Techniques for Breaking Free Prevention of stuck pipe is more economic than even the best of freeing procedures. But when prevention fails, the operator must move swiftly to select the most effective treatment. Here are some basics of unsticking pipe—from pills to jarring to fishing—that may help speed that decision. Denny Adelung, Warren Askew Jaime Bernardin AT. (Buck) Campbell, Jt Sugar Land, Texas, USA Mike Chaffin Oryx Energy Co. Houston, Texas, USA Guy Congas Port-Gentl, Gabon Rodney Hensley British Petroleum Exploration Co. Houston, Texas, USA Bill Kirton British Petroleum Exploration Co. “Anchorage, Alaska, USA Randy Reese Don Sparling Onyx Energy Co, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA 7 Freeing stuck pipe involves finding the right combination of gentle persuaston and brute force. Gentle persuasion involves changing downhole conditions to reduce sticking so the pipe comes free on its own or is more responsive to force. And force is used when the hole’s grip on the pipe cannot be coaxed loose and must be overcome by a preater force. Force is delivered by pulling on the pipe, slacking off or applying and holding torque. Stuck pipe can also be banged free with a Jar—an impact device installed in the drill string that delivers a blow up, down or both to free the pipe (see “Jars, Jarting and Jar Placement,” page 52). Repeatedly opening and closing the head valve in the mud ump soveral times causes pressure surges in the mud flow that may also vibrate and shake te pipe free. ‘The tools of persuasion are spotting fluids hole conditioning and changes in hydro- sialic pressure. A spotting fluid is a volume, (or “pill” of fluid containing lubricants and surfactants pumped downhole and placed in the annulus opposite the interval of pipe held by the wellbore, the stuck point.’ Diesel ol products prove successful half the time and are used most commonly, but environmental agencies have recently encouraged use of less toxic mineral ols? sail, PR Premure luton a Rl Tne) ie immo Anode Fer apn preparation of hs are thanks Ron ‘utc Bish Pevoeur Explor, Housion, eas (GSA ane eatseigreur and Plene uaa Sock otona’ Braque, Pa, Fence on Bele eve ures, Chae nl, obs Kes, oval ast, Mare Lege, Sanh Mal, ary Pedoni,ab Ferg and bert Fura, Anu Supa Lad, Texas, USA: Roper Chaney CC- Conan Humble, Texas, USA; Marwohun Kl and Wana Kl Er eating, Soar an os, USA Some major oil companies have abandoned diesel altogether. Regardless of which base is used, spotting fluids contain additives that tenable them to act as both a lubricant to help slide pipe around bends and through light spots, and as a surfactant to weaken ‘cohesion between the mudcake and pipe ‘Occasionally, in carbonate formations a pill (f 15 to 25% by volume mud acid is used to parially dissolve hole bridges, cuttings or sloughed formation. Hole conditioning once stuck involves Increasing mud flow rate or changing mud properties such as density solids and pH) to enhance solids removal, such as a cuttings bed in a high-angle well ora plugged val. Reduction in hydrostatic pressure is used mainly to froe differentially stuck pipe. This can be achieved by lowering mud weight or the level of mud in the annulus if well conditions permit—no risk of gas in- flow and good hole stability. An altemative is to "U-tube" the drillpipe and annulus, leading to drainage of the annulus and, more elaborately, backing off and installing a drillstem test (DST) tool (see "Freeing Stuck Pipe: An Overview of Two Tech: niques,” next page). An inctease in hydro- static pressure, by raising mud weight, is used to treat sticking in unconsolidated, mobile or geopressured formations. cominusd on page 20) |. Frtchniqus op placement. Grogan GE: "How tofee Suc Onl Pipe" Ol & Ga ur ro. (aan 1560", 2 Ayes RCH ORell and Hewy LR “Oho ‘Opens Commie Calf Nesey Spring id ‘Sey pape SFUMAD 19603, peered he 1969 SPEADC Ding Coreen, New Os, Bulag, USA Feb 28-Atarch 3, 1989. Shivers Rand Doane i “Opeations Deion Mating fo Stuck Pipe Ince inthe Gul of Mein [Nik Economix Approach paper STAADC 21990, [reset a fe 1991 SE]ADC Ding Confer, eda The Nether, Mic 18,1991Ditrenal sticking «Sticking ocours when disting is ‘stationary + Dallsving cannot berated or moved up or down—or if sting ‘can bo moved, high ovepul at ‘connections and whl tipping, and high torque night after a connection. + Generaly no signitteant pressure variation in relation + Porous and impermeable zones, presont in tho openhole interval May be a depleted zone 1. Stop or reduce circulation to lower ‘effective mod weight at stuck pont. Pull with maximum allowable force. ‘Start jing at once al maximum force. Jar upward for fret hour then both ways. Try rotting. Make eon- ‘gation measuromonts wile varying pipe tension to estimate location of stuck point. 2.As soon as possible, add srfac- tant sg whl working deilsting Be sure to give the adctve time to Work befoce washing out the sug. 8 if previous atempts fal holes ta- ‘bls and there sno sk of gas Jnlow (back of as docp as poe- sible, fb) tuna with a DST tool and serow ito fish. Open tester fr 1 ‘inate; donot tow wo. Tis ‘aleve ctforontal pressure on fr ‘mation under no-fow condtion.” 1. Start working the pipe immediately Ifthe Bits of battom, slump the pipe with night torque ld in {tif the bit son bottom, palo the ‘maximum immecatly ad. ‘Apply iht-hand torque to try to get ‘movement to the stuck point 2. first attempts fal, work the pipe ‘in both erections unt atematve ‘action can be taken. 2. Consider all aspects of wal contol ‘ofore lotering nyorostaticpres- ‘sure In choosing how to ower prosaur,remombor the degre of ‘convo are speed of the pressure reduction. Pressure reduction most effective if the drilsting isn ‘compression. 4. Locate the stuck pont to ensure ‘the pis of sutfictnt volume to ‘cover the stuck point. Fluid should (02 ppg heavier than the mud to ‘ensure that t stayin lace. Put the pe inte compression, stacking off $0,000 b below the weight of ho pips and apply a aif tur of ght hare torquo for ovory 300 m (1000 fof pipe above the suspected ‘luck pot Every 5 minutes release forgue and pick up the 10,000 b.Laave a reser volume of il inside the cipipe and every Saminutos slowly pump half @bet- rel to move moc pil into the hole "Work the pipe up and down a reg- iar intervals. low 12 hours of soaking time; >40 hours is ofen Considered excessive 5. The U-tube mathod is an atemna- tive requting careka wel contol Mechanical sticking Koy seat * stall colar or stabiizor caught at ‘a specie depth only when tipping ‘out «+ Froe passage st suspected key ‘seat depth when running in + Stuck point coresponds to dosles + Tight hole will occur at tho same ‘depth on tps. “Dificul to identity special ‘Comment caused by lack of precautions while runing inthe hoe, S0ch as: * Distring too rg cornpar with previous sting. ‘New bit larger diameter than worn be + cast sol bit sun ater acon be ‘Naver pal strongly: ry moving down ‘vith torque Jar down, Spot a hgh hrcating si. unsuccessful back ‘offs close to stuck point as possible. un in wih aring string of outside ‘larotorcmal enough to enter the key seat on running in, 2 09 hours of ring is unsuccessful, spot ib. cant and continue jaring, If differential Sticking occurs, back of tothe pipe above Key seat. Hold fish with spear tw prevent itfaling and washover Vibrate pee with mud pump while ‘moving in rection oppose that ‘When the pipe stuck. Usually ar ‘down, Set libicant and continue. Emphasize jain; so same px00e- dures a for fallen objects ‘Work the pipe down. When the pioe can be worked down and rotated, Dut cannot be pulled past the key seat. Stowly rotate the sting with mim tension. tis hoped this wil work the colars and stabilears past tho Koy seat ‘Wk te string an arn both directions, Increase forces gradual Work sting upward and jar upward ‘Apply maxeum forces fom the sta. Wok string upward ane jar upward, ‘Apply maximum forces fom the sta.Massive (lastie salt Rn + Rapid penetration ‘Torque increase during cing + Overpul when pula of bottom “+ No cuttngs at shale shaker «+ Pressure build-up making ‘culation impossitie + Presence of chlor in ftrate + eaming on runing in, Restore ceculaton by backing off alow as possible and teating hud (euporoaturated saltwater plug, 250 gin). Washover fs last esa. ‘A restate pl wil often cissolve Salat the stuck port, wich is usu aly inthe BHA, Hold maximum pul ‘on the pipe white spotting the ‘Spot ap arg encugh to cover the BHA wih 20 baxels let inthe cil sting. In oi-base mud, lace an unweighted spacer containing water and dotergont ahead of th pil the pipe ot eed in? hots, spot a 80nd pil, Well control considera: tions ave paramount Stoughing shales/reactive ‘Rapid penetration flowed by + Pressure surges. formations large volume of cuttings at shale | mud, Gradual hole cleaning fs most shakers ‘ective—injctsoverl plugs of + Overpull when puling off bottom | increasing viscosity. During clearing, oroutot hale work clsting gently. unsuccess > Say oon ful spot high viscosiy plug, back ‘reulation CCreulate a high viscosity, low rate off asiow as possble andrunina janing string. Be careful not to lose ‘Concentrate on estabishing ful Ccrcuation and working the sting ‘downward. Rotation may hop stub the material packing of the ‘annulis.Gracualyincreasa freeing ferces to the maxarum. I crculason 'Sestablshed, nereasing mud weight may be beneficial. Poor hole cleaning anting. sow flow rate, + Excessive overpul during ‘connections and tips + Erratic and increasing torque while + increase n pump pressure and pump pressure spikes as holo momentarly bedges + Shaker soroans clan and dry + Reduced overpul when pumping + Reduced wolghttorque transmission atthe end ofa ont weighviorgus tansmssion improves ater connection + High rate of penetration + Large annulus in corjunction with 1. Attomt to establish circulation. CConcentrale on downward working ‘and apply forees gradual. 2. Once circulation is ectabished, tatlempt io disturb cuttingsicavings. In fon angie hoes, uso weighted, high viscosiy pis for example. ‘12'Fuanch hole st 8200 fot u86 50 bolat 133 ppo) 3. Inigh-angie holes, once ‘ulation established, uso tow vscosty ils fo csturb cutings Dads folowed by weighted pis to ‘carry mata out ofthe welbore. 4. Once culation is established, rota svng to further distur tings. Plastic flow shalos * Torque increase during cillng + Ovorpul when puing of bottom “+ Mud colds increasing + Rearing required on running in Racaeains push back shales, tempt ti + Plastic shales a shale shaker ack shales, Attempt jane. ge recovery doctring, ‘Aterrativly, back of as low 2s pos- ee ea Sible and continue mud treatment. Case hole prompt. If eulation is not possible, atterot ‘restoration with maximum pressure. Ifnecessary,presaure up annulus to ‘aepes excaptd toe oth on Sct A Preto a! Soa eg Ps, rn: eit Nara Et Aisin, he Cerne Duan regen Gorvion 197 Sth “Gace tha Provaren ans Cure ‘Stu pa fxn on ron i, nig orptan nen Reser, Sut Roast a, ie 8, ‘Ste Such Poe Poet Cows Wetbact. etch Poon Eton 1980 October 1991 SSeS nd ang Per Fat ea See fas mb vere ‘Wee TH Une oa Pas Sk Pon OF & Os rt nor ra 8 08 ‘elecmaning forth rosette sara tl Its soent nna ht encompany ono sep aw on go uta in ouster doeroa des Yarns ay, 29Force or Persuasion? “Te first step in deciding how to free stuck pipe is to identify the likely cause of sticking (see “Causes, Detection and Prevention,” ‘page 13). This not only indicates the opti- ‘mum remedial action, but also what actions ‘might cause more harm than good. For instance, if the cause of sticking is key seat- ing jarring. up may be ruled out because it ‘can force the pipe more firmly into the key seat (below. Sticking may be due to more than one ‘cause. Pipe initially stuck mechanically may be stationary in the hole long enough to become differentially stuck as well. The strategy for freeing pipe stuck by more than ‘one cause must be worked out promptly but carefully, since treatment of one cause of sticking may contlict with treatment of the other cause. ‘Techniques for freeing stuck pipe are largely uniform across the industry, but companies differ in which procedures they ‘emphasize, the order in which they are used ‘and the rate at which they increase force. 30 For the common case of differential sick- ing, FIf developed a decision flowchart (next page). A flowchart that adeesses any type of sticking. was developed by Texaco, based on a survey of its Gulf of Mexico ‘wells (page 32}.) The purpose ofthe chart is not only to suggest freeing procedures most likely to work, but also to show when fish- ing is uneconomic and the well should be abandoned or side tacked, Texaco developed a semiquantitative ‘method, based on is Gull of Mexico exper ence, for determining whether freeing pipe is cost-effective. in most cases, fishing should be performed only as long as its cost is less than than that of sietracking or aban- donment. To determine the cost of fishing, the authors developed an index, called risked fishing cost, based on the time from ‘onset of sticking to spotting the fist pil, and the likelihood of freeing the pipe. Thi hhood is based on historical data relating success of reeing pipe with hole angle, hole size and mud weight. What Role for Jarring? The first pill can be spotted within about an hhour of sticking ifthe fluid is already pre ppared and ready to be pumped. But usually it must be mixed and may not arive at the stuck point for 6 to 10 hours from the onset of sticking, The forward-looking operator hhas installed diilling jars in the bottomhole assembly (BHA) and while waiting for spot- ting fluid usually works the pipe and starts jarring. This may not free the pipe but can help prevent futher differential sticking Use of drilling jars varies widely. Some ‘operators run a jar in every well, others limit jars to directional and deep wells. In gen- eal, jars are run when there isa significant tisk of sticking, commonly associated with a depleted zone, a hole with heavy mud, ora hhole known for excessive dray or cleaning, problems. Among the major oil companies, Funning jaes is considered inexpensive insurance, accounting for less than 1% of dailling cost Hows jarring fits inthe inital stages of free- ing pipe varies, as illustrated by different approaches used by two majors dling, in ‘mobile formations in the Gulf of Mexict ‘Operator 1: At the first indication of increased drag, pull up the weight of the BHA and engage toptive. When sticking ‘occurs, start circulating and jarring. ‘Operator 2: When pipe sticks slack off the weight of the BHA. Apply and hold torque for up to 1 hour. I pipe is suspected to be partly packed off by mobile formations, it ‘can sometimes be pumped free by gently increasing pump rate, Stat jarring while spotting fluid is prepared. Regardless of the strategy, once jarring begins it may require as few as 10 oF as ‘many a 50 or more Impacts, and its success varies widely—30 to 90%. One major found that unsuccessful jarring is usually not due to mechanical failure of the jar, but sticking of the jar or pipe above it. To reduce this likelihood, ancl to increase the ‘effectiveness of jarring, some operators use a hydraulic jar in conjunction with a jar accelerator—a piston that slides in and out ‘of a chamber filled with nitrogen or syn: thetic compressible fluid The accelerator is placed in the string above the BHA and jar, enerally in the heavyweight dllpipe or at the junction of heavyweight pipe and dill collars, During drilling itis closed, and 3 Referee 2, Sh ar Doran. “Ayling Aad Sard PermanceTeing, far Acetate pape PE 19997 presented ot thet SPE Anna aches! Conerence aa tah tion San Aono, Teka, USA, Geta 811, 1989, Oilfield Review‘Work distving; ar up and down Y ‘Spot surfactant @ == 1 @ |_+-@>—_— Reduce hydrostatic pressure by creulating light mud or water with blowout preventer closed {to maintain well control Fleduce hydrostatic pressure by bleeding off dripipe > ae Decrease hydrostatic Pressure L___,| Back of Y sarring pst Wiashover fishing Ef fowchext for treating ciferentially stuck pipe. October 1991 31‘Area-spocifc Information available to ‘change decision? ‘Acoa-speciic ‘eformation available to ‘change decision? "Back offend make o ‘Datormir Fi alevat 150 pil ep soon as possible ic ‘Continue operations ‘© using right nol, al Continue operations Continue operations STexaco's lowchart for treating stuck pipe, based on data collected in the Gulf of ‘Mexico. RFC, tho riskod fishing cost, is the expected cost of freeing stuck pipe. TFT is the ‘dimensionless Texaco freeing index (ihe higher the TF, the better the chance of freeing Stuck pipe). and Py Is probably of he succes of ooig sick pipe. 257s tho ‘otfective soaking mit, Calculation of TFr and RFC 1s made statistically. A rule for uso of the flowchart is that attempts fo free stuck pipe should cease after 96 hours net So nn nes 32 extends when the dilr pulls up to fre the x. When the ja rps up, it accelerates the Pipe only between the jar and accelerator, closing the accelerator (next page). This helps overcome problems of pipe drag above the jar and achieves a higher pipe velocity and therefore a greater peak force “This force can be increased several timos by use ofa jar accelerator ‘An advantage of an accelerator is that it allows the diller © use only heavyweight {illpipe for jamring but, fora given BHA, achieve a higher impulse than with dil col- lars. Because itis less stif, heavyweight drillpipe offers less drag than dill colar, and is therefore subject to less damping than an equal length of dil collars. Use of accelerators has become increasingly important in Bish Petoleum’s (BP's) Nonth ‘American operations, which are moving away from use of drill collars in directional wells and toward heavyweight drillpipe, which is ess prone to sticking because ofits small diameter and greater lexbility ‘A-common misconception is that the acedlerator is working when the deck rat- tes on jar firing, The opposite iste: if the accelerator is working, drag above the accelerator keeps mos of the energy down- hol, insulating the tg fom shock. An oper- ational consideration is that stoke lenath of the accelerator must be atleast as long as that of the jar, to be sure the jar hits before the accelerator reaches the end ofits avel ‘Stuck pipe strategy ‘The duration of jaring, before deciding to fish, side track oF abandon the hole, is ide- ally dictated mainly by economics Jarzing duration depends on many variables, Including availabilty of fishing equipment, cost of operation, importance of the hole or (of retrieving downhole equipment and indi- Cations that jarring may succeed oF fall Jarring duration also varies by hydrocar- bon province. In Arica and Europe, espe- Cially offshore, jarring for 24 to 48 hours is ot uncommon. One major, however, finds that jars themselves usually do not work for more than 24 houts. Typically, the oil com- pany stops jatring after several hours to assess the situation. If spotting fluid is an ‘option, stopping jarring prevents needless ‘wear until the fluid isin place. If spotting is Oilfield Reviewnot an option, then jarring is continued until the decision is made to sidetrack. In the North American midcontinent, Oryx Enexsy Company usually quits jarring if there i no sigh of progress after spotting a lubricant and jatring for 4 to 6 hours. Occasionally, jarring may be carried out for 12 hours. Usually the operator calls fora backoff crew ater jating for 3t0.4 hours Alter attempting to free the pipe for a given time with soaking, dilling hardware fF both, the operator usually decides to back off and side track or back off and run in with a fishing assembly (see “Backoff Basics,” page 48). Abandonment now is rarely an option for an operating group. ‘The choice between sidetracking and fish- ing is based on cost comparison. & handiul of decision trees and formulas have been published? Two typical approaches are used by BP and Mobil to determine the length of time that fs economic t0 fish. BP calculates economic fishing time as sidetracking cost times the probability of fishing success divided by the daily cost while fishing. ‘Mobil’ formula isthe same except instead of the cost of sdetracking. it uses “known hole costs,” which involve different inputs BP calculates sidetracking cost asthe sum Of the following costs: the fish lost in the hole, backing of (wireline unit, backoff shot plus rg time), siting a plug from which to kick off (ig time to run a cementing string, ‘oset the plug, trip out, wait on cement, trip in to tag, test and dress the plug and pull cut) and redrill ime.* The mos difficult esti- ‘mate isthe probability of fishing success. BP uses local experience, guidelines from a ‘company data base or the small amount of published data. In the Gulf of Mexico, a 50% success rate for fishing was reported by Mobil and a 33% rate by Texaco.10 A ‘quantitative estimate of fishing success can be derived fcom Texaco’s dimensionless freeing index, which is teported to accu: rately predict the success of freeing pipe ‘with fishing jars Also in the Gulf of Mexico, Exxon devel- ‘oped a “stickiness factor” that determines the likelihood of freeing stuck pipe." This factor increases with increasing hole angle, ‘mud weight, length of openhole interval, American Petroleum Institute (AP) fluid loss and BHA length. Since the factor also indi cates the relative dificulty of freoing pipe, it can be used 10 evaluate the effectiveness of spotting fluids and fishing techniques. October 1991 Paling to cock jar Conventional ‘llpipe Hoenyweight “iipipa Statonary Accolerator Dill collar Moves up Flex int a /—_» J) Al Jor Bottom sub Operation of a jar and jar accolorator during Janing up. The accelerator is ‘shown at the junction between heavy- ‘welght drilpipe and drill collars, but it ‘may be almost anywhere in the BHA. ‘above the jar—as long as it is not so far ‘away that drag exerted on the pipo ‘beltvoen jar and accelerator negates the ‘benefit ofthe accelerator. The accelerator is closed during drilling, extends when {he ariter pulls up to tire the jar anet ‘loses during the jar stroke. 5. Hee dla has cher walls ad longer ‘eave han noma dlp aan gel ‘reap inthe ile 6. fdas GH: "When, Whee, Why a How tse tacks Hele” Wed Od 186, na Vp 197 Sows “How to Handle Stuck pe an ishing Pras, Pat Wht You shold Know Abo Fig” Weld OW 16,0. ama 1903813 126 Harson CG: ihn Decisions Under Ure ay furl of ts Techno 34 (98 29 00. ‘NT AR AA tal Shab NS “Tne to ‘Qui Usain Fishin jot aha ln tes paper ADNOCAP. 21310, DAC 90 Schl Tedh“Cuielins rhe Pesertion rd Cae ck Pip tplorten tnd Pec Daven, rig &Carpeans Rane, BP Revearch Suny Reseach Cone, Mat 109 ‘9. Kale, Bnlanann Fe ad Tanga PR: “Economic {rd Stal Anaad Tne imation Sp fig lind hing Operas paper OTC 8792, fered ate 8 Awa Oho ely nites Het, ens USK sy 7, 1 10. Reference 2, Shivers ae Domangve. 1 eve T'S Factor A New Wy f Looking st Stuck Fie” OM & Gas oot, no. 40 (Octobe swe 3BFishing The key to successful fishing is measuring the hole diameter, the inside diameter (D) and outside diameter of all downhole hart ‘Wate before it goes dowwnhole.!? Equipment specification sheets cannot be twusted—they are often wrong. Pitfalls in developing a fishing plan usually involve not having cer- tain information, such as: ‘The depth of the top of the fish. The fish- ing operator relies on the dling crew to hhave carefully measured dillppe lengths. *BHA assembly dimensions. In the North Sea, this job is considered so important thal one person is often assigned the sole task of measuring what goes in the hole. ‘Time of sticking, This can be a problem if sticking occurs during a shift change, or in the small hours of the morning, when record-keeping may become lax ‘A typical fishing string, from the bottom, includes an overshot grab to grip the fish and a guide to find it, a bumper sub, a hydraulic jar, three stands of drill collars, a stand of heavyweight drillpipe, a jar accel erator and standard diillpipe (below). As the fishing gear approaches the fish, circulation is slowed. Once engaged, 80,000 to 100,000 lb of pull are applied, often with jarring up. Pulling, jarting and circulation are maintained. Progress can be incremental bt significant, and the fish can come free unpredictably after hours of trying, Patience is essential. The mast important safety point is to know the tig—the pulling capacity of the dawworks, cables and tools, Certain prac tices should be avoided, such as pulling left using chains during a back off. When the backoff charge fires, the sudden release of torque could spin the chain, endangering ‘igtloor personnel. ‘The past decade has seen a dramatic change in what constitutes openhole fish i | ing. Time-honored but time-consuming techniques-—catching stuck pipe, cutting It milling the cut, washing over te fish and sipping it to pull out—are performed less ‘often. To many operators, "ishing" usually Constitutes nothing more than backing off and running in with fishing jars. When that ills, they sce ack Several forces have accounted for this change. On the economic side, cost analy ses began to ceveal that fishing is often less economic than sidetracking (next page). Sidetracking became economic mainly because technology emerged that can place 2 sidetracked well atthe depih ofthe orig tal wel in about 36 hour alter deciding to abandon the fish Another reason for the increased popula. iy ofsdetacking isthe uncertain offi ing, whereas sidetracking, although risky, cofien involves fewer uncertainties. Lessons Tearmed about sticking inthe orginal hole ‘Typical Fishing String Heavyweight dilipe Jar accelerator Di colars or heavywelaht chitpipe Jor Bumper sub Overshot 34 Schematic of a typical fing string arpical ing 7 | rcuating Overshot overshots and with Spiral Grapple verso accessories. |— Top sub |— Bow! Circulating Overshot vith Basket Grapple j— Brea {— Bom packer }— Basket 1— Spiral ae ‘grapple oe Grapple yl control ‘control packer Guide: Oilfield Review.can be applied to prevent sticking in the sidetracked hole, “Another reason forthe decline in fishing is the increased use of undergauge stabilizers fon every second or third drill collar to inhibit differential sticking, This makes fsh- ing difficult and washover prohibitively expensive because the stabilizers have to be milled t accommodate the washover pipe. The success of fishing at its simplest-— backing off and running in with fishing jars—is strongly linked 10 its prompiness Texaco found that success declines sharply ‘with time: in all but one of 14 attempts, the fish came free on the first jarting attempt The second attempt had only a 79% success Fate, All attemps ater 96 hours failed, Based on a study of 44 fishing jobs from 1970 to 1981, Mobil found thatthe proba- bility of success declined from 75% the first day to zero by the eighth day:!? Mobil rec- ‘ommended 8 days (192 hours) as the limit {or fishing operations, which includes a ‘maximum of two days of soaking. Shell, in a 1984 study of its North Sea operations, rec- ‘ommended that fishing be abandoned if there was no progress after 36 hours. These stulies suggest that openhole fishing, will continue to decline in duration and in number of jobs. But as long as dillers con- {ine testing the limits of new technology and technique, there will always be an opportu rity to find new ways to unstick pipe, —IMK 12 General worsen tings Kern G: ive hing Operations: Toke ard Techniques House, los, USA Cal Pub hing Co. 150 ‘ha A: ishing ana Csi Repo, (Oktshems, USA PenaiWel Paling Ca, 1982, [route “Howto Handle tick Pe and Fishing, robles Patt ou Shove Ko Abend Fihing” i & Gas Jounal 96 mo arty 198325126 13, See rerence 9, Kel, énkmann and Tae 14. See reorence Sl October 1991 Maximum fishing tne Cost ——- aoa Relative costs of unsticking pipe, calculated by Anal. 35