Coil Tubing failure , causes and remedies.

What is “Coiled Tubing”?

▶ Continuously Milled Tubing
▶ Rolled from Flat Strip – Resistance Welded Seam
▶ HSLA (High Strength Low Alloy)
▶ CRA • Chrome Alloys, Titanium
▶ Diameters: 0.75” – 4.5”
▶ Thicknesses: up to 0.25”
▶ Lengths > 30k ft
▶ 10K – 20k ft most common
Coil tubing unit:
Coiled tubing failure
Approximately 80 to 90% of CT failure are associated with:

➢ corrosion

➢ Mechanical damage

➢ Manufacturing problem and

➢ Human error and

➢ Also new cause microbiologically influenced corrosion(MIC)

➢ Mechanical damage associated with pipe slippages.

Main Failures Causes:
 Corrosion:
▶ corrosion failures count for about 30% of the CT failures analyzed. It was
indicated that CT corrosion failures can be subdivided by the source of the
corrosion damage into storage-corrosion and corrosion- operations.

▶ Storage-corrosion is caused by the accumulation of corrosive fluids inside or

outside the string. The failure normally occurs by propagation of fatigue cracks
from the corrosion damage.

▶ Corrosion-operations classification includes the CT failures associated with

the exposure of the pipe to the fluids pumped through the string and/or the
well environments.
Corrosion Remedies:
▶ Appropriate acid mix design (fluids and inhibitors) that considers the CT
Grade, acid system, and exposure time and temperature.

▶ Neutralizing after acid jobs using sodium carbonate. It is worthy to point out
that the Service Company banned the use of sodium hydroxide as
neutralizing chemical because of the risk of Caustic-Stress Corrosion
Cracking (Caustic - SCC).

▶ Displacement of remaining fluids with fresh water + inhibitor

▶ N2 purging.
Example of storage-corrosion. (a) Internal. (b) External
Example of a corrosion-operations by exposure to
acid. (a) Internal corrosion. (b) External corrosion.
 The working conditions at which coiled
tubing strings are subjected can cause
external mechanical damage. This type
of external damage can be very diverse
and can be caused by the action of the
Mechanical surface equipment (reel, gooseneck,
Damage injector) or while running in and out of
the well. This mechanical damage
causes a stress/strain concentration point
from which fatigue cracks can start and
propagate causing a premature failure.
Types of Mechanical Damage:

▶ Longitudinal plowing marks (LPM)(cause of this type of damage is pipe

slippage through the injector blocks).

▶ Transverse notch

▶ External dents

▶ Circumferential crushing ("pipe crushing")

▶ Remedies:
▶ use “Smooth” gripper blocks can cause a reduction of
the friction force with the potential causing of pipe
slippage.
▶ Remove the debris material from grooved gripper block
because it losing the griping on CT string.
▶ The hydraulic drive pressure can cause a difference
torque on chain block to slip and causing the pipe
slippage.
Human error:

▶ Human error caused an overload failure or buckling of

the pipe.

▶ recommended chain tension and traction

pressures charts.
Microbiological Influenced Corrosion (MIC)

▶ MIC failures associated with the use/accumulation of

water contaminated with bacteria had occurred. Mainly
in the form of very severe, localized, and aggressive
pitting corrosion.
Following figures showing severity of the pitting
caused by MIC. (a) Internal. (b) External
▶ Remedies:
▶ Treatment of surface equipment: cleaning tanks to remove bacteria and apply
quaternary biocide (instead of chlorine dioxide).
▶ Treatment of circulating fluids: treating frac tanks with quaternary biocide,
and adding additional volumes of biocide during operations.
▶ Treatment of stagnant fluids between wells: flushing CT with fresh water +
quaternary biocide + inhibitors (H2S anti-cracking inhibitor and general
corrosion inhibitor) followed by full nitrogen purge.
 Eliminate sources of defects

handling, injector debris…

Monitor/Inspect

Remedies: Environmentally Induced Cracking

Storage corrosion

Repair shallow defect using grind repair

techniques