ICONIC Installs First Instrumented Tubular Plug Offshore Norway

ICONIC, a Stavanger-based company developing wireless monitoring products for downhole applications, has said it has installed its first iTP (Instrumented Tubular Plug) in the Norwegian North Sea. 

The company, formed in 2020, was born out of ICON Instruments, which was awarded a LOOP contract with Equinor to to develop an instrumented tubular plug (ITP) with wireless communication, aimed at reducing cost related to "dry" wellhead operations by eliminating the need for wireline mobilization and rig-up for securing of the well.

ICONIC said Monday the iTP was installed for a major international operator from a fixed installation offshore, without disclosing the name of the client.

"The device was mounted below the 9 5/8” casing plug and was successfully set at 45 meters deep. The iTP monitored the pressure and temperature data continuously from below the plug until it was retrieved two days later. By knowing the pressure below the plug, the iTP guaranteed its safe retrieval," ICONIC said.

"It achieved this by making the operations team aware of any pressure-equalizing that was required beforehand. The next iTP installation is scheduled for the same operator in 2020.  Continuous monitoring allows the operational decisions to be performed in a safe and cost-efficient manner, compared with other solutions on the market," ICONIC added.

 Per ICONIC, the iTP technology offers different cost savings depending on its application.

"When using a tubing hanger plug, the cost savings are made because retrieval of the plug can take place without the use of a pressure control system. This cuts down the time and cost for the wireline rig up. In other cases, such as Xmas tree change out or Xmas tree maintenance operations, the iTP eliminates the need for a deep-set plug and therefore removes this activity from the critical path. For a Xmas tree change out or maintenance operations, the use of the iTP will typically result in, but is not limited to, cost savings in the range of $150,000 – 200,000 USD," the company said.

According to the company, the iTP can also be used for many other applications where wireless monitoring enables the operator to reduce risk and facilitate easy decision making, this makes the drilling or intervention operation a more cost-efficient manner.

"Some potential applications are temporary plugging for drilling and intervention, perforation logging, P&A and riser-less pre slot recovery," ICONIC explained.

Jarl Endre Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer, ICONIC said: “As a young company, we are very proud to have successfully delivered our first iTP installation for a major operator in Norway. With the successful installation and monitoring on the pilot well installation, we have shown that knowledge is power. By having more access to real time data, costs are cut and safety is heightened. We very much look forward to our next installation, which is scheduled to take place later this year.”