ABVS: Simple Set-Up for Barrier Verification & Live Monitoring
A leaking tie-down bolt indicated a possible tubing hanger neck seal failure, and repairs required two independently verified temporary barriers in 7" tubing. Two Interwell ME bridge plugs were set on e-line, with an ABVS transmitter between them providing live pressure and temperature data at surface throughout the repair.
Year
Region
Challenge
An operator identified a leaking tie-down bolt, indicating a potential tubing hanger neck seal failure. Remedial repairs required two independently verified temporary well barriers before work could begin.
The solution needed to be deployed in 7” 26 lb/ft tubing, allow each barrier to be verified independently and provide ongoing visibility of barrier performance during the intervention.
The operator also needed to verify the completed repair before returning the well to service. A practical surface monitoring arrangement was therefore important; giving the intervention team live information throughout the repair.
Solution
Interwell supplied two 572-700 Medium Expansion (ME) Retrievable Bridge Plugs (RBP), with a 5.72” OD for deployment in 7” tubing. Both plugs were installed on e-line using an Electronic Setting Tool (EST).
The lower plug was set at 68 metres (223 ft) measured depth and verified through staged inflow testing to approximately 1500 psi (103 bar), establishing the primary lower barrier before proceeding.
The upper plug was then deployed with an Acoustic Barrier Verification System (ABVS) transmitter positioned below it, allowing pressure and temperature between the barriers to be monitored from surface.
The surface set-up was straightforward; a magnetically mounted receiver picked up and decoded the acoustic signals, then passed the data to a display screen. This gave the intervention team live access to downhole measurements throughout the operation.ABVS transmitted pressure and temperature updates every two minutes for the first 24 hours, then automatically switched to 15-minute intervals.
The upper plug was pressure tested to 1750 psi (121 bar) while ABVS monitored pressure between the two barriers. This provided independent confirmation that the upper plug was holding the test pressure. With the plugs in close proximity, the small volume between them would have made it difficult to distinguish an upper plug leak from surface test volumes alone, as pressure could have passed the upper plug and been contained by the lower plug.
Following successful barrier verification, the tubing hanger repair was completed and pressure tested to 4000 psi (276 bar). Both plugs were subsequently recovered on slickline.
Value Created
→ Simple surface set-up: a magnetically mounted receiver and display gave the intervention team easy access to live downhole data.
→ Independent barrier verification: the lower plug was inflow tested, while ABVS confirmed that the upper plug held the applied test pressure.
→ Live monitoring: regular pressure and temperature updates provided ongoing visibility of conditions between the two barriers throughout the intervention.
→ Verified repair: the tubing hanger repair was successfully pressure tested to 4000 psi before both plugs were retrieved on slickline.
