This recommended practice presents principles and practices for performing risk and barrier management for plugging and abandonment of wells within the following main subjects, consisting of:

— assessment principles for formations with flow potential

— determining the functional and performance requirements for permanent well barrier materials

— confirming compliance with safety criteria for the field/installation

— establishing site-specific safety and environmental risk acceptance criteria

— differentiating the environmental risk exposure relative to hydrocarbon composition

— identifying, describing and managing uncertainty.

The recommended practice provides well engineers and well abandonment risk analysts with tools and methods performing consistent systematic evaluations of well abandonment designs and evaluations of wells, which have been abandoned.

This recommended practice covers the plugging and abandonment of wells and does not cover further decommissioning activities, also in a field context.