Numerical simulation of a patent technology for sealing of deep-sea oil wells using nonlinear finite element method

• A new patent for sealing oil wells is proposed.
• The new technology can be installed or removed efficiently with minimum cost.
• Experimental studies have been performed to test the device.
• Numerical study using finite element is performed to verify the device efficiency in sealing oil wells.
• The research project proves that the new device is very promising solution to the oil leakage problem from abandoned oil wells.

For over 50 years bridge plugs and cement have been used for well abandonment, work over, and are still the material of choice. However the failures of cement abandonments using bridge plugs has been reported on many occasions, some of which have resulted in fatal consequences. A new patented product is designed to address the shortcomings associated with using bridge plugs and cement. The new developed tools use an alloy based on bismuth that is melted in situ using Thermite reaction. The tool uses the expansion properties of bismuth to seal the well. Testing the new technology in real field under more than 2 km deep sea water can be expensive. Virtual simulation of the new device under simulated thermal and mechanical environment can be achieved using nonlinear finite element method to validate the product and reduce cost. Experimental testing in the lab is performed to measure heat generated due to thermite reaction. Then, a sequential thermal mechanical explicit/implicit finite element solver is used to simulate the device under both testing lab and deep water conditions.