The Technology of Long Cable Snubbing Fishing through Coiled Tubing in Horizontal Shale Gas Wells

Abstract

In order to solve the problem of fishing the long cable lost in shale gas horizontal wells, a method of coiled tubing snubbing fishing was developed. In this method, the first step is to use the CCL to detect the depth of the fish top. Later, the RIH-downhole tool combination of low-speed screw motor works with the external grapple to recover the fish. The low speed screw motor rotates to drive the external grapple to catch the cable. After pulling out of the hole (POOH) and transporting the fish to the wellhead, a cable blowout preventer is used to seal the cable. Then the process is to open the wellhead preventer to pull the cable out of the hole in stages. This method resolves many difficulties, including the downhole precise positioning of cable, coiled tubing rotation, and long cable pulled up into the lubricator. This technology once was used to recover 81.00 m long cable+drifting string successfully in a well of the Fuling Area, and good results were attained by the field application. The success of long cable snubbing fishing through coiled tubing has provided a safe, reliable, flexible and efficient method for fishing of long cable in shale gas horizontal wells.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #130002© Petroleum Drilling Techniques, Issue 3, 2018