Wellbore Integrity & Storage
Wellbore Integrity & Storage
Whether a wellbore is retired, in active use, or storing energy, it is critical for US energy and environmental security to ensure the integrity of the large and ever-growing number of wellbores and their surrounding geology for sustainable injectivity, sustainable resource recovery, and to prevent failures such as leaks.
What We Do
To advance the state of the art in wellbore integrity assurance, Sandia concentrates on the experiments, simulations, and engineering that need to be developed for
- Monitoring wellbores, salt caverns, and natural gas and oil storage, potentially predicting leaks or failures
- Remediation so that wells can be reused or retired safely
- New well design and secondary containment
- Risk analysis
Risks
The Macondo and Aliso Canyon events underscore that failed wellbores are also a major leakage pathway. This can unintentionally migrate fluid—reducing the efficiency of resource extraction—or release stored, underground contaminants into the environment.
