Urban Legacy-Well Locate & Re-Entry

Los Angeles, California, USA · 2024

Locating and re-entering a legacy well beneath an urban Los Angeles redevelopment

The challenge

→A decades-old legacy well sits beneath an active Los Angeles redevelopment site.
→Shallow, near-surface target with uncertain position, re-entry needed for permanent P&A.
→A congested urban setting demands a precise, deterministic re-entry, not blind milling.

Our solution

Combined active magnetic ranging on wireline with passive magnetic ranging while drilling, homing in over successive ranging runs. The final run confirmed the target and identified the casing stub-top, setting up a milled re-entry for permanent abandonment.

Legacy well located and re-entered for permanent P&A

The result

~1,760 ft

MD, casing stub-top located for re-entry

·Final ranging run: strong active-ranging signal on target at ~2,114 ft MD
·Passive magnetic pole at ~1,770 ft; high-side toolface to target 169.56°
·Magnetometer saturation at ~1,725–1,740 ft pinpointed the stub-top at ~1,760 ft
·Deterministic location achieved despite the shallow, near-surface geometry

Ranging

AMR + PMR

Deployment

While Drilling (PMR) / Wireline (AMR)

Re-entry

Yes

Location

Los Angeles, California, USA

Year

2024

Regulatory approval Permanent abandonment witnessed and approved under California's energy regulator, the California Department of Conservation's Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM).

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