation when using CCRs, however, introduces inconsistency.
During analysis, a human evaluator could miss a fine detail due to the low resolution of CCRs, and thus give the test a pass to continue operation. Post-test evaluation by an approving party could also disagree with the initial analysis, resulting in re-testing critical components which leads to both increased pressurized time and operating costs.
In many locations, test records are required to be submitted to meet regulatory expectations. Testing is meant to provide assurance of well integrity and inform the operator their well is functioning safely.
Misinterpretation of testing results or analysis by utilizing CCRs can result in undesirable outcomes and failure to protect people, the environment and the operating company’s reputation.
SureTec offers a better way.
IPT is no stranger to the world of well integrity. With SureTec, IPT has developed an all-digital solution for positive testing that focuses on consistency, objectivity, accuracy and safety.
All tests are performed using consistent parameters, offering definitive results by analyzing data against objective pass-fail criteria. High-resolution digital recording ensures the accuracy of results and simplifies the process of documenting and reporting data through automation.
And thanks to SureView, it’s easier than ever to view testing data regardless of where you are. SureView is a web-based platform that enables simple navigation of test results from local or remote wells, reviewal of test history, and more.
With all positive testing data in one location, it is easier to spot trends and gain a sense of where operations stand. And if you need help with any of our solutions, IPT is ready to help. Experts at our Real-Time Operations Center are on hand 24/7 to provide support and answer any questions.
Contact IPT today to learn more about SureTec, and why going digital is the best way to ensure operational excellence, employee safety and business continuity.
IPT Global partnered with a major global operator to standardize and optimize fleet-wide BOP testing. This collaborative initiative resulted in over 33 days or 800 hours of deepwater rig time savings per annum for the customer. In addition to creating value through gained efficiencies, IPT Global continues to protect value for this client through enhanced assurance of well barrier integrity across their operations.
Prior to this fleet-wide initiative, the operator did not have a standard approach to BOP testing. Operations varied across regions using a combination of SureTec PressureTesting, circular chart recorders, and competitor digital chart solutions. This was an opportunity to ensure effective implementation of process safety policies and to drive efficiency across global operations.
IPT Global’s performance advisor partnered with the client’s teams to ensure accelerated learning by utilizing big data and analytics that made performance visible and transparent. Implementation of IPT Global’s PressureTesting solution fleetwide increased efficiencies in regions where inferior solutions were previously used. Adoption of one standardized digital solution allowed for consistent assurance practices to meet internal requirements, compliance with regulatory requirements, and remove sources of human error from operations.
During test design and planning, all test plans were created and optimized using PressureTesting’s TestPlanner module to ensure compliance and consistency with company policy and regulations. IPT Global’s SMEs generated and optimized test plans based on decades of experience across multiple global operators. A wholesale reduction of three to four test steps per test resulted in reduced component wear and tear, extending mean- time between failures while reducing maintenance and operational time and costs across the fleet.
In addition to test step reduction and optimization, deepwater projects that adopted the PressureTesting digital solution benefited from over 25% time savings per test with IPT Global’s advanced algorithms. Algorithms that are not only fast and efficient, but stringent and rigorous as well, providing industry-leading assurance that all leaks are detected early.
After global implementation of SureTec PressureTesting, all of the regional operations were fully documented in standardized reports and archived in IPT Global’s cloud-based collaboration hub. IPT Global’s performance advisor consulted with the client teams to define custom performance metrics and KPIs to track within PressureTesting. Once this information was transparent across the fleet, the team was able to identify opportunities for performance and process improvements and to share key learnings.
Through a collaborative and trusted partnership, the fleet-wide implementation of SureTec PressureTesting resulted in more than 800 hours, or 33 days, of critical path time savings per year for BOP testing. This was achieved through a global initiative to consult with IPT Global SMEs, who identified opportunities to reduce waste in test plans by eliminating steps; and by implementing the most efficient and robust digital solution for well barrier verification.
IPT Global’s performance advisor was able to provide a holistic perspective across the operations to share best practices, and identify accelerated learning opportunities that improved overall operational efficiency. Applying PressureTestingas a global digital solution was a critical step towards removing sources of human error from operations and to ensure that all regions were following standard practices and procedures.
Negative testing, also known as inflow testing, offers oil and gas companies a reliable way to test well barrier integrity and remain in compliance with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 30 § 250.721(g). During a test, displacement occurs through the use of a lower density completion fluid — thus lowering pressure — and the well barrier is monitored for leaks.
For a long time, Horner analysis has served as the industry standard for the study of negative test results, with the Horner plot being the de facto choice for recording such results. There’s now evidence to suggest, however, that this has been a mistake. The truth is Horner analysis and Horner plots aren’t just discouraged in this testing scenario — they really shouldn’t be used at all. Here’s why.
Horner plots are most often used to test buildup pressure. Results are recorded onto a graph with a sloped line, where the line, according to Crane’s Petrophysical Handbook, represents “a cross plot of buildup (or drawdown) pressure (Pi) on the Y-axis versus a dimensionless time coefficient (HTi), usually called Horner Time, on a logarithmic X-axis.”
Horner analysis utilizes the same radial flow equation used to record pressure build up inside shut-in wells. Later, it was discovered this equation had enough in common with thermal diffusion equations for it to predict static formation temperature. When the connection was discovered that inflow tests created thermal effects and subsequently caused flowback, Horner analysis appeared to be a logical choice for interpreting test results.
The issue with this approach, unfortunately, stems from details that are seemingly ignored and assumptions that must be made. Use of Horner analysis — and the Horner plot — requires one to disregard temperature change, heat generation, and heat transfer between fluids. It also assumes system and formation temperature will remain the same with a change in pressure, formation temperature is not impacted by distance from the wellbore, and temperature is consistent at the wellbore. None of these are true.
As a result, even the tiniest tweaks to variables can result in a Horner plot trend line that is misinterpreted. This led James Peyton to conclude in a 2021 paper that Horner analysis “should not be used for analyzing flowback or pressure buildup during an inflow test.” Fortunately, a more accurate testing method exists.
Some methods of validating inflow tests, such as Horner plots, are either unsound scientifically or are prone to misinterpretation. This problem is eliminated with SureTec.
SureTec records tests with an unmatched level of precision and consistency. And because test results are digitally compared to the required pass-fail criteria, an objective result is produced.
Increased accuracy in testing is not the only benefit of going digital with SureTec. Our SureView platform enables viewing of testing data locally or remotely.
And if you need help with any of our solutions, IPT is ready to help. Experts at our Real-Time Operations Center are on hand 24/7 to provide support and answer any questions.
Contact IPT today to learn how digital solutions like SureTec and SureView can make negative testing more accurate and help you access your data from anywhere.
The petroleum industry continues to rely on antiquated analog methodologies and individual experiences to interpret pressure tests. These tests are fundamentally critical to verifying well barrier integrity which ensures protection of personnel, the environment and equipment.
Over a decade ago, IPT led a digital revolution and developed industry-leading technology to modernize well barrier assurance. Recently, IPT worked with a major oil and gas company to compare analog methods (circular chart recorder, CCR) with IPT’s digital well integrity management solutions.
The client’s shallow water and deep water Gulf of Mexico operations were early adopters of IPT well integrity solutions over a decade ago, but the client still had several regional operations that used circular chart recorders, including drillships in West Africa and in several onshore basins. The comparison trials ran on both land and deep water operations between IPT solutions and circular chart recorders to quantify the value in adopting a global well integrity management solution.
This trial demonstrated that the implementation of SureTec and SureView created immediate value with enhanced efficiencies and time savings on the rigs. Digital cloud-based data and archival ensure long-term record preservation, guarantee compliance and enhance safety across well barrier assurance processes in ways not possible with analog methodologies. In addition to the immediate value created with IPT solutions, the client’s value was was protected by assuring well barrier processes and program steps.
SureTec and SureView generated immediate value on the client’s projects compared to analog methods. IPT measured more efficient test validation times onshore and offshore. The client also benefited from qualitative efficiencies in processes, communication and generating information that could then be applied for continuous performance improvement.
In addition to immediately reducing costs through more efficient and effective operations, IPT solutions revolutionized the client’s assurance, confirming well barriers will perform as planned so that the operator’s reputation and license to operate was protected. The regional projects that were still using analog methods to verify barrier integrity posed invisible risks that would remain unknown until after a catastrophe occurred. Implementing the SureTec and SureView digital well integrity management system created opportunities to close process safety gaps across all of the client’s operations.
Prior to the comparison trials, some of the client’s staff believed a “free” solution would be sufficient to carry their operations. The side-by-side comparison left no question that SureTec and SureView, IPT’s digital well integrity management solutions, generated and preserved value.
In addition to validating tests 30% and 25% more efficiently, for onshore and offshore respectively, major efficiencies were gained from improved performance enabled through visible data, enhanced change management, collaboration and auditable record keeping. The operator has implemented IPT’s well integrity management solutions into all global operations as part of their assurance and integrity program, providing peace of mind that all of their operations would comply with internal and regulatory standards to ensure well barrier integrity. This enterprise level assurance minimizes client exposure to well integrity incidents that could impact people, equipment and the environment.
During the implementation of SureTec, a client remarked, “I’m so happy we are making the switch. Using this digital tool and being involved in the digital transformation is critical for assurance and driving efficiency.”
Let IPT be a part of your digital transformation and benefit from the application of digital data to drive cost savings and improve assurance to protect your company’s reputation and license to operate.