BaraMag® swarf separation and recovery unit helps remove 95% of swarf
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Offshore UK
Plug & abandonment (P&A) campaign comprised of multiple wells
Engineered at-surface solution included the BaraMag® swarf separation and recovery unit and BaraMag flow diverter for:
A major operator contracted Halliburton Baroid to assist with a plug-and-abandonment (P&A) campaign offshore UK, in the North Sea. The campaign was comprised of multiple wells that needed casing milling technology to enable the reuse of milling fluids (free from swarf) — without incurring HSE hazards or costly rig-up time.
The Baroid Separation Solutions (BSS) team recommended the BaraMag swarf separation and recovery unit. Designed to provide safe and effective handling of swarf, BaraMag removes ferrous metals from fluids while milling casing. This minimizes harmful impact on offshore equipment. The deployment proved successful in recovering more than 95% swarf. It also helped avoid non-productive time (NPT), HSE incidents, and service quality issues.
The operator’s key objective was to separate and contain the swarf material in collection skips. The swarf is then taken away for disposal. Failure to remove these harsh metallic particles can lead to excessive wear and tear on rig surface equipment, contaminate drilling fluids, and expose personnel to health, safety, and environmental (HSE) risks. Swarf removal from milling fluid requires a reliable and efficient means of separation at the surface to ensure successful operations. In this case, traditional solids control shale shakers would be inadequate because of the large quantities of swarf.
The BaraMag swarf separation and recovery unit was identified as the optimal solution because of its effective removal of particles and strands of ferrous and ferromagnetic metals from drilling fluids. BaraMag is used in milling, abandonment, slot-recovery, or side-tracks. The BaraMag process takes place in two stages: mechanical and magnetic.
feet of casing milled
kg of metal recovered
% of swarf recovered during the 18 runs
During the first phase of the campaign, eight wells were plugged and abandoned, with 18 sections milled in the wells. The BaraMag unit was rigged up and rigged down. The BaraMag flow diverter was also used for each milling job. A rig-up time of 24 hours (simultaneously with rig operations) ensured that the operator met the timeline requirements of their P&A program.
The main accomplishments were:
This first usage of the BaraMag system allowed the operator to cost-effectively mill and handle returned swarf on surface without NPT or HSE incidents. The economic value of the returned milling fluid and the minimization of waste were crucial in successful milling and ultimate completion of the P&A job scope. This work helped to maximize operator asset value.
Discover how the BaraMag swarf recovery unit can help you save on waste management costs
Designed to help separate the swarf from the drilling fluid by innovative mechanical and magnetic operations.
We carefully plan each waste management solution according to local conditions to maximize drilling efficiency.
