IBP2181_16

IMPROVING PERFORATING EFFICIENCY

Paulo Celso M. Zuliani1, Carlos E. Guedes2,
Mario L. Resende Neto3, Gustavo A. Ribeiro4,
Sharif Aboelnaga5, Carlos Baumann6, Moises Smart7
Elias Nevoeiro Haik8

Copyright 2016, Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute - IBP

This Technical Paper was prepared for presentation at the Rio Oi & Gas Expo and Conference 2016, held between October, 24-27,
2016, in Rio de Janeiro. This Technical Paper was selected for presentation by the Technical Committee of the event according to the
information contained in the final paper submitted by the author(s). The organizers are not supposed to translate or correct the
submitted papers. The material as it is presented, does not necessarily represent Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute’
opinion, or that of its Members or Representatives. Authors consent to the publication of this Technical Paper in the Rio Oil & Gas
Expo and Conference 2016 Proceedings.

Abstract
Although developing and completing deepwater fields is common practice nowadays, still there are many
challenges. Among these challenges are cost, productivity and efficiency, and operators are constantly pursuing lower
well construction costs. The perforating strategy for large pay zones, such as those in the Brazilian presalt play, impose
bigger challenges for cost control than what is required for conventional plays. Efficient wireline perforating of presalt
wells exposes a high unintentional pulloff (UPO) risk due to the elevated formation and hydrostatic pressures, 8,000 to
10,000 psi, and due to the large pay zones. In many instances, tubing conveyed perforating (TCP) is the main option
used by an operator, even if the well has a low gas/oil ratio (GOR); however, TCP takes 48 to 72 hours to complete,
which significantly affects costs.
Finding a way to decrease this operational time was critical in the current industry economic environment.
Technology that combined software simulations, gun design optimization, and accessories developed for this purpose
resulted in an increased interval length per run to be perforated using cable conveyance. The wireline method achieved
the same perforation intervals as reached with pipe conveyance, but in half the time. This increased efficiency
contributed to reduced rig time and cost savings.

1. Introduction
The search for new reservoirs worldwide has challenged the O&G industry with extreme
environments. From the 10,000 m deep wells in Russia, reservoirs with pressures up to 15,000 psi, water depths close to
3,400 m in Uruguayan wells, and rig costs reaching USD 1 million per day, we see the challenges that operators are
facing nowadays.
On the other hand, the current oil price slump is pushing the operational costs to be as low as possible to allow
the projects to become viable. Rig time is the main concern in well construction, and it is critical when controlling
budgets for drilling, logging and completing wells.
Perforating is an important task in a well´s life (Smithson, 2012). Perforating establishes communication
between the reservoir and the inside of the liner/casing. Many wells are perforated over very long intervals or pay zones.
Perforating is an especially critical operation in extreme conditions, for example high formation pressures and very deep
wells, commonplace nowadays. Conveying guns on tubing has been the main option used by operators to date. However,

______________________________
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Electrical Engineer – SCHLUMBERGER
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Mechanical Engineer – SCHLUMBERGER
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Mechanical Engineer – SCHLUMBERGER
4
Electrical Engineer – SCHLUMBERGER
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Mechanical Engineer – SCHLUMBERGER
6
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineer – SCHLUMBERGER
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Ph.D., Mechanical Engineer – SCHLUMBERGER
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Electrical Engineer – SCHLUMBERGER
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this method can increase the operations time up to 72 hours, even in wells with low GOR that would allow other
conveyance methods.
A new cable conveyance method has been developed for perforating long intervals. The method combines a
torque-balanced composite wireline cable (Babin et.al. 2014), a shock-rated high-strength weak point, and perforating
simulation software (Baumann et. al. 2012a, 2012b, 2014). One of the risks of wireline perforating is the shock
generated downhole when the guns fire. This peak shock can lead to an unintentional pulloff (UPO), dropping the guns
to the bottom of the well with the associated non-productive time. Using an in-house developed finite-element based
simulator, we can predict the downhole shock in the job design phase, providing confidence on the longest possible gun
string that can be safely conveyed, fired and retrieved. The especially designed cable (Babin et.al. 2014) provides a
better distribution of the impact load along the cable length, and a fit-for-purpose weak point withstands the impact on
the head. This new cable conveyance system provides an alternative to tubing conveyance.

2. Simulation Software, Torque-Balanced Wireline Cable, and Flexible Weak Point

To withstand the peak shock generated downhole, the combination of a strong weak point with a strong cable is
needed. The TuffLINE torque-balanced composite wireline cable fulfills this need and improves the time to trip in and
out of the hole. With this torque-balanced cable design we save the stops necessary to balance the inner and outer armor
torque. Prior to the job, the SPAN Shock job planning application enables designers to optimize the resources available
for the operation.

2.1. SPAN Shock Simulator

We need to be able to predict the gunshock load on the weak point to prevent UPOs. The SPAN Shock
software (Baumann et. al. 2012a, 2012b, 2014), predicts accurately the forces and movement of the gun-string and
cable. Such loading information enables the designer to choose the number of guns, the cable and the weak point for
each job. The software also calculates the gunstring movement, the transient hydrostatic pressure changes in the
wellbore, which in turn is used to predict the perforation tunnel cleanup.

Figure 1. SPAN Shock simulation output

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The software simulator has proven to be a solid and reliable guide for the safety of the operations. Figure 1 is an
example of the SPAN Shock simulation output, showing the forces above the gun string, the movement of the guns, and
the transient wellbore pressure.

2.2. TuffLINE Cable

The difficulties originating from deepwater and ultra-deepwater well perforating are many: very high cable
tension, tool sticking, high temperature, electrical power requirements for long and heavy toolstrings, etc. The TuffLINE
18000 and 26000 composite cables uniquely integrate polymer-locked armors to effectively address the fundamental
limitations of conventional armored cables.
Because the polymer locking of the armors prevents cable rotation, the TuffLINE cable is effectively in a
permanently ends-fixed condition, which raises the ends-free breaking strength to 27,000 lbf for TuffLINE 18000 cable
and in excess of 40,000 lbf for TuffLINE 26000 cable.
The TuffLINE design, shown in figure 2, distributes the shock caused by the detonation of the guns along its
length. The impact wave travels along the cable and is dissipated as it reaches the surface.

Figure 2. The TuffLINE 18000 cable

2.3. Flexible Weak Point

A shock-rated flexible weak point needed to be designed so that its lower tension limit was large enough to
support the weight of the gun string and the impact during the guns’ detonation. It also had to fulfill its purpose, being
weak enough to break within the safe working load of the conveying cable. For deep wells, such as the Brazilian presalt
wells, the use of the TuffLINE cable is needed to increase the maximum pull capacity. The decision on the type of weak
point type must take into consideration all the aspects of the job—not only the impact during the detonation, but also the
possibility of a string getting stuck downhole.

Figure 3. Flexible Weak Point

For a 32-m long 7.0-in. gun string for example, the weight in air of the entire string can reach up to 6200 lbm. Previous
generations of flexible weak points could not convey more than 23-m of 7.0-in guns due to the physical limitation of the
material and the hardware configuration. The new weak point, shown in Figure 3, and the associated perforating head
were built with a range of 10,000 to 12,500 lbm, allowing a maximum safe pull up to 7500 lbf during rig up, and
increasing the shock absorption capacity when the guns detonate.
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3. Case Studies
Case studies from Qatar, United Kingdom, and Brazil show how ultra-long perforating gunstring can be successfully
deployed on wireline.

3.1. Qatar

In Qatar, there are both land and offshore operations with many horizontal or highly deviated wells that wireline cannot
be accessed via gravity alone. Our wireline team in Qatar worked with the operator to identify potential candidates and
began to design potential jobs. The first ultra-long perforating job in Qatar on land was completed in May of 2015.
This job consisted of a 118-m long interval to be perforated with a 4.5-in. high shot density perforating gun system. The
wellbore deviation was 76°, therefore the job was designed to be conveyed with a wireline tractor. Conveyance
planning software was run to determine the optimum tractor configuration to reach the target. Wellbore dynamics and
gun shock simulations helped to determine the gun length configuration to safely perforate without damage to the
mechanical weak point and toolstring. A wireline hydraulic pack-off was used. The job was executed successfully with
six runs of 19.9-m high shot density guns conveyed with a wireline tractor. A total of 13 hours of rig time was saved in
comparison with a conventional tubing-conveyed perforation (TCP) operation.
This job demonstrated that ultra-long perforating on wireline could be accomplished safely and efficiently, and
gave the operator confidence that these jobs could be carried out on higher-profile jobs offshore. Since then, several
perforating operations have been completed, in June of 2015 a 39.6-m zone was perforated offshore in a single descent
with a 2 7/8-in. high shot density gun system using a wireline tractor. This job had initially been planned with TCP, but
in the end it was carried out with this new wireline conveyance method saving 25 hours of rigtime.

Table 1 - Qatar case studies

Well Information Well A Well B

Operating environment Land Offshore (jackup)
Casing size 7 in., 26 lbm/ft 4.5 in., 12.6 lbm/ft
Well depth XX91 m XX80 m
Maximum deviation 76° 76°
Wireline conveyance Tractor Tractor
Perforating gun size 4 ½ in. 2 7/8 in.
Perforating interval 118 m 39.6 m
Maximum perforating gun length 19.9 m 39.6 m
Number of perforating runs 6 1
Pressure control equipment Wireline hydraulic packoff Wireline hydraulic packoff
Cable type 7-46 heptacable 7-46 heptacable
Operating time 23 hr 11 hr
Time savings 13 hr 25 hr

Table 1 summarizes the operations in the two Qatar case study wells. Since these wells were drilled, ultra-long
perforating on wireline has become a viable alternative for moderately long perforating intervals that, in the past, were
only considered viable with TCP.

3.2. United Kingdom

Operations in the North Sea have a long history of pushing the operational limits of wireline. Several long
perforating jobs have been completed over the last several years. In July of 2015 an operator had planned to perforate
an injector well on a semisubmersible rig with a subsea riser. This well had a 119.8-m long interval to be perforated with

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a 2 7/8-in high shot density gun system. To make matters worse, this well had a glass reinforced epoxy (GRE)
completion for corrosion resistance. The operator was concerned about the impact on the GRE completion when
making many wireline runs with a conventional cable.
A large outside diameter (OD) polymer-encapsulated wireline cable with a smooth exterior jacket was planned
for this operation. The smooth exterior jacket would reduce cable friction on the tubulars and minimize impact on the
completion. In addition, a specifically designed dual packoff could be used as part of the pressure control equipment
(PCE) instead of the conventional grease injection head in typical wireline PCE, minimizing environmental impact and
risks. Using the subsea riser allowed the insertion of long gunstrings into the well and allowed the well to be perforated
in a balanced condition. Conveyance simulation was used to model this job, and shock modeling software was used to
optimize the run configuration. An extra-long gunstring design enabled the perforating operation to be conducted in
only two runs, with one 81.4-m long gunstring weighing 3912 lbm shown in Figure 4. With this approach we reduced
the total number of runs to 2, from the typical 7 runs required with standard equipment to perforate this length, thus
saving up to 3 days of rig time while reducing the impact of the wireline runs on the GRE. Table 2 summarizes the UK
well operations.

Fig. 4. The 81.4-m section of 2 7/8-in. high shot density perforating gun system (drawing not to scale).

Table 2 - UK case study

Well Information Well C

Operating environment Offshore (deepwater semisubmersible rig)
Casing size 7 in., 29 lbm/ft / 5 in., 13 lbm/ft
Well depth XX85.5 m
Maximum deviation 63°
Wireline conveyance Gravity
Perforating gun size 2 7/8 in.
Perforating interval 119.8 m
Maximum perforating gun length 81.4 m
Number of perforating runs 2
Pressure control equipment Packoff/toolcatcher/lubricator/quick-test
sub/triple ram wireline valves
Cable type 2-44 polymer-encapsulated coaxial cable
Operating time 65 hr
Time savings Approximately 3 days
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3.3 Brazil

In Brazil’s deepwater presalt fields, wireline perforating has had an important role in conveying long and heavy
gun strings for many years. In Brazil in 2014 it was common to convey long 4.72-in. and 7-in. high shot density
perforating guns using standard high-strength heptacables. Starting in mid-2014, with the development of high tension,
torque-balanced composite cables, Brazil has been able to push these limits further, running longer and longer gun
strings. This was accomplished with a risk assessment done with the operator and the service company, ultra-long
perforating guns were run open ended (without wireline PCE), with the well overbalanced and with a detailed
contingency plan in place. With the new high-tension, torque-balanced cables, increased payloads are enabled with
reduced operational risks. An additional benefits is the reduced shock transmission to the weak point because these new
cables have a larger stretch coefficient. See Figures 5 and 6.

Fig. 5 - Shock measured with standard high-strength cable.

Fig. 6 - Shock measured with latest technology, high-strength, torque-balanced composite cable.
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In January of 2016 Brazil carried out the perforating job with the longest net perforated length done with 7.0-in
guns, perforating 134 m in five runs. The longest run length of 7.0-in. high shot density perforating guns had 28.96 m (4
× 6.0-m plus 1 × 3.0-m). This operation saved 14 hours of rig time. The second longest job with 7-in guns was done in
March of 2016, also in Brazil, with a maximum net perforated length of 95 m in three runs, with a maximum single run
gun length of 32.02 m (5 × 6.0-m). The guns were loaded at 12 spf with deep penetrating charges. The operation was
completed in 23 hours, saving 25 hours of rig time. Table 3 summarizes these two jobs.

Table 3 - Brazil case studies

Well Information Well D Well E
Operating environment Offshore (deepwater rig) Offshore (deepwater rig)
Casing size 9 5/8 in., 53.5 lbm/ft 9 5/8 in., 66.9 lbm/ft
Well depth XX90 m XX04 m.
Maximum deviation 8.5° 3°
Wireline conveyance Gravity Gravity
Perforating gun size 7 in. 7 in.
Perforating Interval 134 m 95 m
Maximum perforating gun length 28.96 m 32.02 m
Number of perforating runs 5 3
Pressure control equipment Open ended Open ended
Cable type 7-50 heptacable 7-50 heptacable
Operating time 34 hr 23 hr
Time savings 14 hr 25 hr

4. Business Impact
The new perforating strategy employing simulation software, a torque-balanced cable, and a flexible weak
point achieved outstanding results with long gunstrings in Brazil. This successful track record demonstrates the potential
of wireline deployment in the presalt play and offers an alternative to TCP. In deepwater, where rig time has a huge
impact in the overall well completion cost, even saving a few hours of rig time saves hundreds of thousands of USD.
Nineteen jobs have been performed in Brazil over the last 2 years, saving about 460 hours of rig time (Table 4).

Table 4. Rig time savings, Brazil

Year Month Meters Shot Gun Size Operation Time Rig Time Saved
(in.) (hours) (hours)
2014 June 21 7.00 19.0 29.0
2014 August 77 4.72 30.0 18.0
2014 December 40 7.00 22.0 26.0
2014 December 42 4.72 19.0 29.0
2015 January 61 4.72 19.0 29.0
2015 February 65 4.72 19.5 28.5
2015 March 20 7.00 17.0 31.0
2015 May 60 7.00 21.0 27.0
2015 June 185 4.72 40.5 7.5
2015 June 26 7.00 23.0 25.0
2015 July 36 4.72 14.0 34.0
2015 August 42 7.00 23.5 24.5
2015 September 40 7.00 17.5 30.5
2015 October 103 4.72 37.0 11.0
2015 November 61 4.72 16.0 32.0
2015 December 91 7.0 31.0 17.0
2016 January 134 7.0 34.0 14.0
2016 February 62 7.0 26.0 22.0
2016 March 95 7.0 23.0 25.0

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5. Conclusions

A new extra-long perforating strategy which utilizes a torque-balanced cable with a flexible weak point, and
perforating simulation software for job design, has produced outstanding results in Brazil. The extra-long perforating
jobs done in Brazil over the last 2 years have effectively expanded the boundaries of wireline perforation. The two
longest perforating jobs with 4.72-in guns were done in 2015, with 103-m and 185m of net perforated length, and the
two longest perforating jobs with 7-in guns were done in 2016, with 95-m and 134-m respectively. The excellent track
record of safety and efficiency attained in Brazil makes wireline perforating a definitive solution for deepwater pre-salt
perforating operations. These initial extra-long perforating jobs on wireline have produced significant savings when
compared with TCP, therefore we expect that further improvements in higher-strength electronic and mechanical weak
points as well as shock absorbers and perforating software models, will allow us to utilize the torque-balanced high-
strength cables at their full capacity, and this will lead to further gains in safety and efficiency, with the associated rig
time savings.

6. Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Schlumberger for authorizing and facilitating the publication of this work, as
well as Schlumberger’s Brazil wireline field crews and all the personnel involved in the preparation and execution of
these jobs. In particular, we would like to thank William Antonio, Operations Manager, Carlos Nako, Quality and
Safety Manager, Janio Cornelio, Field Expert, and Ellen Moallem, Field Engineer, for their excellent work in extra-long
perforating activities in Brazil.

7. References
BABIN, C., SARIAN, S. Cables and Skates—Improving the Weakest Links. Oilfield Review 26 (4): 18–33, 2014.
BAUMANN, C.E., BUSTILOS, E.P., GUERRA, J.P. et al. Reduction of Perforating Gunshock Loads. SPE Drill &
Compl 27 (1): 65–74. SPE-143816-MS. http://dx/doi.org/102118/143816-MS. 2012a.
BAUMANN, C., BENAVIDEZ, M., MARTIN, A. et al. Perforating on Wireline—Weak-Point Load Prediction.
Presented at the SPE/EAGE Unconventional Resources Conference and Exhibition, Vienna, Austria, 20–22 March.
SPE-152431-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/152431-MS. 2012b.
BAUMANN C., GULTOM D., SALSMAN A. et al. Perforating on Wireline: Maximizing Productivity and Minimizing
Gunshock. Presented at the SPE European Formation Damage Conference and Exhibition, Budapest, Hungary, 3–5
June. SPE-174213-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/174213-MS. 2014.
SMITHSON, T. Defining Perforating: Detonation for Delivery. Oilfield Review 24 (1): 55–56. 2012.