An Introduction to

“ Coiled Tubing ”

Equipment and Application

 What is the Coiled
Tubing Unit?
Coiled Tubing Unit is a portable, hydraulically powered
service system which is designed to inject and retrieve a
continuous string of tubing concentric to larger ID
production pipe or casing strings.
At the present time, coiled tubing constructed for well
servicing application is available in sizes ranging from
0.75”OD up through 3.5” OD.

Elements of the Coiled Tubing Unit

INDEX

• Surface Equipment.

• Well Control Equipment

• String Design and Service Life.

• Forces Encountered.

• Well Control Procedures.

• Applications.
 CT Surface Equipment & Performance
Specifications

The basic components of a coiled tubing unit are as follows:

1) Injector
2) Tubing Guide Arch
3) Service Reel.
4) Power Supply / Prime Mover.
5) Control Console.
6) Control and Monitoring Equipment.
7) Down hole Coiled Tubing Connectors.
8) Well Control Equipment.
 1- Tubing Injector
The injector assembly is designed to perform three basic functions:

1) to provide the thrust required to snub the

tubing into the well against pressure or to
overcome wellbore friction
2) to control the rate of lowering the tubing
into the well under various well conditions.

3) to support the full weight of the tubing.

•Chain-gripper blocks:
•these gripper blocks are designed to minimize
damage to the C.T. and may be
- machined to fit the circumference of the C.T. or
- Cast in a “V” shape to accommodate variable OD sizes
of C.T.

Chain link
pins

Roller
Gripper block
bearing

Chain link plate

and split pin

Typical Injector Chain System

Types of Chain Drive

•The chain drive assembly operates on

the principle of frictional restraint, in
that the C.T. is loaded by the
opposing gripper blocks with sufficient
magnitude of applied normal force
that the resulting tangential friction
forces are greater than the axial
tubing loads (tension or
compression). This applied normal
force can be provided by one of three
ways.
1- set of skates.
2- cam roller or skate roller.
3- dual chain traction loading system.
 Injector Specifications

•Maximum Pulling Force: Is the max.

tensile force that the injector can apply to
the C.T.
•Maximum Snubbing Force: Is the max.
compressive force the injector can apply
to the C.T.
•Maximum Traction: Is the max. axial
force that the injector can apply to push
or pull the C.T.
•Maximum Speed : Is the max. rate at
which the injector is capable of deploying
tubing into the wellbore (R.I.H) or
extracting the tubing out the wellbore.
 2- Tubing Guide Arch
The tubing arch supports the tubing
through the 90 °bending radius and guides
the C.T. from the reel into the injector API
chains. Recommendations
Tubing Size Radius
(in.) (in.)
1-1/4 48 to 72
1-1/2 48 to 72
1-3/4 72 to 96
2 72 to 96
2-3/8 90 to 120
2-7/8 90 to 120
3-1/2 96 to 120
 3- Service Reel

•The services reel serves as the C.T. storage

mechanism during transport and as the
spooling device during C.T. operations.
•The rotation of the service reel is controlled
by a hydraulic motor.
•During R.I.H. slight back pressure is kept on
the reel to allow the injector to pull the tubing
off of the reel (reel back-tension).
•During POOH. This pressure is increased to
allow the reel rotation to keep up with the
extraction rate of the tubing injector.
 4- Prime Mover

• In general, the prime mover packages are equipped with diesel

engines and multi-stage hydraulic pumps which are typically rated
for pressures of 3,000 psig to 5,000 psig. And in addition, the
accumulator package for well control equipment.
5- Control Console
 6- Control & Monitoring

Equipment

Critical Job Parameters

A- Load Measurement.
B- Depth Measurement.
C- Speed Measurement.
D- C.T. Inlet Pressure.
E- Wellhead Pressure.
7- Down hole C.T. Tool Connections
There are three common types of connections:
• slip type : which requires the use of a slip
or grapple-type load ferrule placed on the
OD of the tube body.
•dimple type : which is secured onto the
C.T. body through the use of numerous
mechanical screws.
•Roll-on type: connection which
incorporates a machined insert mandrel
designed to fit inside the C.T. (the most
common type used)
8- Well Control Stack
•The well control stack is composed of
the stripper assembly and a minimum
of four hydraulically -operated rams.
The four ram components are equipped
(from top down) with,
• Blind Rams: are used to seal the wellbore
off at the surface when well control is lost.
• Shear Rams: are used to mechanically
break the C.T. In the event the pipe gets
stuck.
• Slip Rams : are used to support the weight
of the pipe below.
• Pipe Rams: are used to isolate the welbore
annulus pressure below.
 String Design and Service Life
C.T. Material

In the manufacturing of C.T., High Strength

low alloy (HSLA) steels are commonly used
to achieve the desired.

Weld ability-
corrosion resistance-
fatigue resistance-
mechanical properties
HSLA Carbon Steel (by weight percent)

Modified Modified ASTM

ASTM A607
A606 Type 4
Carbon 0.08 0.08
C 0.15 0.17
Manganese 0.60 0.60
Mn 0.90 0.90
Phosphorus 0.03 0.025
P Max max
Sulfur 0.005 0.005
S Max max
Silicon 0.30 0.30
Si 0.50 0.45
Chromium 0.45 0.40
Cr 0.70 0.60
Nickel 0.25 0.10
Ni Max Max
Copper 0.40 0.40
Cu Max Max
Molybdenum 0.21 0.08
Mo Max 0.15
Aluminum - 0.02
Cb-V 0.04
 Tapered C.T. Strings

• In general, it’s uniform O.D. and variable I.D. to

provide enhanced performance in services.

1) Used to increase the maximum operating depth of

a string.
Big wall thickness ------------ > small wall thickness

2) Used to enhanced stiffness, buckling resistance and

in service required the operation of down hole
tools.
small wall thickness ------------ > Big wall thickness

3) The change in the wall thickness should not exceed

0.008” for W.TH.Below 0.110”

0.022” for W.TH.Above 0.110”
 Analysis of Bend Cycle Fatigue for
C.T.

1) The working life of the C.T. can be

extended by increasing the bend radii of
the tubing guide arch and reel core for a
special tube diameter size.

2) The working life of any size of C.T. can

be increased by selecting a tube with a
thicker wall.

3) The working life of the C.T. can be

extended by increasing the material yield
strength of a tube.

4) In comparison, as the OD size of the C.T.

increases, the working life (B-C)
decreases.
 Bend Cycle Fatigue Departing
Methods.

1- The “RUNNING FEET” Method

The footage of the C.T. R.I.H. is recorded for each job.
And then added to the existing record of footage.
Values ranges from (250,000-750,000) ft.

2- The “TRIP” Method

The C.T. string divide into section, from (100-500) ft.
long, the number of strips over the tubing guide arch for
each section can then be tacked and recorded, included
the effects of internal pressure loading. With this type of
analysis its possible to identify the C.T. section, which
have experienced the most bend-cycle fatigue damage.
 Corrosion in C.T. Service

• Corrosion occurs to the C.T. as a result of

exposure to the atmosphere or through metal loss
from pumping corrosive fluids.

Corrosion Effects:
1) wall thinning and pits >> reduce C.T.
strength

2) reduced pressure integrity in collapse and

yield pressure.

3) poor seal capability at the stripper and control

components.

4) when running C.T. in a wellbore environment

with H2S in brine, it is recommended to add an
inhibitor to the circulating fluids.
 Forces Encountered During C.T.
Services

• there are many forces which affect the behavior of the tubing.
• Well pressure Fwp - Tubing drag FD
• Tube weight Fw - Stripper element FP
• Buoyancy - Chain drive force FC
C.T. Stability AND Physical
Behavior

• Compress ional forces in excess of the specific

critical load applied to an unsupported section of
C.T. will cause the pipe to buckle. (sinusoidal) as
thrust loads increase from the surface the pipe
will form a helix.
• Once the pipe is forced into a helix, the thrust
required moving the C.T. increases because the
increase of wall frictional drag until it overcome
the thrust loads (lock-up)
• once lock-up occurs , the C.T. will fail in shear
wherever the critical buckling angle had
developed.
• There are two types of buckling failure (major axis
buckling and local buckling) locate at:
1) between the top of the stripper and lowest fully-
supported chain gripper block.
2) within a large diameter borehole.
Well Control Procedure
•The principle of well control is to maintain
a safe working condition when
performing intervention services.
•Well control equipment components
1) one stripper or annular-type well control
component.
2) one blind ram well control component.
3) one shear ram well control component
4) one kill line outlet with isolation valve(s)
5) one slip ram well control component.
6) one pipe ram well control component.
• The kill line outlet on the well control stack should
not be used for taking fluid from the well bore.
 General Gas & Liquid Well Kill
Procedure

1) Bull head kill fluid from surface

A- mix and pump non-damaging viscous pill or bridging
agent.
B- follow the pill with kill fluid.

2) Circulation kill assisted with C.T.

A- place the end of the C.T. below the source of
pressure.
B- spot a bridging agent across the interval of the
pressure source.
C- circulate kill weight fluid to surface 1½ annular
volume.
D- S.I. the well for 30 min., break circulation while
POOH.
Coiled Tubing Applications

* Pumping Operations
Deliver Fluid(s) at required rate
and/or pressure at the target depth

* Mechanical Operations
Deliver tool(s) to the target depth(s)
Pull,push or activate a mechanism

* Permanent Installations
 Coiled Tubing Applications
(Continued)

Pumping Operations

Unloading wells with Nitrogen

Stimulating formations (Acidizing)
Removing Fill (Sand)
Removing(Dissolving) organic deposits
Isolating zones with cement
Cutting tubular with fluid
Removing scale hydraulically
 Coiled Tubing Applications
(Continued)

Mechanical Operations
Logging with CT
Perforating
Fishing
Setting bridge plug or packer
Running/Setting completions
Removing Scale(milling)
Cutting Tubular
Coiled Tubing Applications
(Continued)

Permanent Installations
CT Completions
Flow lines
COILED TUBING
APPLICATION
CTD Substructures and Jack Systems

•CT and pipe jack substructure - pipe jack mode