Freeing stuck completion strings – case study from Malaysia

After a competing service company was unable to free a stuck wireline toolstring on a production well offshore Malaysia, the operator contacted Baker Hughes.

A wireline team deployed the Baker Hughes 2 in. Mechanical Pipe Cutter™ (MPC™) tool on the competitor’s line, freeing the stuck string and saving 48 hrs in rig time.

Saving valuable rig time

“A wireline toolstring stuck inside an existing completion string was preventing a sidetrack operation from being carried out and costing valuable rig time,” says Jesus Tizon, Product Manager for Baker Hughes well intervention and casing inspection. “An incumbent competitor on the rig was unable to free the string with a pipe cutting tool due to restrictions in the 4½ in. tubing, which was suspected to be under compression. In order to resume operations, Baker Hughes was contacted to recover the stuck toolstring and the corresponding section of completion string.”

Recovering the completion string

A two-person Baker Hughes wireline team, along with the MPC tool and the Atlas™ Anywhere™ software and portable control panel (capable of running the MPC tool off the competitor’s unit), were quickly mobilised to the rig. After reaching depth, the MPC tool was positioned and the pipe was successfully cut. The completion string was recovered and operations were resumed, saving almost 48 hrs in rig time.

“Following the completion of the operation, representatives from the operating company praised the quality and precision of the cut, as well as the fast deployment,” Tizon says. “By using the MPC tool, Baker Hughes was able to reduce additional risks by avoiding explosives or hazardous chemicals typically used to separate pipe sections.”

Written by Baker Hughes, edited for web by Cecilia Rehn.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/05012015/freeing-stuck-completion-strings-baker-hughes-case-study-from-malaysia/