Delivered by Claxton, a cutting and decommissioning brand in Acteon’s Energy services division, the suspended well abandonment tool, SWAT™, is used for rapid perforation, circulation, and placement of the required cement barriers in the well annuli during subsea well abandonment operations. Claxton has over 30 years’ experience in delivering innovative class-leading offshore engineering solutions and pioneered the development of the SWAT tool, the first of its kind. SWAT opens the potential for innovative, cost-saving multi-operator campaigns and can be deployed from a vessel of opportunity to eliminate costly rig time.
The award-winning SWAT, is combined with other market-leading technology such as abrasive cutting technology to provide a full back-deck spread, allowing operators to safely clean up wells and recover well fluids such as oil-based muds (OBM) back to the surface whilst minimising the impact on the environment.
SWAT holds the Queen’s Award for Innovation in the UK, and the prestigious Petroleum Institute Platinum Award for Innovation. Rated to 5,000 PSI, SWAT is capable of being deployed from any dynamic positioning (DP) vessel, is landed on the wellhead, and then used to carry out casing perforation, followed by clean-up and placement of the required cement barriers in the well. The wellhead can then be severed using Claxton’s subsea abrasive cutting tools and recovered using the wellhead recovery tool, utilising the full subsea decommissioning package.
🎥 See SWAT in action
LEADING THE WAY IN DECOMMISSIONING
Acteon has been engaged in the decommissioning market for decades and performed the world’s first rigless well abandonment in 2003 through the Claxton brand. Our goal is to be the leading engineering and service provider for wells and offshore infrastructure installation and removal. We now live in a time where the development of renewable energy is rapidly accelerating, and operators are looking to drive down the cost of removing old oil and gas infrastructure more than ever before we have taken the opportunity to leverage our experience and technology to support them with restoring the seabed and enabling their energy transition projects.
HARNESSING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GLOBAL COVERAGE
Proven across over 120 North Sea wells, SWAT has an extensive track record and has been successful in saving operators time and money on their decommissioning campaigns for over two decades. Over the years Claxton has developed bespoke equipment, including an extension module, developed in response to industry demand, meaning that barriers can now be set at any depth required. This technology enables barriers to be set on a firm base and minimise cement contamination. The deepest cement plug set to date is 2,800 ft. below the mudline. Another recent development enables overboard deployment in addition to through moon pool deployment providing greater flexibility with the vessel providers.
The expert engineering capabilities, the experience of offshore personnel, and the flexibility to work from vessels of opportunity are what sets Claxton as the front-runners in delivering suspended well abandonment campaigns that actively increase commercial value and minimise environmental impact for operators.
The success of SWAT in the UK and Norway presents a real opportunity to apply this market-leading technology further across the globe from one of Claxton’s other operational bases to help operators in other regions realise the cost and time savings in comparison to using other suspended well abandonment methods. The ability to leverage localised personnel and supporting equipment ensures that mobilisations and personnel on board (POB) are kept to a minimum. If you see an opportunity for SWAT to be utilised outside of the North Sea, please get in contact to discuss the project.




DRILLING AND DECOMMISSIONING SERVICES - REQUEST MORE INFORMATION
Acteon’s expertise in drilling and decommissioning spans decades and covers the full lifecycle of a project from the acquisition of subsea information and data, to bespoke drilling packages to onshore disposal and recycling.