103749Advanced Bismuth Alloy Development for Downhole Casting & Plugging of Oil WellsClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKThis project addresses the need for high integrity offshore oil and gas well abandonment plugs, required for the North Sea in the upcoming wave of platform removals (decommissioning). Currently, wells are abandoned through plugging the well bore with two columns of cement up to 160 meters in length. The industry has concerns over the cost and long term seal integrity of cement plugs and has been seeking an alternative solution for years. This project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a cost effective, high reliability plugging technology for oil & gas well applications. The project aims to develop a new bismuth based metal alloy to use as a plug, leveraging the unique property of bismuth (expansion upon freezing) to deliver high integrity seals. The project also aims to demonstrate a method of casting the molten alloy down hole to deliver a cost effective deployment method. The use of metal alloy plugs for well abandonment has already been demonstrated in shallow onshore wells in Canada. This project aims to develop superior performance alloys and deployment methods to demonstrate that metal alloy plugs are feasible as a solution for the more demanding, deeper offshore wells in the North Sea and elsewhere in the world.