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CHAPTER-6 FISHING OPERATIONS

The term fishing applies to all operations concerned with the retrieving of equipment or other objects from the hole. Portions of the drill string, bit, drill string accessories, and inadvertently dropped hand tools are typical items which may require fishing. The most common fishing job is that recovering of a portion of the drill string left in the hole due to either its failing or becoming stuck. The best fishing technique is elimination of the cause. Periodic equipment inspections minimize drill string failures by detecting faulty joints before they fail. The alertness of the drilling crews in detecting crooked joints, in cleaning and lubricating tool joint threads properly, and in exercising good house keeping and safety precautions, fishing jobs do occur frequently. Most of them are relatively simple, and the only lost is the time required to run the fishing tool and retrieve the fish. A few such jobs however, become extremely costly and time consuming and even result in the loss of the hole.

Stuck Pipe Many fishing jobs start with the drill pipe becoming stuck during a trip. Some of the causes of stuck pipe are: -Foreign objects or junk in the hole -Key-seating -Sloughing formations -Bit and drill collar balling -Pressure differential sticking -Cuttings settling above the bit or drill collars Experimental work verified by field observations has shown that the pressure differential between the mud column and a permeable formation exerts a considerable force against a drill pipe and literally it glues it to the wall. The force necessary to free the pipe varies directly with the pressure differential and also increases with time because of mud cake build-up. If the driller is unable to free the stuck pipe, other remedial measures must be applied. These are facilitated by knowledge of the depth at which the pipe is stuck. This depth is also referred to as the free point. It may be calculated from relatively simple measurements taken on the rig floor. The following procedure is carried out:

-An upward force F1 is applied to the pipe. This must be greater than the total pipe weight, to insure that the entire string is in tension. -A reference point is marked on the pipe at the surface- normally this is done at the top of the rotary table. -A larger upward force F2 is applied causing the free portion of the drill string to stretch by an amount e. The stretch is measured as the movement of the reference point in (2) F2 is of course limited by the yield strength (elastic limit) of the pipe. A very precise definition of the free point may be obtained with electromagnetic devices that are available from various service

companies. These consist, essentially, of two electromagnets connected with a telescopic joint. These are run into the hole on an electric cable and lowered to some starting depth. The electric current is then turned on, causing the two magnets to attach themselves to the inside wall of the pipe. A pull is exerted at the surface, causing the pipe above the stuck point to stretch. If the magnets are above the stuck point, the distance between them is elongated. This elongation is measured by a sensitive electronic strain gauge between the magnets and transmitted to the surface for measurement. If the magnets are below the stuck point, no stretch occurs between them. A few rapid settings quickly and accurately define the free point.

A knowledge of the free point is useful in problems other than those arising from stuck drill pipe. The recovery of casing from dry and abandoned wells is another common application. The use of measuring instrument is recommended whenever accurate free point definition is necessary. Once the point at which the drill pipe is frozen is known, various procedures are followed. A few barrels of oil circulated to a point opposite the stuck point will often lubricate the area sufficiently to work the pipe free. The technique of placing a quantity of fluid at some desired position in the hole is called spotting. The success of this approach depends largely on the cause of the trouble. Filling that section of the hole with oil prevents the hydration of heaving shales. It has also been shown that the preferential wetting of the pipe by oil is a great aid in minimizing pressure differential sticking. Proper wetting agents added to the oil improve its steel wetting ability and further aid in reducing pressure differential sticking. In addition, the spot of general value in reducing friction over the entire section covers the lubricating action of the oil. If attempts to free the pipe fail, the string is unscrewed as the near the stuck point as possible, so that fishing operations can begin. This is generally accomplished by bump-shooting the pipe at the first tool joint

above the free point. Left-hand torque is applied to the string at the surface, and a small powder charge is electrically exploded in the desired tool joint. Some types of charges do not require the application of torque. The explosion produces much the same effect as a hammer blow and causes the joint to unscrew at the proper point. The freed portion is then removed and the fishing begins in earnest. Fishing tools A broad classification of fishing tools divides them into two groups: (1) those used to recover tubular products and (2) those used to recover miscellaneous equipment. There are three basic types of fishing tools used in recovering tubular products: inside fishing tools, outside fishing tools, and hydraulic and impact tools. Inside Fishing Tools: Most fishing tools designed to catch the tubular fish from the inside are variations of the spear and tap. The basic elements of the spear type of fishing tool consist of a tapered interior along which one or more slips are free to move. A slip is one of the most common devices found in oilfield equipment. It is comprised essentially of two parts: (a) slip segment proper, which is a tapered section with serrated edges for engaging purposes ,and (b) a tapered seat on which part (a) is free to move. The serrated edges of slip segment should be as hard as or harder

than the equipment engaged. Equipment is free to move in one direction through the slips, but when movement is in the direction of increasing thickness of part (b) , the slip segment will move downward until the serrated edges grip the equipment, preventing fruther movement. Additional downward pull will only increase the effectiveness of the grip of the slips. The tool can move frely inside the fish, but when the tool is removed from the fish, the slips move downward on the tapered interior, coming into contract with the inner wall of the fish. The thickness of the tapered part of the tool is such that the slips will not allow the tool to be removed from the fish with continued upward pull. One of the first spears to be used in recovering stuck pipe is non-releasing spear. The use of this equipment is limited because of its non-releasing feature. Its principal advantage is its low cost, although this is of very little advantage in most rotary drilling operations, where the principal requirement is fast and efficient removal of the fish. Later, the original spear was developed and a new spear is introduced into the industry. A releasing mechanism is included in this new spear, thus overcoming one of the basic disadvantages of the original spear. A tap is essentially a tapered tool with case-hardened threads. It is used primarily to engage a fish when the uppermost part of the fish consists of an inside-threaded element. The taper of the tool permits the

easier entry into the fish and also permits a positive engagement with the threads of the fish. The principal disadvantage of this tool is that it is non-releasable. In the event the tap becomes attached to the fish and the fish cannot be recovered, the additional problems of major importance are created unless methods are available to release the tap from the pipe being used in the recovery operations. Safety joints are one means of achieving this objective. Outside Fishing Tools Outside fishing tools must pass over the outside of the fish before attaching themselves. A very simple outside fishing tool is a die collar, this tool is basically a short length of tubular material on the inside of which threads have been cut. The die collar is used to recover tubular material which has male threads on the uppermost portion. Once the die collar has engaged the fish, it can not be released. The overshot is another early style of fishing tool. It consists of a tapered bowl on which slips are free to move up and down, and the entire assembly is designed to fit over the upper segment of the fish. The inside tapper of the bowel is designed to permit the overshot to drop down over the fish, but as the overshot is retracted, the slips move on the tapered bowl to engage the exterior of ther fish. The design of the original overshots were such that they were also non-releasable, but a

releasing

method has been developed whereby the overshot can be

released by rotation, which causes retraction of the tapered bowl with subsequent freeing of the slips. An additional feature that increases the effectiveness of an overshot is provision for circulating. A releasing,

circulating overshot is one of the tools most commonly used in the recovery of tubular products, especially drill pipe. Hydraulic and Impact Tools When additional pull is desired which exceeds the capacity of the derrick or drilling line, a hydraulic pulling tool can be used. The hydraulic pulling tool is essentially a hydraulic jack with means for attaching to the fish and slips to engage tha casing. By using a series of power pistons, force advantages as large as 100 to 1 are possible. This force is transmitted to the casing instead of the derrick, and, in general, much greater forces can be applied to the stuck pipe. The hydraulic pulling tool has good application in deep drilling, where much of the surface pull may be dissipated by the drag caused by crooked holes. A jar is an expansible tool composed of two parts which are free to move vertically a short distance in relation to each other. This tool is normally placed immediately above the fishing tool, and in the closed position the jar allows a short, free pull of the drill pipe; however, when the jar has been expanded completely, a relatively large impact force, or

jar, is applied to all equipment located below the jar. This impact force, which momentarily is much greater than could be applied at the surface, is useful in many operations where equipment has become stuck in the hole. A hydraulic jar utilizes a liquid power section to impart the impact blow. Most hydraulic jars obtain their impact force by resistance of the power liquid as it is transferred to another chamber through a restricted opening. The pressure on the liquid is obtained by surface pull or lowering of weight, depending on whether the jar is used to strike an upward blow ora downward blow. As the liquid is being transferred under relatively large pressures, an exhaust port is opened, relieving the pressure immediately and resulting in a blow being struck by the tool. The tool may also be operated against a gas compression chamber, and when the balancing liquid pressure is released, the gas pressure drives a freemoving hammer which strikes the top of the tool. Miscellaneous Fishing Equipment In addition to tubular material, other equipment, such as parts of drilling bits, pieces of tools, or equipment accidentally dropped in the hole, may necessiate fishing operations. Special equipment is also needed to recover these miscellaneous objects. Like the tools used to recover tubular material, the fishing equipment, used for these misccellaneous

objects is quite varied, and much of it is specially designed for a particular fishing operation. A few of the more or less standart tools are described below to illustrate the principles involved in this type of fishing operation. The milling tool is one of the common fishing tools. It is used to grind the fish into small pieces which can be circulated out of the hole with the drilling fluid or removed in a junk basket. A milling tool may be an ordinary drilling bit, a special type of drilling bit, or a solid-head tool with a grinding surface. The use of carbide as a cutting surface is quite common. The carbide, in the form of small splinters, is interspersed ina specially blended matrix, and this mixture is applied to the head of the milling tool. This design results in a self-sharpening tool with a very long cutting life. A junk basket is a tool run either seperately or in conjunction with a milling device. It is designed to recover the smaller fragments which can be lifted by the circulating action of the drilling fluid, but may be too large to be circulated to the surface. Since much of the material that may become lost in the hole is comprised principally of steel, the use of a magnet to recover small objects has been quite successful. Magnetic fishing tools may be either of the permanent-magnet type or the electromagnetic type. In the

permanent-magnet type of tool, a powerful, permanent magnet is located inside a nonmagnetic material. The lower end of the tool is engaging face, and the magnetic force is concentrated at this lower face. This tool is usually run on drill pipe or tubing. A circulating hole is provided on most magnetic fishing tools to permit normal drilling-mud circulation during the course of the fishing operation. The electromagnetic type of fishing tool is run on an electric cable, and once the tool is in the hole over the fish, an electrical current is passed through the tool to energize the magnet. As much as several hundred pounds of lost metallic material can be recovered in one operation by using these magnetic fishing tools. Another utilization of the shaped-charge explosive principle is the shaped-charge fragmentizer, which is used in the fragmentizing of small objects so that they can subsequently be rcovered with a junk basket. This process may even permit drilling operations to proceed without recovery of the fragments. The operation consists of lowering the tool in the hole on an electrical cable until the tool is in contact with the object to be destroyed. The explosive energy of the tool is directed downward, and when the charge is dtonated, this force is concentrated on the object, and its fragmentization results. It can be used to fragmentize bits, bit parts, slips, and other relatively small objects.

A necessary item in most fishing-tool string is a safety joint, a device which permits release from the fish if it cannot be pulled and the releasing mechanism of the fishing tools become inoperative. In most fishing operationsthe safety joint is located immediately above the fishing tool. Most safety joints are released with left-hand torque. When it becomes necessary to utilize the features of the safety joint, the upper part of the tool is retrieved with the tubing or drill pipe, and the lower part remains with the tools in the hole. Because of their very nature, fishing operations may become quite expensive. Before a fishing operation is initiated, therefore, the operator should figure the investment in the present hole and lost equipment, and then in the light of subsequent fishing operations, he can determine intelligently whether it is economically feasible to continue fishing. Altough not the normal procedure, in some instances it may be more economical to leave the equipment in the hole, skid the rig, and begin drilling a new hole. In many cases, expensive fishing operations have continued for months, and in the end, a new hole had to be drilled. It should be realized, of course, that another few days of fishing could result in recovery of the fish; neverthless, the financial considerations should be continually reviewed to determine the most economical procedure.

Proper and frequent inspection of equipment will reduce the frequency of fishing jobs, altough it will be impossible to eleminate them completely because of the nature of drilling operations. Mechanical failures are the cause of most lost or stuck tools, and if undue operating strain is not imposed on the equipment, frequent inspections made, and poor equipment removed, then the number of fishing operations can certainly be reduced to a minimum.

Cable-Tool Fishing Devices Recovering stuck or lost tools in a cable-tool operation is essentially no different from recovering equipment in a rotary-drilled hole in that the equipment to be recovered must be carefully studied and a tool selected that will satisfactorily perform the job. The principal difference in rotary and cable-tool operations is that in the latter, fishing tools are lowered into the hole on a wire line rather than drill pipe. Fishing jars are widely used in cable-tool fishing operations, because in most cases the drilling line and rig preclude the use of large pulling strains, and impact blows exerted by the jars must be relied upon to recover equipment that has become stuck.

A fishing operations expert system If we wish to give an example of expert system in fishing operations; we may give, Petrobaras, a Brezilian company developed a system to help the special operations called fishing. The system is delivered on Nexpert/Toolbook/MS-Windows PC platforms. In fishing operations, there is the necessity of new techniques and technologies absorbtion, periodics courses for new fishers and specilization and recycling for the more skilled people. In this process there is a knowledge based system development for diagnosis and treatment procedures according to the type of accidient, aiming to spread the knowledge and to accelerate the formation of a new fisherman generation. Petrobaras operating in the down and upstream segments, producing almost 900,000 bbl/day. It is settled in Rio de Janerio and connected 6 regional groups. In 1995 there were 63 fishing occasions on drilling wells and 469 on production wells. Artificial intelligience is the part of computer science that designs and develops intelligant computeble systems and their technique allow to represent the human knowledge in data structures. Therefore they support the decisions taken in specified knowledge area, in analysis

of alternatives and diagnosis elobration, in face of incomplete, qualitative or distorded data. Commercial use of knowledge based systems (KBS) is spreading fast in Brazil, especially with financial applications. Engineering

applications are still scarce. Petrobaras is one of the pioneers and this project is the principal in the Company. On the beginning of the 90s, most of Petrobaras fishers were next to their retirement time. In 1990 15 of them retired and more existed due to following years and that was being lost by the absence of a systametic transfer or retainment process. This was fundemental to the decision of starting a knowledge acqusition process. The system, with its extensive analysis, would help the engineer to explore the better alternatives and to consider all the avaliable informations. This system will provide them with portability, consistency, economical feasibility and permanent documentation; and the human being with creativity, adaptability capacity, non-abridgment, sensible

experience and common sense. Another strong motivation was the perfect adequacy between the problem and the expert systems technique exhibited. Fishing is almost a didactics application of one of expert system types here divided in 2

parts; diagnosis of the physical cause of the problem and suggestion of treatment. The diagnosis part has a neutral knowledge represantation using expert systems techniques. The treatment part is considered more complex, mixing expert systems solutions and hypermedia. The company choose experimented and competent professionals whose capacity was recoqnized by all the people aimed by the project, so that knowledge would have credibility and would be expected by future users. The final product of this phase was a set of rules representing the knowledge, specially focused on the diagnosis of the causes of sticking. Includes, also, prevention procedures or resolution of the accidient in superficial form to be detailed on the later phases. The system runs in micros PC 386, needing for 4Mbytes in memory, due to performance questions. The system can be divided into 2 groups; the trace and the knowledge system. Trace, shows all the application steps up to the final conclusion. And options for alter any answer with the consequent information reprocessing. The knowledge based system, allows the user to set up and draw the stuck string and the well. It is exhibited to the user as a sequence of multiple selection questions. The number of questions

varies according to the complexity of the accidient or the well of fishing characteristics knowledge level. The system accomponies in the dynamics of a fishing operation and includes a justifier that shows the employed reasoning, exhibit the reasons by which a diagnosis is or not possible and shows how the confidence levels are obtained. Being this first system developed in this field, Petrobars consider of great value the know-how acquired in the process. The involved cost is enough small compared not only to the benefits obtained and to the numbers involved in fishing operation, but also related to the cost of other equivalent expert systems reported. With the liberation of use of Nexpert run-time copies, the system can be installed in any

microcomputer, in basis or rigs. And more afterwards thay are planning to connect to well monitoring systems and to acqusition of real time data, besides informations of rendering service companies, as the logging ones.

The Economics of Fishing


Some fishing jobs can go on for months before the fish is retrieved. After a certain period, however, the cost of fishing operations and lost drilling time become prohibitive. As a rule of thumb, once these

costs reach about half the cost of sidetracking and redrilling, fishing should be abandoned. Another way to evaluate fishing economics is to calculate the number of days that should be allowed for fishing, using the following equation:

D = (V + Cs)/(R + Cd)

Where; D = number of days to be allowed for fishing; V = replacement value of fish; R = daily cost of fishing tool rental and services; Cs= estimated cost of sidetracking; Cd= daily rig operating cost.

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