Shell Maintains Technology Edge as Staff Win Best Technical Paper Award at SPE Conference

Shell staff have won the highly regarded 1st Place Technical Paper Award at the annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), which concluded last night in Lagos.

Well engineers Augustine Okosun, Osehojie Ojeh-Oziegbe, Oluwatobilola Aribike, and Oladokun Adubi were commended “for an outstanding display of in-depth technical knowledge and quality delivery” in their presentation titled:

“Application of Perforate, Wash, and Cement (PWC) Technology for Annular Remediation in Deepwater Well Abandonment.”

The paper focuses on PWC technology, which is used for annular remediation—the process of restoring the space between the casing and wellbore to install a permanent isolation barrier during well abandonment. This ensures zonal isolation and prevents fluid migration, both critical for the safe and permanent abandonment of wells, while safeguarding against well integrity issues and environmental hazards.

For the first time in deepwater Nigeria, this technology was deployed during the Bonga Field Midlife Plug and Abandonment Campaign in Q2 last year. The paper highlights significant cost and time savings compared to conventional methods.

The SPE Best Technical Paper Award underscores the cutting-edge technology Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) continues to deploy to achieve top-quartile performance and operational excellence in the Bonga Field.

Speaking after the award, Augustine Okosun said:

“Technology is a key aspect of the culture of excellence in our operations, and we hope the insights we shared will encourage a culture of cost-effective and environmentally sound operations, which operators need to remain competitive.”