SECTION 4

4. WELL INTERVENTION SERVICES

4.1 GENERAL

4.2 SNUBBING / HYDRAULIC WORKOVER UNITS (HWO)

4.3 COILED TUBING UNITS

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4. WELL INTERVENTION SERVICES

4.1 GENERAL

Well interventions in the context of IWCF are servicing operations conducted through the
Xmas tree (through-tree) on live wells. These are carried out by the following methods:

• Wireline (both electric line and slickline).

• Coiled tubing.
• Snubbing.

Well service operations or workovers on dead wells where the Xmas tree is replaced by
well control equipment, are carried out by:

• Drilling rigs.
• Workover rigs.
• Hydraulic workover units.

During workovers, it is probable that well interventions with wireline and/or coiled tubing
are required as part of the work programme to prepare the well for tree removal or
establish production post workover.

Many offshore installations have drilling rigs onboard used for the drilling phase of a
development. These units are often retained to conduct well servicing operations on fields
which frequently have wells requiring servicing although it is becoming more common
for the drilling units to be demobilised and dead well servicing to be accomplished by a
Hydraulic Workover Unit.Where a drilling rig is available for well servicing, it is
obviously more economic for it to be used than mobilising an HWO unit.

On installations which have not retained the drilling rig, or on small platforms (drilling
performed with a jack-up rig), the HWO unit is commonly used. This is due to their easy
deployment and their small footprint.

On subsea wells, normally the only means of conducting a well intervention is to use a semi-
submersible vessel (drilling unit, DSV or specialised well servicing unit) from which a workover
riser can be deployed. However, if the work programme can be conducted solely with wireline,
this can be successfully carried out by subsea wireline systems deployed from well servicing
vessels (for example the Stenna Seawell). These vessels also have the capability to carry out
subsea tree change outs once appropriate barriers have been installed by wireline.

Well control equipment used on well interventions in live wells is specific to the
particular service being used for the intervention, albeit BOPs and strippers all operate
under the same principles.The main differences in the systems usually lie in the design of
BOP ram elements, strippers or stuffing boxes, grease heads used in wireline braided line
operations and the configuration of these above the Xmas tree.

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BOPs are usually compact for manipulation into position above the Xmas tree or onto a
riser often used in platforms arrangements. They are fitted with flexible hoses to enable
ease of installation and to reach between the BOP hydraulic control system and the BOPs
when in situation. The connections on the BOP must be compatible with the riser/tree
connection and lubricator or be supplied with appropriate crossovers.

Well intervention pressure control procedures are addressed in Section 7.

4.2 SNUBBING/HYDRAULIC WORKOVER UNITS (HWO)

The Snubbing/HWO Unit is a well service unit utilized for both snubbing and dead well
servicing. Snubbing is the process of ‘tripping pipe in a well which has a surface pressure
great enough to eject the pipe if no restraining force is applied’; this is termed the ‘pipe
light’ mode. Stripping is the term for moving pipe through a rubber element to contain
pressure whether it is in the snubbing mode or ‘pipe heavy’ mode (where the pipe is too
heavy to be ejected). In practice, however, snubbing has come to mean all of the
operations conducted in a live well.

The HWO unit is also used in place of a conventional drilling or work-over rig on dead
well servicing as it is easily mobilized, has a small footprint and is cost effective in
comparison to mobilizing a work-over rig. They are also very useful when working in
confined spaces and with small diameter (skinny) pipe where a drilling rig’s
instrumentation is generally not sensitive enough.

An HWO unit would only be used before C/T on a snubbing job where:

• There is insufficient space above the wellhead or deck space.

• When rotational torque required on the pipe is greater than that available from down-
hole motors.
• Where pressures exceed the rating of C/T pipe i.e. circa 5,000 psi.

The first snubbing units were mechanical units using mechanical advantage in order to
force the pipe in the hole against well pressure. In the development of the hydraulic type
unit, the power to raise and lower the tubing was provided by a set of hydraulic rams
through a set of bi-direction travelling slips or snubbers. The main elements of an HWO
unit, See Figure 4.1, are as follows:

• Hydraulic jack assembly.

• Guide tube.
• Splined tube (only on Halliburton/Otis units).
• Travelling slips.
• Stationery slips.
• Access window.
• Rotary swivel.
• Hanger Flange
• Power tongs.

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• Work basket.
• Control panel.
• Hydraulic power pack.
• Hose package.
• BOP system.
• Strippers.
• Circulating system.

HWO units are supplied in a range of lifting capacities (lbs. in thousands), 60K, 90K,
120K, 200K, 250K, 400K and 600K. Snubbing capacity is half of this rating.

When used instead of a conventional drilling or workover rig, the well would be killed
and plugged, the Xmas tree removed and BOPs installed on the casing head. It can also be
used for re-completing wells as it has the capability to run and pull completion strings by
running the downhole safety valve control line through the access window.

Hydraulic Jack Assembly

As described earlier, the jack assembly consists of one or more hydraulic cylinders that
travel in a vertical direction to move pipe in or out of the hole. For higher snubbing or
lifting power, more cylinders are added into the system which reduces running speed
unless larger capacity pumps are used. The operator controls the hydraulic power to the
jack as the weight of pipe changes or as the weight of pipe overcomes well pressure and
changes from snubbing to lifting and visa versa.

Guide Tube

This is simply a tube which prevents the bucking of the pipe under snubbing forces. It
should be sized to be just larger than the particular tubing to be run or pulled to constrain
lateral movement. It travels up and down with the hydraulic jack.

Splined Tube

Some units have a splined tube which passes rotational torque force generated by the rotary
table through to the bottom plate and hence to the wellhead. If a splined tube is not used, the
forces are transmitted through the hydraulic cylinders possibly reducing the operating life.

Travelling Slips

The travelling slips, or snubbers, are attached to the upper end of the jack and grip the
pipe to push it into or pull it from the hole. There are two sets, one for snubbing and one
for lifting. As a pipe is snubbed into the hole, it comes to a balance point which changes
from pushing to holding back weight, the point the lifting slips take over.

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Stationary Slips

The stationary slips hold the pipe while the travelling slips are released for the next
stroke. Like the travelling slips, there are two sets, one for hold upward force and one for
holding downward weight. In high well pressures, the second set can be used as back-up
to the primary slips. These would be changed at or around the balance point.

Access Window

The access window (work window) is installed at the base of the jack between the
stationary slips and the stripper and is the access for stripper rubber change out or for
installing tools in the string. It must also help guide the pipe like the guide tube.

Power Swivel

The power swivel (or Rotary Head) is used for rotating the pipe for drilling or milling
operations. It, like the other systems, are hydraulically powered and controlled from the
control pane.

Hanger Flange

A hanger flange (also known as a tubing hanger assembly) is a pressure containing

component sometimes used in the blowout preventer stack to hold pipe and tool string in both
the 'light' and 'heavy' directions. It is usually incorporated near the top of the BOP stack
between the stripper bowl and the upper stripping ram or annular BOP. It is commonly used
when changing the stripper rubber element or adding a tool joint which might be damaged if
run through the slips. The hanger flange is also a useful aid in fishing operations with its
ability to hold varying diameter tool strings such as wireline tools. Vertical tooth type dogs
can be used in the hanger flange to prevent pipe or tool rotation.

Power Tongs

Power tongs are used to make up and break out the pipe connections. They are located in
the workbasket and controlled hydraulically from the control panel.

Work Basket

The workbasket is the work platform of a HWO unit and is located at the top of the hydraulic
jack and on which the operator and assistant perform the manual functions including the
picking up, laying down, stabbing, making up or breaking out of the pipe joints.

Control Panel

The control panel is mounted in the work basket and is usually in two sections, one for
the operator’s use and one for his assistant. From here, all of the unit functions are
controlled, generally shared between them with the exception of the BOP shear rams
which are normally operated from the deck
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Power Pack

The power pack and it’s accessories consist of a diesel engine and hydraulic pumps. The
output from the pumps is regulated to the various pressure ratings of the hydraulic
functions. It displays the various function pressure on gauges.

Hose Package

The hose package transports the hydraulic fluid to and from the various functions, some
of which are high up on the unit and are therefore of considerable length. Some of the
hoses can experience very high pressures and must be thoroughly tested before use.

BOP System

The BOP configuration is dependent upon whether the HWO unit is being used as a rig
on a well which has been killed, or in the snubbing mode rigged up above the Xmas tree.
If on the former, the BOP configuration will be like that in a drilling situation and may be
covered by the operator’s well control policies and procedures. If on a snubbing job, the
configuration is quite different being rigged up above the Xmas tree. Refer to Section 7
for all well control equipment and procedures.

Strippers

The strippers control well pressure when snubbing or any time surface well pressure is
encountered. There is a variety of stripper rubber materials for different pressure regimes
and well fluids. These will vary in well life according to their resistance to the well fluids,
gas or erosion due to roughness of the wall of the pipe being run, or pulled.

Circulating System

Pumps, Chiksans, Kelly hose and a circulating swivel are the main components of the
circulating system. The pumps are generally high pressure in order to cope with the
maximum anticipated circulating and surface pressure.

If nitrogen is to be used, the hose and Chiksans should be suitably rated for such service.

A safety valve or Kelly cock must always be installed between the Kelly and the
swivel to allow safe changing of the hose or swivel, if necessary.

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4.2.1 Wireline Unit

Wireline is the oldest and most common type of well servicing method. It is extremely
efficient, economic and relatively easy to rig up and deploy.

Electric line services provide essential information about the reservoir and the completion
and performs many services, typically:

Logging - depth determination, cement bonding, sonic, nuclear, temperature, pressure,

spinner, caliper, density, dip meter, profile and so on.

• Calipering.
• Down-hole sampling.
• Perforating.
• Setting bridge plugs, packers and cement retainers.
• etc.

This is achieved by communicating with the tools through the conductor cable.

Mechanical wireline also known as slickline (as the line has a smooth OD), is used to
conduct mainly mechanical operations such as:

• Installing flow controls.

• Installing gas lift valves.
• Depth finding.
• Plugging.
• Bailing.
• Paraffin cutting.
• Tubing gauging.
• Setting bridge plugs.
• Fault finding.
• Fishing.
• Logging - through-tubing BHP gauges or the latest electronic solid state logging
tools such as spinners, CCLs, etc.

The slickline unit can also be rigged up with braided line for heavy duty wireline operations
such as running heavy, large tools or performing heavier duty fishing operations.

A more recent development in wireline services is the Heavy Duty Wireline Unit used
mainly for fishing jobs where regular fishing methods have failed. These units, in
conjunction with heavy duty tooling, are so powerful they can destroy normal wireline
tools and devices, if desired.

Although wireline conducts most tasks required for well servicing, it is obviously limited in its
abilities. It also has a role in dead well servicing as it is normally required for plugging the well to
make it safe prior to Xmas tree removal and BOP installation. It is also used to conduct

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remedial operations such as setting bridge plugs, re-perforating etc. It’s greatest
limitation, due to using gravity as it’s motive force, is in working in high angle or
horizontal wells with inclination angles higher than 70˚.

4.2.2 Wireline Units

As pointed out earlier, there are two types of wireline unit - the electric line or logging
unit and the mechanical or slickline unit. Both types of unit are constructed similarly in
that they have:

• Power pack.
• Operator’s/engineer’s cabin.
• Winch, including a wireline drum or reel.
• Spooling or measuring head.
• Weight indicator and pulleys.

Wireline units must be self-contained and able to be mounted on a truck (or trailer) or
portable to enable trucking and/or shipping to the well site. A typical wireline unit is
shown in Figure 4.2.

Power Pack

The power pack is normally a diesel driven hydraulic unit and provides hydraulic power
through supply and return hoses to the winch. Power packs are normally fireproofed and
certified for division 1, zone 2 hazardous areas.

Operator’s/Engineer’s Cabin

The cabin is an integral part of the winch unit situated directly behind the drum for direct
observation and monitoring of the wireline spooling. It contains the winch and possibly
the power pack operating controls. In an electric line unit, it also contains all of the
electronic instrumentation, computing and log printing equipment. Electric line units have
fine smooth controls for accurate logging operations whereas the slickline unit has a wide
range of speeds for both fine and very fast operation when jarring.

Winch
The winch consists of the wireline reel driven by a hydraulic motor controlled from the
console in the cabin all of which is mounted in the unit frame. Hydraulic power is
supplied from the power pack.

The reel controls have a forward and reverse directional valve, a number of gear ratios to
cover a wide range of speeds and a hydraulic bypass valve for fine control within each
gear range. The reel is driven by chain drive from the gearbox and has a brake band. If
there is two reels on the winch, slickline and braided, there is an additional manual
operated clutch system for reel selection.

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Spooling Head

The spooling or measuring head controls the winding of the wire off and onto the reel and
also measures the length of wire spooled off the drum. The depth measurement is given
on a odometer via a cable drive and a precisely machined measuring wheel (one for each
size wire). The wire is held against the measuring wheel by pressure wheels to eliminate
slippage. Electric line units usually have electronic type depth measurement devices.

Weight Indicator and Hay Pulley

The weight indicator can be mounted on the hay pulley or be an integral part of the
spooling head.

If mounted at the hay pulley, the weight sensor is a load cell placed between the hay
pulley and the tie down chain. The cell is connected to the indicator situated in the unit
with a long hydraulic hose. The system is graduated for the wire to pass around the hay
pulley at an included angle of 90˚ If this angle is not maintained, there will be an error in
the readings. Correction tables are available which correct for varying angles.

Modern units usually have more sophisticated type weight indicators, some hydraulic and
others electronic. These units must be regularly serviced and checked for accuracy as this
is fundamental to wireline service especially using relatively low strength wire.

The hay pulley is the device used to turn the wire from the horizontal plane to the vertical
up to the lubricator stuffing box sheave. As well as turning the wire it also moves the
forces generated on the wire into the same axis as the lubricator reducing any possible
bending moments. It has been known for a hay pulley failure due to severance of the tie
down chain, causing the lubricator to break off the well.

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Figure 4.2 - Typical Wireline Rig Up

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4.2.3 Types of Wirelines

Electric line

Cable used on electric line units can be either mono-conductor, coaxial or multi-conductor
braided line and supplied for various service conditions. Each particular type has a range of
sizes and specific uses according to the required service or tool being run. Careful handling of
electric line is essential, especially with the smaller sizes and when rigging up, to prevent line
damage and penetration of the core insulation leading to subsequent loss of signal.

Slickline

Slickline is a high strength monofilament steel line and is available in common sizes of
0.082 ins., 0.092 ins., 0.108 ins. and 0.125 ins.These are also supplied for various services
conditions. Being slick the OD of the wire is easy to seal around using a simple packing
device called a stuffing box where as the cable requires a grease seal arrangement.

Braided Line

Braided wireline used for heavier duty wireline operations is supplied in 3/16 ins. and 7/32
ins. sizes.

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4.2.4 Wireline Lubricators and Accessories

The wireline lubricator when assembled acts like pressure vessel on top of the Xmas tree
into which the wireline tools are ‘lubricated’. It consists of:

• Wellhead adapter.
• Wireline BOPs or wireline valve.
• Lower lubricator section(s).
• Upper lubricator section(s).
• Stuffing box or grease head.
• Line wiper.

It is extremely important that a wireline lubricator pressure rating meets the maximum
anticipated surface well pressure. Lubricators must be designed, not only to withstand the
stress caused by internal pressure but also from stresses caused by jar action or high
pulling forces.

To install the tools, the lubricator must first be isolated from well pressure at the Xmas tree,
usually the swab valve, and all pressure bled off through the bleed-off valve. The lubricator is
then broken out at the connection immediately above the BOPs and the tools, after attaching
to the tool string, are pulled up into the lubricator bore and the lubricator re-installed. The
lubricator should then be pressure tested before opening the tree and running in the hole.

Wellhead Adapter

This is basically a crossover to mate the BOP to the tree cap and is usually a quick type
connection named a ‘quick union’. In some cases the adapter may be from a quick union
to a tree flange.

Wireline BOPs

Wireline BOPs (sometimes referred to as wireline valve) are installed immediately above
the wellhead adapter or on top of a wellhead riser. In some situations for ease of operation
and safety, a BOP may be placed both above the tree and on top of a riser.

On slickline operations in low pressure wells, a single BOP is installed dressed with
slickline rams to close and seal around the wire. On high pressure wells a dual BOP is
used, the lower rams dressed for slickline and the uppers with blind. The injection point is
used to pump grease if there is leakage past the rams.

When running cable, a dual BOP is used with both rams dressed for the particular cable
size and a grease injection point also available between the rams.

In a situation where slickline and braided line are both being used, a triple BOP would be
installed with the lower and middle rams dressed for the braided line and the upper for
slickline.

On electric line jobs, triple BOPs are used, the upper rams being blind.
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Lower Lubricator Sections

These are sections of thick wall tube usually between 8 to 10 ft. long with quick union
connections at each end and made up in a total length to accommodate the longest tool to
be run. They are installed immediately above the BOPs and usually have the same bore
size as the Xmas tree. The section above the BOPs must have two bleed-off valves
(contingency for one being plugged by debris or hydrates).

Riser sections, used in offshore platforms to reach from the wellhead deck to another
working deck, are similar to lubricator sections except they are generally much longer in
length and may be installed between the wellhead adapter and the BOPs. They may also
be of even thicker section to support the increased weight being carried.

Upper Lubricator Sections

These accommodate the tool string which has a smaller OD than the tool strings which
are normally 1 ins., 11/2 ins. and 2 ins., although larger sizes are available for heavy duty
work. The section connecting to the lower lubricator will have a connection to mate with
that of the lower lubricator sections (or visa versa).

Stuffing Box or Grease Head

The stuffing box or grease head terminates the top of the lubricator.

The stuffing box contains packing which is squeezed to seal around the line. The packing
is squeezed by an adjustable packing nut which is hand adjusted although most stuffing
boxes are now being supplied by remote hydraulic actuated packing nuts so that they can
be adjusted from the deck eliminating the need for personnel to be lifted up to the top of
the lubricator and, hence, is safer. The stuffing box also incorporates a sheave which turns
the wire through 180˚, from the outside of the lubricator into the bore.

The grease head is used on braided line, electric line or plain cable. It seals around cable
by grease being pumped, at higher pressure than that inside the lubricator, into the small
annulus space between a set of flow tubes and the cable filling the cable interstices. The
grease, being at higher pressure, tends to flow downwards into the lubricator and also
upwards out of the tubes.

The upward flow is forced out through a return line for disposal by activating a cable
pack off above the tubes. Downward flow is only constrained by the differential pressure
applied between the grease and the lubricator pressure. Adjustments must be made to
maintain the optimum conditions between grease lost to the hole, amount of gas entrained
in the grease returns and differential pressure.

Line Wiper

This is a tool which attaches to the hay pulley when the wire is being pulled to remove all
contaminants from the wire before it is spooled.

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4.3 COILED TUBING UNITS

Well servicing using coiled tubing (C/T) has grown significantly with the development of tooling
and tubing technology. In recent years the size of tubing available has increased from the original
1 ins. through 11/4 ins., 11/2 ins., 13/4 ins. and now 2 ins. Even larger sizes are now being used as
siphon strings etc. but these are not yet generally used as worktrings. Along with this increase in
size of tubing has come material improvements to give higher performance.

C/T units have largely replaced snubbing units for operations on completed wells and
their versatility, due to new tooling developed, has extended their range of capabilities in
recent years. The range of services now provided includes:

• Drilling and milling using hydraulic motors.

• Casing cutting.
• Circulating.
• Tubing clean outs (sand or fill).
• Cementing.
• Through-tubing operations.
• Tubing descaling.
• Running, setting, pulling wireline pressure operated type tools.
• Fishing wireline tools.
• Logging (stiff wireline).
• Nitrogen lifting.
• Selective zonal acidizing.
• Perforating.

Much of the recent increase in capability is due to the increased performance of down-
hole motors which provided the ability to rotate enabling drilling and milling operations
etc.

The limitation of C/T is usually the pressure rating of circa 5,000 psi. and the depth to
which it can be run, constrained by it’s relative low strength. It is also limited in it’s
service life due to the bending cycles over the reel, and to a lesser extent the goose neck,
in conjunction with the service conditions it encounters.

These bending cycles force the tubing to exceed it’s elastic limit inducing fatigue, and,
therefore, reducing the working life before failure. Tubing under pressure while passing
over the reel and goose neck, dramatically decreases this cycle time to failure. Most C/T
service companies have developed computer programs, using logging databases, to
determine the time to failure for each tubing size and type of material to which a factor of
safety is applied. This is an inexact science but, due to the safety factor, there is actually
very few recorded well site incidents due precisely to tubing failure. More than likely,
service life is much shorter than actual life.

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All C/T units, See Figure 4.3, are constructed similarly and consist of:

• Operator’s control cabin.

• Tubing reel.
• Power pack.
• Goose neck.
• Injector head.
• Stripper.
• BOP system.

Operators Control Cabin

The cabin houses all of the controls for the reel and the injector head, and also all electronic
logging systems and instrumentation. The controls operate the hydraulic valves and pressure
supplied from the power pack. It is placed directly behind the reel to provide the operator
with a full view of all activities especially the spooling of the tubing off and on the reel.

Tubing Reel
The reel stores the tubing which is coiled around the core of the reel. Ideally the core
should be as large a diameter as possible to prevent severe bending of the tubing but must
be of a manageable size for transporting to and from well sites. The radius of the core of
the reel is sharper than that of the goose neck e.g. 24 ins. (4 ft. dia.) versus 72 ins. for 11/4
ins. tubing, hence most tubing fatigue is caused at the reel.
The reel is driven by chain from a hydraulic motor controlled from the control cabin. The
tubing is pulled off the reel up over the gooseneck by the injector. The reel holds constant
back tension to prevent the spool unravelling and to keep the tubing steady.

4.3.1 Power pack

The power pack is the provider of all hydraulic power. It consists of a skid mounted
diesel engine and hydraulic pumps and supplies regulated pressure for all the systems in
the reel, injector head, BOPs and the control cabin.

Goose Neck
The gooseneck is simply a guide which accepts the tubing coming from the reel and leads
it into the injector chains in the vertical plane. The goose neck guides the pipe using sets
of rollers in a frame spaced on the recommended radius for the tubing being run i.e. 72
ins. with 11/4 ins. tubing etc.

Injector
The injector is the motive device which imparts upward or downward movement to the tubing and
is mounted above the BOPs on the wellhead. It must be supported as the connection to the BOPs
is not designed to absorb the weight and lateral forces caused by the tension in

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Figure 4.3 - Typical Coiled Tubing Unit

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the tubing from the reel. This support can be a crane for land wells (providing the lifting
gear and pad eyes are rated for the weight of equipment and forces encountered) or to a
mast or derrick offshore. Free standing frames with hydraulic jacking legs are also
available where no other means of rigging up is available.

Movement is imparted to the tubing by sets of travelling chains equipped with gripper
blocks which are hydraulically driven. The gripper blocks grip by friction which is
adjustable through a hydraulic piston applying pressure across the chains. This pressure
must be sufficiently high enough to grip the tubing eliminating slippage but not
excessively high enough to crimp the tubing.

Stripper

The stripper is situated below the injector head in the injector head frame. It is designed
to be as close as possible to the gripper chains to prevent buckling due to snubbing forces.
The stripper is hydraulically controlled to press the rubber element against the tubing to
create a seal.
The stripper rubber is exposed to wear from the roughness of the pipe OD and will need
to be changed from time to time which can be done on the wellhead by closing the BOPs
and removing well pressure.

BOP System

The BOPs are very similar in function to wireline BOPs and are mounted above a
wellhead adapter. They usually have four sets of rams dressed as follows, top to bottom:

• Blind.
• Shear.
• Slip.
• Pipe.

The shear rams usually have the ability to cut stiff wireline i.e. C/T with electric line
cable inside it, used on C/T logging operations.

In some areas of the world, an additional Shear/Seal valve is installed between the BOPs
and the wellhead adapter as a tertiary barrier. The shear seal valve has the ability to cut
the tubing and effect a seal. It is generally tied into a higher volume hydraulic pressure
supply than available from the C/T unit such as a rig Koomey or independent system etc.

4.3.2 Tubing

There are a number of coiled tubing manufacturers but they are mainly US or Japanese
companies. Some of the US companies use Japanese supplied steel for tubing manufacture.
The normal method of tubing manufacture is to produce rolled plate steel which is cut into
long flat strips. Each strip is then progressively folded round with rollers and formed into a
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long spiral. When it is completely formed into a round tube, the edges, now abutting, are
welded. These individual lengths are then welded together to produce the length required
to be contained on a shipping reel. Continuously milled tubing has now been introduced
but is much more costly.

The common steel used is an American alloy grade A606 type 4 modified, suitably quenched and
tempered, which provides the best economic combination of ductility and strength to combat the
cyclic bending stresses. By specially selecting billets from the furnace to meet particularly tight
tolerances of chemistry, higher grades can be produced such as QT-800. More exotic pipe
materials are also being manufactured but have corresponding cost penalties.

4.3.3 C/T Unit Accessories

In conjunction with the C/T unit, many of the services require additional auxiliary
equipment such as pumping or nitrogen services. These may require cryogenic converter
pumps, tankage, hoppers, filtration units and interconnecting piping. These are connected
up to the tubing reel inlet swivel which allows the reel to rotate while still pumping.
Any hazardous materials must be handled appropriately by ensuring that they are located
in a safe area and all necessary safety handling precautions taken. For instance when
using nitrogen, the deck below the equipment should be covered with wood and trays to
contain and protect the deck from damage due to spillage, and water available to wash
down the deck if nitrogen does breach the barriers.

C/T Tooling

Tooling can be categorized into standard tool strings and specialist tools. These tool
strings contain the standard tools used in all applications to which the specialist tools are
attached. The complete assembly is referred to as the Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA).

A typical tool string contains:

• Tubing connector.
• Dual flapper valves.
• Emergency release sub.

Optional standard tooling:

• Circulating subs.
• Swivels.
• Bull noses.

Specialist tooling:

• Down-hole motors.
• Jetting nozzles.
• Wireline type hydraulic operated tools.

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 WELL INTERVENTION SERVICES

• Through tubing packers.

• Bridge plugs.
• Perforating guns.
• Logging tools.
• etc.

The dual flapper valves are an integral element in well control as they contain well
pressure from the inside of the tubing. The dual flappers give double isolation and meets
most legislative requirements. Therefore, when the BOP tubing rams are closed well
pressure is contained to both below the rams and from the tubing, hence the well is safe
for corrective actions. A split in the tubing below the BOPs circumvents the dual flappers
seals and, in this situation, the shear rams would be closed to contain well pressure.

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