This project offers a breakthrough solution to a persistent challenge in the petroleum industry: restoring damaged production wells with high safety and reduced costs, thereby addressing practical needs in oilfield operations.

During oil and gas exploitation in Vietnam, numerous wells become inoperable due to long-term usage or external factors, resulting in production tubing breaches, casing failures, or downhole blockages. These conditions severely reduce oil output and can even lead to complete production shutdown. Conventional repair approaches require retrieving the entire old well completion system and replacing it with a new one—a process fraught with high costs, significant risks, and extended downtime.

Lead engineer Nguyễn Quốc Hưng explained that the team aimed to develop a more efficient and technically safe solution that would enable well repair without having to replace the entire system, while also restoring production and ensuring readiness for future well interventions.

Based on this goal, the team conducted pilot implementation on a specific well owned by the Vietnam National Energy Group. They proposed a specially designed technical assembly that allows the integration of a new well completion assembly with the remaining usable components of the old system. This eliminates the need to retrieve the entire complex downhole equipment to the surface, yet still enables the well to resume production and remain intervention-ready.

The proposed solution enables the installation of a new production casing column and establishes a connection with the retained lower wellbore completion components. This configuration also allows for the application of gas lift techniques, enhancing the oil recovery factor.

The project’s effectiveness was proven through field trials on well PL-1P in the Pearl Field, located offshore in the Cuu Long Basin of Vietnam's East Sea. In under 20 days, the well was restored to production with an output of 1,830 barrels per day—three times the original target. The repair costs were reduced by approximately USD 850,000 compared to traditional methods, owing to partial reuse of existing equipment and shortened rig operation time.

Co-project leader engineer Nguyễn Văn Khương noted that retaining usable well components not only saves time and costs but also significantly mitigates technical risks. More importantly, the well remained stable and yielded high production post-repair.

The research team emphasized that the project demonstrates Vietnam’s capability to independently master technologies previously reliant on foreign experts and imported equipment. Successfully designing and implementing this well repair solution represents a new direction for the domestic oil and gas industry—reducing dependence on foreign technology and enabling flexible application across wells with similar damage scenarios.

Commenting on Resolution 57-NQ/TW issued by the Politburo—which aims to promote scientific and technological advancement aligned with practical implementation—engineer Nguyễn Quốc Hưng highlighted the policy as a critical shift in perception and mechanism. He emphasized that if current frameworks are improved and effectively implemented, and stronger links are formed between scientists and enterprises, applied research projects will be better positioned to deliver real-world impact and scale more rapidly and effectively.

Source: Vietnam News Agency (TTXVN)