Successful Application of Electric Line Tractor Assisted Logging and Perforating Technology Saved Significant Time and Associated Rig Costs, and Set Two New Regional Records in Latin America: A Case Study

Nunez-Garcia, Walter; Arciniegas, Jaime; Alvarez, R.; Valencia, Brian D.; Villamizar, Claudia María Payán; Goksal, Mehmet; Parra, Elba; Salom, Ramón Escovar

doi:10.2118/159852-ms

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

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“…The slick profile of e-line tractors makes them ideal for the latter application, and they often represent the only or the most economic choice for many remedial interventions (Whiteley et al 2005;Schwanitz and Henriques 2009;Kueh et al 2010;Badri et al 2011;Nunez-Garcia et al 2012;Gomez et al 2013). A particular type of perforating guns, namely strip guns, are commonly used for very tight drift diameter applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wellbore Investigation and Perforation of a Highly Deviated Well Using a Wireline Tractor and Strip Guns Offshore Angola

2014

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Since the early decades, through-tubing wireline (WL) interventions have been a necessary routine of the oil and gas industry. The practice of well intervention has benefited from the evolution of WL tools on its imposed quest to keep up with the trend of increasing complexity in wellbore and completion development.Deployment of WL tools through tubing, from early and simple devices (e.g., gauge cutters, lead impression blocks, tubing plugs) to state-of-the-art logging and well intervention prototypes, experienced a significant leap forward with the application of electric line (e-line) tractors in the mid-1990s. Since then, many oil companies have implemented the use of tractors to make a great variety of rigless well interventions feasible, both technically and economically.Over these lines, WL perforating of long, highly deviated wells through tubing, especially those with relevant ID restrictions, indubitably requires challenging, ingenious, and risked-assessed selection of the most convenient perforating and deployment systems. Working in remote locations, where availability of specialized tools and qualified personnel on short notice are often limited, adds an extra burden to the everyday complexity of operations.This paper describes the unconventional, but successful, use of a WL tractor to (1) investigate a tubing-conveyed perforating (TCP) completion failure and (2) save the highly deviated "S-shaped" well from a costly offshore rig workover by perforating with a strip gun deployed more than 14,000 ft from surface. The well is located in Angola at a water depth of 1,206 ft. IntroductionWithin the oil and gas industry, the term "WL" usually refers to a cabling technology used by operators to lower equipment or measurement devices into a well for the purposes of well intervention, reservoir evaluation, and pipe recovery.WL operations, and more specifically e-line interventions, have remained an essential tool for geological and reservoir evaluation (i.e., openhole logging), as well as a means to determine hole integrity and proper well construction (i.e., cased hole logging). Additionally, well intervention by means of e-line is a cost-efficient method of reaching operational objectives. The tools and equipment are conveyed into wells either through an "open hole" without surface pressure, or through special pressure retaining equipment, which allows the toolstrings to be conveyed into live wells with full production pressure. Key e-line workover activities include the setting of downhole tools (e.g., bridge plugs, packers, cement retainers, tubing cutters and punchers), perforating (casing and through tubing), and the use of diagnostic workover tools, such as casing collar/gamma rays (CCL/GRs), multifinger imaging tools (MITs), thermal multigate decay-lithology (TMDL) etc.The natural drive for e-line tools into the wellbore's target depth is gravity. E-line interventions, however, have been traditionally limited by wellbore deviation, and the conveyance of e-line tools through deviated tubing, would at be...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wellbore Investigation and Perforation of a Highly Deviated Well Using a Wireline Tractor and Strip Guns Offshore Angola

2014

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A Case Study of the Successful Deployment of Tractor Conveyed Perforation in Highly Inclined Well

et al. 2016

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Well A is one of the only two wells on the XY reservoir structure providing the optimum drainage point on that reservoir. However, Well X had been shut in due to high sand production and had been flagged as ‘non-integral’ with regards to SPDC Well Integrity Management (WIM) policy due to its faulty Tubing Retrievable Surface Controlled Subsurface Safety Valve (TRSCSSSV). The well was thus scheduled for repairs. The objective of the workover operation as with most others done in SPDC was to restore integrity of the well, remediate sand control and improve production across the XY reservoir. On re-entry into the well, a mechanical restriction was met in the high angle section of the well thus impeding access to drain hole. A review of the situation, showed a possible collapse of the lower completions (sand screen) possibly due to high sand production. An attempt at sand clean-up was futile. This paper describes the unconventional but successful deployment of wireline conveyed perforation gun on tractor in SPDC to perforate this highly deviated well, thus, providing drainage access and recovering 2.14 MMstb of oil and 0.79 BScf of associated gas. Amongst several options including the use of coiled tubing or wireline as means of perforation, the tractor conveyed guns stood out for a highly inclined well such as Well A. The Well Tractor functions with an electric over hydraulic power relationship and uses its wheel section to push the passenger tool downhole as cable is fed off the electric line unit. The make-up of the tractor conveyed system makes it suitable for high angle wells while providing a cost savings over other systems.

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Successful Deployment of Tractor Conveyed Perforation in a Horizontal Well: Designing, Execution, Results and Lessons Learnt

Goenka¹,

Goyal²,

Pandey³

et al. 2016

Day 1 Mon, November 14, 2016

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Well X is a horizontal oil producer in AB-3 formation of the B field situated in the RJ-ON-90/1 block of Western India. Intervention in a horizontal well is inherently challenging, but the complex completion equipment of this well imposed additional challenges due to multiple ID changes along the well bore. The 8.5" OH section is completed with Inflow Control Device (ICD) screens and Swell Packers, middle completion consists of Packer and a Reservoir Control Valve (RCV) section set in the 9-5/8" production casing. Finally with 4.5" production tubing – and the production packer, upper completion was lowered but end of tubing was lying 8 m above the RCV section exposing 9-5/8" casing section also during any intervention. After the initial completion when well was put online, it couldn’t flow naturally and was activated with nitrogen. Post activation it was observed that a well with 500 m of clean sand along the lateral section and productivity index (PI) of 150 b/d/psi was flowing with a PI of ~ 10 b/d/psi which also was not sustained and well was put on artificial lift. After attempting various stimulation techniques and correlating with offset wells, it was decided to perforate the screen section of the horizontal. E-line conveyed Tractor assisted gun deployment system was selected to access the high angle well bore and perforate the screens. Apart from high deviation, the intervention unfriendly completion posed a major challenge to successfully RIH and POOH without a stuck tool or a tool lost-in-hole (LIH) situation. Extensive job planning, designing, and intervention modeling was completed before attempting the operation. The perforation job was carried out as a pilot test in 6 m of the 500 m OH section and resulted in ~ 1500 bopd of incremental oil in the initial well production. Analysis of the entire pilot project from the economics, technology and opportunity triangle, demonstrated the value of the technology and its usefulness in the future. The paper endeavors to discuss the entire case while detailing the salient features like candidate selection, job designing and planning, challenges involved and lessons learnt during the successful execution of the intervention, also making it first of its kind horizontal perforation in the India. The learning and information shared will surely be useful in future to all such planned interventions into a high angle well especially during critical jobs like perforation.

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Successful Application of Electric Line Tractor Assisted Logging and Perforating Technology Saved Significant Time and Associated Rig Costs, and Set Two New Regional Records in Latin America: A Case Study

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

Wellbore Investigation and Perforation of a Highly Deviated Well Using a Wireline Tractor and Strip Guns Offshore Angola

Wellbore Investigation and Perforation of a Highly Deviated Well Using a Wireline Tractor and Strip Guns Offshore Angola

A Case Study of the Successful Deployment of Tractor Conveyed Perforation in Highly Inclined Well

Successful Deployment of Tractor Conveyed Perforation in a Horizontal Well: Designing, Execution, Results and Lessons Learnt

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