WELL SERVICING

1 WELL SERVICING

1.1 PRODUCTION PROBLEMS

For various reasons during the producing life of a reservoir, the wells associated with that
reservoir (production or injection wells) may require attention. Many problems can occur
downhole which can be rectified by different methods. The art of well servicing is in selecting
the most cost effective and efficient method.

1.1.1 Production Decline

Where a reservoir is producing through multiple formations, the rate of depletion of each
formation will not be the same. Consequently when one does deplete in terms of pressure or
flow then it is necessary to isolate that formation from the others. Very often this is done by
squeezing cement into the perforations to block them off. If the flow rate from a single
formation depletes to an uneconomic rate then the well may be completely plugged and/or
cemented off. On subsea locations this will require a vessel with pipe handling capability.
This technique can be used effectively in the following instances:
• Workovers To Reduce Water Production: Where wells in bottom-water drive
reservoirs produce water prematurely because they were completed too close to the
water-oil contact, the water production can be shut off by squeezing off the perforations
and then perforating higher in the Section 1. Eventually the well will make water as the
water level rises with continued production. Sometimes the well makes water
prematurely because it is produced at too high a rate and the water comes up from
below; See Figure 1. Usually very little can be done to remove a water cone once it has
developed. The best procedure is to squeeze off the current perforations and re-
perforate as high in the oil zone as possible. The production rate should also be
reduced to minimise future coning.
• Workovers To Reduce Excess Gas Production: If a well is completed too close to an
expanding gas cap, it may produce gas prematurely; See Figure 2. The gas can usually be
shut off by squeezing off the existing perforations and perforating lower in the well.
Since the GOC will move down with production, the well will eventually start making
gas again. Sometimes the gas production is caused by producing the well at too high a
rate and the gas cones down; See Figure 3. Gas cones are very difficult to remove. If
the well is shut in, oil will normally not move back into a gas-invaded section.
• Workovers To Reduce Extraneous Water Production: Some wells produce water
that migrates behind the pipe from an extraneous zone because of a poor cement job;
See Figure 4. The problem can be solved by using the circulation cement-squeeze
technique. In this technique the water sand is perforated, and the tubing on a packer is
set between the two zones. Cement is circulated through the channel.

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Figure 1 – Water Cone

Figure 2 – Gas Cap Gas Production

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Figure 3 – Gas Cone

Figure 4 – Water Channel Through Cement

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1.1.2 Mechanical Failure

• Corrosion in Tubulars: Where the tubing or casing has been so badly attacked by
corrosion that it is leaking, then it must be repaired or replaced. Both these operations
will require the services of a pipe handling rig either to pull the tubing or repair the
casing with a patch or cement job.
• Scale: Very often in high water producing wells, minerals can precipitate against the
wall of the tubing reducing the flow of fluid to the surface. Also this scale can prevent
the operation of downhole equipment such as Sub-Surface Safety Valves. Scale
formation needs to be controlled and removed. This may require chemical treatment or
again the removal of the completion. Other methods may be used such as wireline run
scrapers and this will be discussed below.
• Paraffin Waxy substances can also build up on the inside of the tubing which again has
the undesirable effect of reducing flow. It can be removed by chemical or mechanical
means without having to pull the tubing. Paraffin buildup will also prevent a wireline
toolstring from fully penetrating a string and so it must be removed continuously.

1.1.3 Locating the Problem

Before any remedial work can be undertaken or even planned, the problem must be precisely
defined. This means that the location of the problem or source of problems must be known.
This is where the well history and the well production trends will help though precise
measurements will probably be required in any case.
If production rates change it can be for one or a combination of reasons: sand production,
depletion, scale, paraffin, damaged tubing, damaged casing plugged perforations, and even
part closure of the downhole safety valve due to a leaking or damaged hydraulic control line.
An electric line production logging tool may be run in to asses which if any of the perforations
are plugged. This tool contains a spinner which measures and indicates fluid flow. It is thus
quite easy to ascertain whether individual perforations are still producing.
If sand has built up around the perforated joint and has plugged of the flow completely then
the tubing can then be cut or pulled and a wash pipe run over the remaining tubing, if any, to
circulate out the sand.
Where the depth of an obstruction must be found, for instance if the tubing has become
deformed at some point, then a gauge tool could be run in on wireline which will 'hang up' at
the obstruction. Having determined the depth and nature of the fault, an appropriate and cost
effective method of repair is chosen.

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1.2 WELL REPAIR METHODS

1.2.1 Selection of Workover Method

The various workover methods available are reviewed below. The least expensive method to
do the job is usually the one to select. Use of the various workover techniques should be
considered in the following order:
• Rig Workovers
• Wireline
• Coiled-tubing
• Hydraulic Workover Units (Snubbing) Conventional rig.

1.2.2 Rig Workovers

Conventional workovers are workovers in which the well is killed and the completion string is
pulled. (The pulling of the completion string is the simple criterion which differentiates
conventional workovers from coiled tubing, wireline and concentric tubing workovers, none
of which involve removal of the production tubing from the well.) Following the workover,
the well is recompleted in the same way as an initial completion operation is carried out.

Selection Of Workover Rig

On offshore platforms with resident drilling rigs, workovers are performed using the same rigs
that drilled the wells in the first place. In onshore wells, depending on the nature of the
workover, a smaller rig, known as a workover rig, may be used, with fewer facilities than are
normally associated with a full-size drilling rig.
Selecting the correct size rig for the job is an important aspect of cost control. Probably the
biggest error made, is in oversizing the rig for the job in the mistaken belief that it will do the
job faster. Thus, oversizing leads to:
• Increased basic costs
• Increased time to do the job
• Increased rig up and rig down time.

Conventional workovers are much more expensive than alternative methods of well
intervention. Therefore, as much diagnostic information as possible is generally required to
justify the use of conventional workover techniques.

Well Control
The most important aspect of the conventional workover is primarily one of maintaining well
control throughout the operation. Since the Xmas Tree must be removed to pull the tubing,
the BOP stack is installed to provide primary control.

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Procedure
The exact procedure followed to pull the completion string during a conventional workover
will, in general, be a reversal of the completion procedure and hence specific to the particular
completion. The basic steps are as follows:
• Kill The Well This may be achieved, for example, by opening a sliding side-door in the
completion string by wireline and circulating kill fluid down the annulus and up the
tubing, displacing the hydrocarbon content of the tubing into the surface processing
facilities of the offshore platform or onshore wellsite. Alternatively, the tubing contents
can be pumped, or 'bullheaded' into the formation.
• Plugging Off In addition, mechanical plugs may be set in one or more of the landing
nipples of the completion string and a back-pressure valve installed in the tubing hanger
to provide additional security during the period between removal of the Xmas Tree and
installation of the BOPs.
• Remove Xmas Tree and install and test BOPs.
• Pull completion string.
• Perform remedial work.
• Recomplete well.
• Initiate production and flow well to clean.
• Monitor well performance.

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1.3 WIRELINE OPERATIONS

1.3.1 Introduction
Well servicing is carried out using tools and/or measurement devices which are lowered down
the tubing of the well on a wire. This wireline work, as it is known, is usually carried out by a
specialist contractor, although the field operator normally has a ‘well servicing’ department
which plans, initiates and monitors wireline work. There are four basic functions for which
wireline is used:
• To set, seal, leave and later retrieve devices in the tubing string.
• To establish communications between the tubing and the tubing/casing annulus.
• To gather information.
• To carry out remedial work, including ‘fishing’ for broken or stuck components.

1.3.2 Wireline Equipment

The surface equipment used in wireline operations comprises three major component parts:
the wireline unit, of which the principal component is the winch, the special wire itself, and
the lubricator assembly; See Figure 5.

Wireline Unit
The wireline unit consists of a winch drum around which the wireline itself is reeled; See
Figure 6. The winch drum is driven by a prime mover which may be an electric motor, a
diesel engine or, less frequently, a petrol engine. The winch unit incorporates a measuring
device (Depth Counter) to indicate to the operator the distance tools have moved up or down
the hole.
Wire
The wire used for wireline work may be either a solid, single strand or a multi-strand wire.
Solid, single strand wires are known as:
• Slick line
• Piano wire
• Solid line
• Wireline
• Measuring line.

Multi-strand wirelines; See Figure 7, are known as:

• Braided wire
• Multi-strand wire (or line)
• Torpedo line
• Well shooter's line.
Solid wireline is available in diameters of 0.092, 0.108 and 0.125 inches. Multi-strand wire is
generally of 3/16 in diameter, but is also available in other sizes.
Wirelines are available in a range of metals, including stainless steels, monel and inconel for
corrosive environments.

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Figure 5 – Surface Equipment

Figure 6 – Typical Wireline Unit

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Figure 7 – Braided (Multi-Strand) Wirelines

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Lubricator/BOP/Stuffing Box Assembly

This lubricator assembly is a tubular pressure chamber arrangement which is fixed to the top
of the wellhead and permits tools and other equipment to be entered into the well and
subsequently retrieved; See Figure 8. In operation, it is similar to an air lock in that it can
isolate the lubricator from well pressure. However, when tools are down hole, the lubricator is
subjected to full wellhead pressure. The lubricator is assembled in sections and connected with
'quick unions' which have integral pressure seals; See Figure 9.
There must also exist a seal around the wire to prevent well pressure escaping from the entry
point into the lubricator. The seal must be efficient enough to prevent pressure escape, but
also allow movement of the wire. Figure 10 details the internals of the 'stuffing box' which
performs this function for slick or piano wire.
The wireline blowout preventer (BOP) has moveable rams with shaped rubber elements
which are used to close and seal on the wire without damaging it; See Figure 11. This allows
wellbore pressure to be contained below the BOP allowing depressurisation above to effect a
repair. The rams can be mechanically or hydraulically operated.
Braided wire requires a more sophisticated system of pressure sealing and a system is used
where highly viscous oil is pumped continuously into the lubricator and inside flow tubes
through which the braided line passes. The oil effectively fills the small annular space between
the wire and the inside of the flow tube to prevent well pressure escaping past the wire; See
Figure 12. The oil exits at the top of the lubricator and is channeled into drums for disposal.
The oil should not be recirculated as it will have been contaminated by gas and oil which
reduces its effectiveness.

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Figure 8 – Wireline Surface Pressure Control Equipment

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Figure 9 – Lubricator Sections/Quick Unions

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Figure 10 – Wireline Stuffing Box

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Figure 11 – Wireline BOP

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Figure 12 – Grease Injector Head

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Toolstring
The toolstring is an assembly of individual tools and components which are lowered down the
well on the wireline to carry out a specific task. The actual tools required will depend on the
task to be carried out. There is no such thing as a ‘standard’ wireline toolstring, and the one
described below and shown in Figure 13 can only be classed as ‘typical’. The toolstring
comprises items of equipment which enable the ‘working’ tool to be manipulated and
activated. At the bottom end of these is the tool which will actually carry out the work by
placing, locking, activating, releasing or removing a device located in the tubing.
• Rope Socket: Located at the top of the toolstring, this allows attachment of the wire.
• Stem or Sinker Bar: This is used to add weight to the toolstring and are available in
sizes from 0.75 in to 2.5 in (20 to 65 mm) and in lengths of 2, 3 or 5 ft (0.6, 1.0 or
1.5m). Extra heavy stem is also available.
• As most wireline operations require the operator to deliver a hammer blow down hole,
two types of jar are available;
• Mechanical Jar: Either a spang jar or a spring jar. In the spang jar, two links similar to
chain links are either brought together or pulled apart, the main jarring action being
created by the dynamic energy of the stem weight. The spang jar can be used for upward
or downward jarring, whereas the spring jar can be used for upward jarring only. The
spring jar operates in a similar manner to a hydraulic jar, using the force of a released
spring to create the jarring effect.
• Hydraulic Jar: Normally incorporated if difficulty in obtaining an effective mechanical
jarring action is anticipated. The jar is designed for upward jarring only.
• Accelerator Sub: This is used in conjunction with a hydraulic jar. It assists the jarring
operation by providing a constant pull as the jar begins to open and this in turn
produces a heavier jarring effect.
• Knuckle Joint: provides flexibility in the tool string to assist in aligning tools with the
tubing, particularly in deviated wells.
• Toolstring Connection: The final element is a device for connecting the working tool
to the toolstring. This is a form of coupling of which several designs are available. A
frequently used version is the quick lock coupling which provides a fast, safe and strong
union and, once installed, requires only hand operation.

Examples of such tools are shown in Figure 14.

The working tools which are attached to the bottom of the toolstring, come in very many
different designs and selection of the appropriate running or pulling tool will depend upon the
job it has to do; Examples or running and pulling tools are shown in Figure 15 and Figure 16.

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Figure 13 – Typical String of Wireline Tools

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Figure 14 – Wireline Tools

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Figure 15 – Examples of Pulling Tools

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Figure 16 – Running Tools

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Installing/Retrieving Devices
The tubing installed in a well has devices incorporated which permit downhole tools to be
installed retroactively and as required. The most common in-tubing devices are called landing
nipples; they are available in several different versions, each version being designed to perform
a specific task or provide a specific function.
Once located in the correct nipple, the equipment is manipulated or otherwise activated from
the surface so that it engages and locks in the nipple. If necessary, further manipulation can set
the equipment to function, after which the wireline is disengaged and reeled out of the well.
Figure 17 show the way tools are locked into position within a nipple in the string. The
equipment located in the well may be either permanent or retrievable. In the case of
retrievable equipment, the wireline can be run down the tubing to re-engage the equipment,
release it from the nipple and return it to surface.
Some examples of equipment which may be installed by wireline are as follows:
• Retrievable Tubing Plugs: Designed to prevent flow in the tubing from above,
below, or in both directions; See Figure 18.
• Bottom Hole Chokes: These have a number of functions all related to the control of
hydrocarbon flow.
• Sub-Surface Safety Valves (SSSV): Used for emergency shutdown of well production.
• Gas Lift Valves: Frequently, the valves will need to be pulled from the gas lift
mandrels and the mandrels plugged off with 'dummy' valves.
Remedial Work
It is often necessary to carry out remedial work on the well or the tubing to improve
production efficiency. This is carried out whenever possible by wireline techniques because of
the financial advantages of this method over a workover where all the tubing has to be pulled.
If a downhole component breaks or drops down the hole, a wireline technique known as
'fishing' must be used to retrieve it. There are a number of standard maintenance tools and
standard fishing tools but often fishing tools have to be specially designed to perform a
recovery function. Fishing is a specialisation within wireline operations; See Figure 19. Some
of the standard tools employed for both fishing and maintenance are described below:
• Tubing Gauge: Used to check the internal diameter of the tubing prior to pulling
equipment from the tubing.
• Paraffin Cutter: Used to cut or scratch paraffin wax from the inside of the tubing.
• Tubing Swage: Used to swage out tight or mashed places in the tubing string.
• Blind Box: Used in fishing to break off any wire left on the stuck component, so that it
will not interfere with the fishing process.
• Lead Impression Block: Used to obtain a profile of a stuck object so that an
appropriate fishing tool can be selected or designed.
• Sand Bailer: Designed to remove sand, mud, salt, paraffin, shale or other debris from
the tubing or casing.
• Wire Finder: Used to locate the end of a broken wire (by depth) before using a wireline
spear or grab. The wire can then be balled up to make for easier location and retrieval
by wireline spear.
• Wireline Spear or Grab: Used to locate, engage and retrieve the end of a broken wire,
plus the tool string on the wire.

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• Wireline Cutter: Used where the wire has parted at the surface, but it is necessary to
cut the wire at the top of the toolstring (at the rope socket) before fishing and retrieval
can commence.

Figure 17 – Wireline Locking Device

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Figure 18 – Wireline Set Plug

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Figure 19 – Tubing Conditioning Tools

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1.3.3 Communications
In certain types of well completion, principally multi-packer configurations, there may
subsequently be a need to create communication between the tubing and the tubing/casing
annulus. Examples of this type of equipment are ported nipples, sliding sleeves and side
pocket mandrels.

1.3.4 Information Gathering

In order to evaluate the performance of a well, it is necessary to take various readings, such as
the pressure and temperature of the well fluids. To achieve this, recording gauges are lowered
down the flowing well on wireline.
The mechanical recording gauge is probably the most commonly used instrument worldwide
and it is used to measure sub-surface pressure or temperature. More common in the North
Sea today are electronic memory gauges with extreme accuracy and high resolution. They use
microchips and transducers to record, transmit and store downhole information.

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1.4 COILED TUBING OPERATIONS

1.4.1 Introduction
Coiled tubing is a technique by which continuous small diameter (0.75" to 2.88") pipe can be
run into a well to perform a variety of through-tubing operations. The coiled tubing can be
run in against pressure so that the well does not necessarily have to be killed.
The tubing which is stored on a reel is run into the well concentrically, having been
straightened out between the reel and the entry point by a guide device known as a gooseneck.
The inner end of the coiled tubing is connected to the hub of the reel which incorporates a
rotating joint.
Fluids can be pumped through the connecting pipework, through the rotating joint and down
the coiled tubing whilst the reel is in motion. Once downhole and at the appropriate depth,
the tubing is used to apply a high pressure jet of fluid to the area of the well bottom to clear
away debris or sand, or to inject chemicals or gas into the well; See Figure 20.
Other tasks which can be performed using coiled tubing include:
• Paraffin removal
• Scale milling
• Tool servicing
• Camera transport (the tubing requires electronic cable)
• Acidising for well stimulation purposes
• Gas lift to kick off well; See Figure 21.
• Squeeze and plug-back cementing.

1.4.2 Coiled Tubing Equipment

Surface Equipment
Figure 22 shows a typical coiled tubing surface rig-up. The coiled tubing surface equipment
consists of five basic components:
• Power unit
• Control cabin
• Tubing reel
• Injector head
• BOP.

The BOP is mounted directly on the Xmas Tree. The injector head which effectively is the
heart of the coiled tubing unit, is mounted on the BOP stack. It is the means by which the
coiled tubing is lowered into the well, kept stationary or pulled from the well. The BOP stack
usually has a stuffing box or stripper mounted above it; See Figure 23. The stuffing
box/stripper is designed to strip the coiled tubing in and out of the hole under pressure, the
BOP acting only as a safety device.

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Figure 20 – Sand Cleanout with Coiled Tubing

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Figure 21 – Gas Lift

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Figure 22 – Typical Coiled Tubing Surface Rig Up

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Figure 23 – Side Door Stripper/Packer

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Injector Head
The injector head injects the coiled tubing into the well, pulls it out of the well and holds it
stationary in the well. It works by gripping the tubing between contoured blocks which
themselves are part of two sets of heavy double row chains; See Figure 24.
On top of the subframe there is a roller guide, usually called a 'gooseneck', which supports the
coiled tubing in its transition from motion along the vertical axis of the wellhead to the
horizontal axis of the storage reel.

Coiled Tubing Stripper Packer (Side Door Design)

The side door stripper packer has a piston which operates from above the sealing element (as
opposed to from below with conventional design). This allows the force required to obtain a
seal to be kept to a minimum, and to permit easy access for wear bushing and packer insert
replacement, even with tubing in the well.

Blowout Preventer (BOP)

The BOP stack is not called into use under normal conditions. The BOP may have blind
rams which will seal off wellhead pressure when the coiled tubing is out the hole, shear/seal
rams which will slice through the coiled tubing in an emergency and effect a seal, and tubing
rams which will seal off the pressure in the annulus between the coiled tubing and the well
tubing; See Figure 25.

Control Cabin
The control cabin is the centre of all operations and all the important functions can be
controlled by the operator from here.

Downhole Assemblies
An example of a downhole assembly utilised on a through-tubing cleanout; See Figure 26. An
under-reamer is a tool designed to pass through a restriction, open up below the restriction to
clean the hole to full gauge and then close up again to be retrieved from the hole.
An example toolstring for a milling operation is shown in Figure 27.

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Figure 24 –Injector Head

Figure 25 – Coiled Tubing BOP

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Figure 26 – BHA Under-Reaming Operations

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Figure 27 – Coiled Tubing Under-Reamer

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1.5 HYDRAULIC WORKOVER UNIT

1.5.1 Introduction
Hydraulic workover units are self-contained units which can be used on land or offshore.
They are principally used to perform heavy well servicing jobs, such as tubing removal, when a
conventional drilling rig is not available.
The various tasks they can be used for include:
• Running and pulling production tubing.
• Milling and drilling bridge plugs, cement, fish or permanent packers.
• Squeeze and plug-back cementing.
• Washing perforations or acidising.
• Fill washing (sand/debris removal) inside large bore tubing or casing.
The hydraulic workover unit is brought in after the well has been producing for some time.
The unit therefore has to be capable of carrying out most of the tasks usually performed by
the drilling rig, although it is not expected to handle the larger diameters of casing - the limit
usually being 75/8 in diameter.
Snubbing refers to the insertion of small diameter tubing (macaroni pipe) into the production
tubing of a live well. It is similar to a coiled tubing operation in that the well does not have to
be killed first. It differs from coiled tubing in that the 'macaroni' string consists of rigid pipe
which is run into the well in individual lengths of about 30 feet. Figure 28 shows a basic
HWO surface equipment package. A typical surface layout is shown in Figure 29.
For through-tubing operations, the pipe is often run and pulled with the well under pressure.
For pulling and running production tubing and for workover operations, the well can either be
killed or left under pressure.

1.5.2 Hydraulic Workover Operation

Pressure control on the OD of the tubing can be provided by either a stripper or the upper
and lower working rams; See Figure 30. During all snubbing operations, it is necessary for the
'macaroni' pipe in through-tubing work, or the production tubing during workover operations,
to be plugged in some manner to maintain pressure control. This is best achieved by
installation of a circulation type plug (back-pressure check valve) in the bottom of the
macaroni pipe or tubing string.
Rotational capability is available on most units, and therefore in the workover case, they can
accomplish many drilling and milling tasks, although at a somewhat slower speed than when
utilising a conventional workover rig.

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Work Basket

Fluid Storage
And Processing

Gin Pole

Stationary Slips

Hoses

Work Window
Tool House
Stripper Bowl
Mud Pump
Fill Line Drain Line

Bleed Line

Equalise Line
Tool Box Ground Based BOP
Control Units

Spares
Choke Line Upper Kill Line
Power Unit

Fuel

Figure 28 – Basic HWO Surface Equipment Package

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Figure 29 – Typical Surface Layout for HWO Operations

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Figure 30 – HWO Pressure Control Equipment

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