Introduction To

Fishing
Ricky J. Bohannon
Schlumberger IPM
Wellsite Training
Supervisor

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Fishing Tools and their Uses

At the end of this lecture, YOU will be able

to;

1.

State and be able to Identify different

types of fishing tools.

2.

Understand the components of the fishing

tools and how they work.

3.

Be able to select the right tools for the job

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Defining the Fishing Job

When faced with a fishing job, there is
certain information about the fish and the
wellbore that is crucial to succeed.
A good wellsite supervisor will know at all
times all down hole tool information and
have it recorded.

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 This would include the lengths,ODs, IDs, and

fishing necks of all down hole equipment.
The string and tools limitations as well as
hours each tool would have accumulated at
the time of the fishing problem
These things should be kept on the well site
by the WSS and the toolpusher and the driller
should always know what is in the hole and
where.

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 How ever sometimes this isnt always the

case and some things might not be known
and it may be necessary to take a bit of
time to discover the missing data

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Information about The Fish

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Lead Impression Block

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If you find after the impression block has

been pulled that the fish is not smooth
enough to work with, then the possibilty of
running a mill in the hole to clean off the
fish would be the next course of action.
Total weight of fish
Is the fish clean and will you be able to
circulate through it
Last casing details
Last recorded Depth
Any wash outs that are known or possible
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 Drilling fluids in the wellbore

Formation Litho logy at the point of the fish
Is there a possibility the fish could be
stuck, differentially or by other means.
The possibility of being packed off by
cuttings or cavings
You should always make a diagram of the
well bore and the fish to give a visual
mental picture. Below is a diagram of a fish
from a well in Lithuania
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Genciu Nafta G8H Re- entry

Taper Tap diagram

O.D. 4.6875

.67

O.D. 3.92

.46

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O.D. 3.43
O.D. 3.03
O.D. 2.63
O.D. 2.16
O.D. 1.85

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Designing A Fishing Strategy

You can only use those tools that you have
available. In some areas tools can be sent
to the wellsite pretty quickly, in other areas
you will be limited to those tools already on
the rig (or that you can build on the rig).
Generally, a rig contract stipulates that the
Drilling Contractor (the owner of the rig)
shall provide sufficient fishing tools and
consumables to latch on to the outside of
all tubulars.
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 It may also stipulate that other tools are

kept available, such as fishing jars, mills,
etc.
Listed below are five classifications of
fishing tools. All currently available tools
can be put in to one of these categories.
The type of fish and it's situation in the
hole will dictate which can be used and will
also determine which of those has the
greatest chance of success.

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 It is important that all the people on the rig

who have knowledge of the well, the fish
and of fishing operations be consulted for
advice.
This means that you should talk to the
Drillers, Toolpusher and Fishing Tool
Supervisor. By using their knowledge you
might be presented with an idea which you
wouldn't otherwise have thought of.
Note all the possible approaches and rank
them in order of preference.

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If a fishing supervisor is on the rig then

generally he will run the fishing operation,
after consulting with (and while reporting
to) the Drilling Supervisor. On some
operations, no fishing supervisor will be
present and a simple fishing job might just
be done by the Well site Supervisor,
Toolpusher, or Driller.
A good competent Driller is quite capable
of carrying out a straightforward fishing
job. While fishing, keep a complete record
of everything that is run in to the hole and
a detailed record of exactly what happens .
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 Fishing decisions, like most rig decisions,

have an economic impact. In other words,
you have to ask yourself when it will cost
less to stop fishing and take alternative
actions. Generally your alternative actions
are limited to;
1.Put cement on top of the fish and
sidetrack around it.
2.Abandon the well.
3.Occasionally you might have the option
to complete the well on a higher zone or to
convert the use of the well.
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Chapter summary
This chapter covered the following topics.
Information required about the fish
Information required about the well
Determining a fishing strategy

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Classifications of fishing tool

There are five classifications given below, each

tool is put in to a category depending on it's
primary mode of operation.
Examples of each tool classification will be
given. Each classification will be covered in
detail in separate slides.
The examples below do not constitute a
complete list of all tools available for Fishing.
Different tools and the knowledge of such will
depend on the experience and help of your
fishing tool supervisor.
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Classification 1- Outside catch

(Overshots)
When fishing for tubulars which have an outside
diameter which is significantly less than the hole
diameter, such as drillpipe, drill collars or tubing,
an outside catch tool will be the most common
choice.
Outside catch tools are very strong, normally you
will be limited by the strength of the drillpipe and
not the strength of the tool. If the top of the fish
is straight and not badly damaged, outside catch
tools can easily move over and grip the fish.
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There are two tools in this

category, the Overshot and the
Die Collar.

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Overshot
An overshot consists of a barrel, inside is a
special helical profile which is shaped like a
wedge. Into this profile fits a grapple with teeth
on the inside. The teeth catch on the fish and
as tension is applied is applied, the wedge
shaped helical profile causes the grapple to
grip tighter --- just like a set of slips in the
rotary table. The more you pull, the tighter the
grapple grips the fish.

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 An overshot also gets tighter if you rotate it

to the left, so it is possible with an overshot
to apply left hand torque and back off a
connection lower down in the fish.
Conversely, rotating to the right causes the
overshot to release the fish so it can be
easily released downhole.

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 An overshot is generally the tool of choice

because;
It is tremendously strong and will allow very
high pulls on the fish, even if a jar is used to
hammer
on the fish. It can be released
downhole by right hand torque.
It can be used to apply left hand torque to the
fish to potentially back off down hole.

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 Latching on with an overshot does not cause

serious damage to the fish and so other tools
could be attempted after an overshot.
The overshot can include a packoff element to
seal around the outside of the fish to allow
circulation through the fish (unless the fish
itself is plugged).

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Bowen series 70 circulating

overshot, cutaway drawing with
Spiral Grapple

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Overshot With Spiral Grapple

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Die collar
A die collar is like an inverted cone with
threads on the inside. It is lowered on top
of the fish and turned
to the right; the inside threads cut in to the
top of the fish. Compared to an overshot, a
die collar has some significant
disadvantages;

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 It does not increase it's grip with higher pulls.

The older model with grooves cut in the threads
(see photo below) does not seal around the
fish.

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Cut away drawing of Die collars, with straight

guide shoe (middle) and spiral
guide shoe (right)

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 Modern die collars do not have these

grooves and so can allow circulation
through the fish.
It cannot be released from the fish
downhole, so a safety joint must be run
above the die collar..

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Classification 2 - Inside catch

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 Inside catch tools pass through the inside

diameter of a tubular fish and latch on by one
of several mechanisms.
Inside catch tools have one big disadvantage
when compared to Overshots, they tend to be
weaker (they have to be small to get inside the
fish).
Inside catch tools are generally only used when
it is not possible to run an outside catch tool; if
the clearance between the fish and the hole is
too small, for example.
Three tools are included in this category; the
Releasing Spear, Taper Tap and Packer Picker.
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 The Releasing Spear is just an overshot in

reverse.
A steel mandrel supports a slip cone which has a
wedge shaped helical profile on the outside.
Positioned around this mandrel is a set of slip
elements, with teeth on the outside. When run
inside the fish, the slips press against the fish
inside diameter with some friction.
When the drillstring is picked up, this friction will
try to keep the gripping elements still while the
mandrel moves up. As it moves up, the wedge
shapes of the matching profiles (outside of slip
cone & inside of elements) will push the slip
elements outwards.
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Releasing Spear

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 The more pull is applied, the harder the

slips get pushed against the ID of the fish.
The spear is usually released by right hand
rotation of the drillstring.
Releasing spears are usually used for
fishing casing out of the hole.

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Taper Tap
A Taper Tap is a die collar in reverse. It has
similar disadvantages to a die collar; cannot
be released downhole (except by breaking the
tool or stripping the threads) and is weaker
than a releasing spear.
Modern taper taps do not have the
longitudinal grooves that old style taps had
and so it can be used to circulate through the
fish.
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Old fashioned type Taper Tap with

longitudinal grooves

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Packer Picker
Also known as a "Packer Milling and Retrieval
Tool"' the Packer Picker can mill and retrieve a
downhole permanent packer in a single run,
once the tubing above the packer is fished. The
packer has a hole through the centre (to allow
fluids to flow through it) and a special spear
first goes through this hole.
A milling shoe contacts the top of the packer
and it mills down the outside of the packer,
until the slips are released or destroyed. Once
the packer slips no longer grip the casing, the
packer will fall but will be caught by the spear.
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Packer Picker Diagram

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Classification 3 - Washover and

basket tools
The first two classifications dealt with tubular fish,
such as drillpipe or drillcollars. Washover and
basket tools are used to fish miscellaneous pieces
of junk out of the hole. These pieces range in size
from pretty small (tungsten carbide teeth from a
TCI bit, or tong dies, for instance) to large enough
to cover a large part of the bottom of the hole
(cones from a drillbit).
Many of these tools use the movement of drilling
fluid to "wash" pieces in to a container.
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 Or a barrel may be run over the fish and

the bottom of the barrel closed beneath
the junk to trap the pieces inside.
Also included in this classification is the
Fishing Magnet, which can be run on
wireline or drillpipe, to recover ferrous
metal junk.

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Magnet

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Tools using movement of fluid

to trap junk
Several tools fall into this category under
Classification 3. The Jet Junk Retriever is run in
and a ball is dropped. This ball diverts flow
down the string to outside the tool and diverts
flow coming up the inside of the tool back to
the annulus. In this way, reverse circulation
outside the tool can wash junk up past springloaded fingers which close behind the junk.
This will catch larger pieces of junk such as drill
bit cones (see the diagram below).
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Jet Junk Basket or Reverse

circulating Basket

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 Another tool in this category is the Boot

Basket. This is run in on a drilling assembly
and can catch small bits of junk, such as
insert bit teeth. If a PDC bit run is
anticipated, a Boot Basket might be run
above the previous bit so that the bottom
of the hole should be free of any small bits
of junk which can damage PDC cutters.

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Tools using a barrel to go over

pieces of junk
There are several tools that aim to trap junk
inside a barrel. A "poorboy" finger basket tool
may be made on the rig with a piece of tubing or
casing of a suitable size. The bottom end has
slots cut in it and the resulting "fingers" of metal
are bent slightly in and rounded off. This is run in
the hole and, when on bottom, is carefully
rotated and weight sat down on it. The fingers
bend in and close up, trapping junk inside. See
the picture below.
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Poorboy Finger Basket

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 A hydraulic tool which works on a similar

principle is available. When on bottom, a ball is
dropped on to a seat and pressure is applied on
the drillstring. This moves a piston down which
forces a set of fingers to move over a ramp,
which closes the fingers together. In soft
formations, it is possible to cut a small core off
the bottom with this tool.
There is also a basket with a mill shoe on the
bottom and spring loaded fingers inside, which
is designed to cut a small core on bottom and
recover a bit of core and the junk in one go.
This would not work in hard formations.
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Reverse Circulating basket

with Mill Shoe Guide

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Fishing Magnet
If run on pipe, circulation below the magnet
is possible through holes. This allows
settled cuttings to be
blown off the junk. To work, the magnet
must be able to touch, or get within an
inch or so, of the junk.
You can run this on wireline if your well
bore is in good shape and a wireline unit is
easily available at shallow depths.
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Fishing Magnet Diagram

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Classification 4 - Fishing for

Wireline
Fishing for wireline is a painful and tedious
job at best. If a wireline tool is stuck in the
hole and the wire is still intact, it is possible
to hold the wire at surface and strip over it
with drillpipe, guiding a special overshot to
the wireline tool.
When pulling back out of the hole, the wire
has to be cut every stand so it's a long, slow
job and creates lots of mess on the rig.
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 In wireline fishing you need a good wireline

supervisor and good communication skills,
as well as a good unit operator.
You could possibly loose the well in this
operation depending on the experience of
the wireline group.
If the wireline is broken and down the hole,
a rope spear is used which has barbs
sticking out of the side.

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 This is run on drillcollars to below the top

of the wireline and rotated a few times.
This winds the wireline on to the spear
around the barbs. When pulling back out of
the hole, the wireline tool is often
recovered too.

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Classification 5 Milling, drilling and

smashing
junk

In softer formations and larger hole sizes,

miscellaneous junk (even as large as drill bit
cones) can be pushed in to the side of the hole
by a mill tooth bit and never seen again! Of all
drill bit types, only a mill tooth bit is capable of
drilling on loose junk without getting badly
damaged though even a mill tooth bit can be
damaged if used on junk with high bit weights
or rotary speeds.

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 There are two different types of mill available

for milling away junk. In cased hole, a mill with
stabilizer pads and a smooth OD is used so as
not to damage the casing. In open hole, no
stabilizer pads are used and the mill OD should
be rough (capable of cutting) and in size should
be equal to or slightly smaller than the drift
diameter of the casing in the hole.
It is very important not to run too much weight
on a mill (most people run too much weight)
and a good rule of thumb is 1,000 lbs per inch
of mill diameter.

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 A 12" mill should be run with about 12,000

lbs, though of course conditions and
therefore milling parameters will vary. If
loose junk is in the hole, use a flat
bottomed mill. For junk that will not roll
around (e.g. stuck pipe) then use a
concave profile on bottom.

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 If junk on bottom is large or oddly shaped so

that it cannot be recovered with washover or
basket tools, it can be broken up with a Jet
Bottom hole Cutter. The cutter can be run on
wireline or pipe.
This is a shaped explosive charge which
focuses the explosive energy downwards. Once
the large junk is broken up, it may then be
possible to recover it using conventional fishing
tools, or drill on it with a mill tooth bit (use a
boot basket above the bit), or mill it up.

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Chapter summary
If junk on bottom is large or oddly shaped so that
it cannot be recovered with washover or basket
tools, it can be broken up with a Jet Bottom hole
Cutter. The cutter can be run on wireline or pipe.
This is a shaped explosive charge which focuses
the explosive energy downwards. Once the large
junk is broken up, it may then be possible to
recover it using conventional fishing tools, or drill
on it with a mill tooth bit (use a boot basket
above the bit), or mill it up.
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Fishing economics
Fishing economics are probally the most
important part of a fishing job and the most
over looked as well.
Almost all drilling operational decisions
ultimately have an economic basis; "what is the
most cost effective way to proceed?".
However when we talk of cost effectiveness, we
need to look at the whole equation. We might
make a decision to change the mud properties
for drilling the reservoir and save a few
thousand (or a few hundred thousand) dollars
in mud costs but if that decision reduces the
well
productivity.
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 Then overall, that decision will have been a

very bad one because the well will earn millions
of dollars less than it could have done. So it is
with fishing; you have available several courses
of action.
Which one will ultimately be the most cost
effective?
When faced with a fishing job, there are some
high-level choices possible. These will most
likely come down to:

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 1.Try to fish the junk.

2.Set cement on top of the fish and sidetrack
around it. This may not be an option if the fish
contains a radioactive source; in many areas,
Government regulations forbid or make it very
difficult to abandon radioactive sources.
3.Finish the well higher than originally planned
for. This will rarely be possible; perhaps if the well
is at TD and the top of the fish does not prevent
the well from reaching it's primary objectives.
4.Abandon the well (either to start drilling a
replacement well or to abandon the well without
spudding another).
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 Now except in rare cases, the available

options will be either to fish (or to continue
fishing) or to sidetrack the well.
Therefore the decision comes down to
whether the cost of fishing is likely to be
less than the cost of sidetracking. We have
to introduce probability into the decision
making process.

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 The probability of a fishing job succeeding

decreases with time. The best chance to get
the fish lies on the first attempt. With time,
wellbore conditions deteriorate (making the
fish harder to remove), the condition of the
fish will deteriorate (as you try to latch it
with different tools) and the remaining
alternative fishing strategies reduce as you
try different methods. In general, fishing
should be abandoned if the first attempt to
latch on to it does not succeed, UNLESS you
gain information during this first attempt
which leads you to believe that the chances
will be better on a second attempt.
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 The decision on whether to fish and if so for

how long can be calculated by using
probabilities multiplied by costs to give the
Effective Monetary Value of the various
decisions. This can be done using an IPM
designed spreadsheet.
Most Operators have a spread sheet but the
field hands dont use them.

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