ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) said Jan. 16 it has formed a new partnership to develop technologies addressing well decommissioning activities.

ExxonMobil Upstream Research Co. signed a three-year joint development agreement with MagnaBond LLC to develop new technologies that could enhance cost-effective evaluation of well cementing, casing and tubing. The agreement was facilitated by the Industry Technology Facilitator as part of its initiative to address challenges associated with well-decommissioning activities such as plugging and abandonment.

ExxonMobil and MagnaBond will work toward developing technology that allows for through-tubing cement evaluation prior to the arrival of a costly rig or workover unit.

Current evaluation technology cannot adequately characterize cement quality through multiple strings of casing, according to the company press release. A well’s production tubing must be pulled in order to inspect the cement, resulting in additional time and expense for decommissioning activities.

“Developing a technology that enables us to see the quality of well casing and cement with a single tool is a major step in determining overall well integrity and could result in significant cost savings,” Jayme Meier, vice president of engineering for ExxonMobil Upstream Research, said in a statement.

Meier added that the agreement will bring together the strengths of each company to jointly develop solutions. The new collaboration combines ExxonMobil’s expertise in developing a wide range of inspection technologies and tools with MagnaBond’s strengths in technology transfer and supply chain design from other industries.

“The team at MagnaBond has a few decades of experience in applying cutting-edge semiconductor, aerospace and automotive technologies to the challenging downhole environment. We have a unique opportunity in this collaboration with ExxonMobil to engineer a solution that is specifically tailored to meet the upcoming challenges the industry faces in both well construction and decommissioning,” David Stewart, managing partner and chief technology officer with MagnaBond, said in a statement.

ExxonMobil Upstream Research develops an array of proprietary technologies to support the corporation’s continued leadership in exploration, development, production and gas commercialization. ExxonMobil often collaborates with other companies and academic institutions around the world to research and develop new technologies.

In addition to the agreement with MagnaBond, ExxonMobil collaborated with nine other oil and gas companies in 2017 to form the Plugging and Abandonment Collaborative Environment, an industry network to promote investment in and early adoption of innovative plugging and abandonment technology within the oil and gas industry. The organization is managed by OTM Consulting.