PWC: A Review of Practices and Where to Go Next
By Erlend Engelsgjerd - May 22, 2025
As the global energy sector works toward more sustainable, efficient, and compliant operations, the pressure is on to abandon ageing wells safely and cost-effectively. Plug and abandonment (P&A) operations are a regulatory necessity, essential for reducing environmental risk and managing long-term liabilities.
HydraWell’s latest technical publication, “Perforate, Wash, and Cement: A Review of Practices and Where to Go Next”, in the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Journal, explores the evolution of PWC (Perforate, Wash, Cement) techniques, highlights global field deployments, and examines the future of rigless well abandonment.
In this article, we break down some of the key insights from the publication and how they apply to real-world operations.
Traditionally, P&A has relied on techniques like section milling and cement squeeze, both of which often come with uneven cement distribution, cost overruns, and environmental challenges.
That’s why operators around the world are turning to HydraWell’s PWC (Perforate, Wash, Cement) solution.
This modern method is rapidly becoming the global standard for well abandonment and remediation. Instead of cutting out the casing or forcing cement into uncertain spaces, PWC takes a more precise approach by:
- Perforating the casing to access the annular space
- Washing away debris and old cement
- Cementing the area to create a full cross-sectional barrier
Why operators choose HydraWell’s PWC?
With thousands of wells needing to be plugged in the coming years, operators are under pressure to find reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally sound solutions. PWC offers exactly that.
How Does PWC Compare?
|
Method |
Pros |
Cons |
|
Section Milling |
Easy to appreciate, effective for restoring cement barriers. |
Expensive, creates metal waste (swarf), lengthy operations. |
|
Cement Squeeze |
No swarf, more cost-efficient. |
Hard to verify quality, risk of contamination, circumferential cement placement difficult to achieve. |
|
Cup-Based PWC |
Faster than section milling, cleaner, allows later interventions. |
Requires careful pressure management for circumferential wash and cement. |
|
Jet-Based PWC |
Fastest and most reliable, handles difficult scenarios effectively, and widely successful. |
Noise in verification tools can complicate assessments. |
With operational experience in the North Sea, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, Netherlands, North America, and Australia, PWC has been successfully deployed across a range of challenging well environments building a solid track record of reliability and results.
Current verification methods involve pressure testing, logging (tools checking cement integrity), and tagging. Instead of relying solely on physical tests, new methods propose using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling and qualification matrix to reduce verification needs to further save costs and operational time.
Hydrawell’s PWC is redesigning the energy sector and well abandonment. The future of the industry is rigless making PWC a standout solution for sustainable P&A. To learn more and explore the full technical capabilities, check out the full technical publication.
