Abandono permanente de poços petrolíferos: comparativo entre a portaria ANP n° 25/2002 e o novo regulamento do Sistema de Gerenciamento da Integridade de Poços (SGIP) publicado no DOU em 3.11.16

Abstract

One of the crucial stage during the oil wells life cycle is its abandonment, which may be temporary or permanent. In both cases, the abandonment aim is to prevent unintentional flow of hydrocarbons into the environment, to ensure human and environmental safety, as well as to prevent accidents. The oil industry, given its size and inherent characteristics, is intensely impacted by the occurrence of incidents and its damage can be large in terms of loss of human lives and strong economic and environmental damage. Major accidents that have already occurred represent milestones that must be analyzed by the industry in order to propose preventive, corrective and mitigating measures and actions. Regulation should be able to keep pace with the technological evolution of this industry. In Brazil, the oil industry regulator is the Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis (ANP) [National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels]. For years, the well abandonment regulation was ANP Ordinance N°. 25/2002, however it will be replaced in a near future because it is a highly prescriptive regulation, does not include a large number of cases and the best practices in the industry and because it is considered obsolete. The Sistema de Gerenciamento de Integridade de Poços (SGIP) [Well Integrity Management System] emerges as a proposal to correct deficiencies in the management of well integrity in Brazil and comprises the entire life cycle of the well. This study aims at comparing the specific cases of permanent oil well abandonment, based on these two regulations.