A Special Innovation that has been in development for some time is Rock Solid Exothermic Reaction Technology. This product is designed to effectively seal the wellbore completely in a true ( rock to rock) manner from the reservoir at the caprock depth.
A permanent well barrier element must fulfill several functional requirements including sealing capability, bonding properties, downhole placeability, durability, and repairability. Although there are barrier materials that can fulfill some of the requirements, very few can claim to fulfill all of these. With exothermic reduction-oxidation technology that is designed with an energy surplus for the application, you will always be able to seal off the entire bore hole. The exothermic reaction barrier ensures stopping any flow past the barrier eternally.
The heat from the exothermic reaction is a critical component to the result. It efficiently removes all existing materials in the well (tubulars and existing degraded cement) at the barrier depth in their entirety or sequesters it as part of the barrier. This allows for uninfluenced material production in-situ. Where traditional product materials run the risk of material degradation, an exothermic reduction-oxidation process will deliver materials with consistent properties every time. In addition, the barrier height and volume are known. Unlike when using any technology that relies on mechanically restricting a flow path or trying to intersect and place a material in the flow path.
With the increased awareness on methane reduction from our Oil and Gas operations worldwide, leaking abandoned wells are creating a black eye for our industry. Innovative solutions such as RockSolid exothermic reaction barrier technology is a significant step change from the current methodology used to plug and abandon wells today. We know as an industry that the current methods are not capable of sealing wells eternally due to tubular corrosion and cement degradation over time. We as an industry need to integrate solutions such as RockSolid to minimize our methane emissions and provide eternal sealing of abandoned wells for generations to come.