Case Study: a Norwegian Continental Shelf operating company optimizes casing retrieval with SLB PowerFlex annular barrier evaluation service

Cement Evaluation Service Guides Efficient Casing Retrieval to Optimize Cut-and-Pull Operation Offshore Norway

SLB worked with a Norwegian Continental Shelf based operating company that needed to improve the efficiency of its cut-and-pull decision for casing retrieval offshore Norway. The company’s challenge was to evaluate top of cement, annular fill, and casing centralization for a 9 5/8-in casing string in difficult conditions where conventional sonic logging could not reliably detect subtle changes in the annulus.

SLB deployed the PowerFlex annular barrier evaluation service, using ultrasonic and flexural attenuation measurements to image the annulus and determine the position of the casing relative to the outer string. The service identified four distinct annular fill sections—oil-base fluid, water-base fluid, barite solid sag, and cement—helping optimize the cut point for retrieval; the findings were later confirmed by cement bond log response and visual inspection of the recovered pipe.