When you hear the term well intervention services, you might think of someone who comes out and repairs a water well at your home or business. Although there might be similar processes for a water well, well intervention specifically refers to industrial oil or gas wells.
Why Use Well Intervention?
This intervention is carried out to alter the state of the well, particularly during the end stages of the well’s lifespan. It can also be used to manage the well production, get real-time diagnostics and alter the well’s geometry. Basically, it is the broad term for measures companies like PRT Offshore take to keep an oil or gas well working when it is at the end of its life, or something goes wrong.
Well Intervention Terminology
Since there is a lot that can go wrong with wells, there are several types of intervention possible.
Pumping
This is the practice of pushing a substance into the well to clear a blockage or increase the pressure. Companies increase the pressure when a well is low, and the pressure is not enough to bring the oil or gas to the surface.
Slickline or Braided line
Both slickline and braided line interventions are used for mapping the geophysical properties of a well. They insert lines into the well to find out what the substrate is made from.
Christmas Tree Maintenance
No, this has nothing to do with the holiday. A Christmas tree in the world of oil and gas is a set of valves on a post, usually painted green. Christmas trees are used for the overall maintenance of the well. The tree helps control the flow in and out of a well but may also be useful for well maintenance and monitoring. Other valves or instruments may be attached, making them multi-purpose devices.
Coiled Tubing
Coiled tubing is used when a substance needs to be introduced into the bottom of a well. This allows direct access to the lower portions of an active well. Sometimes chemicals or other solutions need to be introduced to keep the well healthy.
Workover
A workover is completed when a well is older, and the main wellhead or other pumping mechanisms need an overall. Essentially, it is replacing complex worn pieces to prevent dangerous conditions at the wellhead.
Well intervention is extremely important, and while a drilling company may be able to perform routine maintenance, there are specialized companies that perform both on and offshore interventions. They clear blockages and help keep the wells both safe and stable.
