Over the past 10 years, bismuth plugs have been used more often to solve complex downhole integrity issues and to permanently abandon wells, both on and offshore. As bismuth technology is relatively new to the market, it often needs to be qualified in-country before use on a larger scale. This is a significant barrier to the adoption of new technologies in general within the industry and not unique to the use of bismuth as a permanent sealing barrier.

Bismuth and bismuth-based alloys have unique properties that allow them to be used as a sealing material that has the potential to change the industry. It has a specific gravity of 10 which means it is 10 times denser than water.