Effective Wireline Conveyed Solutions Replacing Traditional Coiled Tubing Operations

Abstract

Obstructions in a wellbore are often a costly and challenging problem to resolve. Obstructions can appear in many different forms such as scale, debris, sand, stuck plugs, etc, and may restrict production or prevent well intervention for all logging operations. Coiled tubing or chemical treatment are traditional methods to clear any obstructions, although these solutions may not always be suitable or the most efficient. Real time wireline deployed tools provide a cost-effective and efficient alternative. The wireline deployed debris removal and milling tools are run in combination with a tractoring system. The tractor grips the sides of the tubulars to avoid any rotation and also provides forward force to drive the system ahead. The debris removal utilizes a powerful downhole pump to vacuum the wellbore debris and the debris is trapped in a gravity driven filtration system during the localized circulation of the fluids. Where the obstruction is hard, such as scale or stuck plug, the wireline milling tool is selected. Selected wells requiring routine thermal decay and carbon oxygen logging to monitor hydrocarbon and water saturations may encounter some obstruction restricting access to the wellbore. Coiled tubing with high pressure jetting is successful in clearing the wellbore but is costly and requires a large footprint. Chemical solutions are not used to avoid interfering with any saturation logging. The wireline debris removal tool is run first, the maximum sized tool is run to remove any loose materials in the tubing. The real time capability allows for optimization of the tool for efficient collection and also detects if the collection chamber is full. The pump can also be used in jetting mode to disturb settled debris or free the toolstring if buried. Depending on well conditions, a second run is made with the milling tool to remove any hard materials. The tractor and milling tool are fully synchronized to automatically provide the driving force forward and grip the tubing to avoid tool rotation when the bit is milling the obstruction. Tool performance is monitored in real time and dynamically controlled to optimize bit speed and weight on bit, this also features an autonomous anti-stalling system.