Well intervention

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Well intervention vessel Skandi Constructor (former Sarah) with X-bow.

A well intervention, or well work, is any operation carried out on an oil or gas
well during, or at the end of, its productive life that alters the state of the
well or well geometry, provides well diagnostics, or manages the production of the
well. SBS Energy Services is an example of a company that specializes in
snubbing/workover and coil tubing well intervention.[1]

Well Intervention market plays a significant role in the upstream service industry,
especially in offshore assets. The demand for light & medium intervention holds
major market share owing to eliminating the need for a separate drilling rig and
its associated cost involved.[2]

Contents
1 Types of well work
1.1 Pumping
1.2 Wellhead and Christmas tree maintenance
1.3 Slickline
1.4 Braided line
1.5 Coiled tubing
1.6 Snubbing
1.7 Workover
1.8 Subsea well Intervention
2 See also
3 References
4 External links
5 Commercial links
Types of well work
Pumping
Main article: Pumping (oil well)
Pumping is the simplest form of intervention as it does not involve putting
hardware into the well itself. Frequently it simply involves rigging up to the kill
wing valve on the Christmas tree and pumping in a fluid determined necessary for
the particular well.

Wellhead and Christmas tree maintenance

Main article: Well integrity
The complexity of wellhead and Christmas tree maintenance can vary depending on the
condition of the wellheads. Scheduled annual maintenance may simply involve
greasing and pressure testing the valve on the hardware. Sometimes the downhole
safety valve is pressure tested as well.

Slickline
Main article: Wireline (cabling)
Slickline operations may be used for fishing, gauge cutting, setting or removing
plugs, deploying or removing wireline retrievable valves, and memory logging.

Braided line
Main article: Wireline (cabling)
Braided line is more complex than slickline due to the need for a grease injection
system in the rigup to ensure the blowout preventer (BOP) can seal around the
braided contours of the wire. It also requires an additional shear-seal BOP as a
tertiary barrier as the upper master valve on the Christmas tree can only cut
slickline. Braided line includes both the core-less variety used for heaving
fishing and electric-line used for well logging and perforating.
Coiled tubing
Main article: Coiled tubing
Coiled tubing is used when it is desired to pump chemicals directly to the bottom
of the well, such as in a circulating operation or a chemical wash. It can also be
used for tasks normally done by wireline if the deviation[clarification needed] in
the well is too severe for gravity to lower the toolstring and circumstances
prevent the use of a wireline tractor.

Snubbing
Main article: Snubbing
Snubbing, also known as hydraulic workover, involves forcing a string of pipe into
the well against wellbore pressure to perform the required tasks.[clarification
needed] The rigup is larger than for coiled tubing and the pipe more rigid.

Workover
Main article: Workover
In some older wells, changing reservoir conditions or deteriorating condition of
the completion may necessitate pulling it out to replace it with a fresh
completion.

Subsea well Intervention

Main article: Subsea
Subsea well intervention offers many challenges and requires much advance planning.
The cost of subsea intervention has in the past inhibited the intervention but in
the current economic climate it is much more viable. These interventions are
commonly executed from light/medium intervention vessels or mobile offshore
drilling units (MODU) for the heavier interventions such as snubbing and workover
drilling rigs.