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INTRODUCTION
Coiled tubing (CT) has become a widely accepted and routinely prescribed tool for well service and work-over operations
in many areas of the world. What was originally developed in the early 1960s as a means of entering live wells for the purpose
of removing sand bridges has evolved into a multi-faceted technology. The traditional CT well intervention, or workover
applications, still account for over three-quarters of CT work, however, the use of CT technology for completion and drilling
applications is rapidly becoming technically feasible and economically viable.
This extension of CT technology from well-intervention to drilling and completion applications has been achieved within a
relatively short time, largely due to the close cooperation of oil companies, CT service companies, and equipment
manufacturers in developing innovative tools and techniques, and in improving the performance and reliability of the CT
equipment.
Since 1981, ARCO has been directly involved with the development of several innovative CT applications intended to
resolve specific wellbore, reservoir or production related issues. This involvement has helped to expand the knowledge and
capabilities of existing CT well-intervention techniques, and helped push the frontiers of new CT applications, such as CT
completions and CT drilling. In each case, the resulting benefits reinforce an ARCO belief that CT technology can, when
intelligently applied with a clear purpose, play a major part in the future progress of our oil and gas production industry.
The intent of this manual is to provide the reader with an overview of CT service development and a basic understanding
of a technology that is continuing to expand and evolve into a critical part of the oilfield. Within this introduction section
reference has been made to key elements, companies, and circumstances that have played a key role in the development
of CT equipment and services. In this, every effort has been made to provide information that is current and accurate.
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Commencing spooling
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Early tubing manufacture used techniques developed during the PLUTO project and involved butt-welding 50 ft.
sections of milled tubing into a continuous length for
spooling onto a reel. This meant that there was a butt weld
every 50 ft throughout the tubing string.
By the late 1960s, techniques had been developed to allow
tubing strings to be milled in much longer lengths. This
decrease in the number of welds throughout the string was
accompanied by an improvement of the steel properties.
The resulting improvement in string reliability significantly
benefited CT services (Figure 3).
In 1969, the quality of the tubing was further improved when
Southwestern Pipe Inc. began manufacturing CT using
improved material and techniques. Another company,
Quality Tubing Inc., started manufacturing tubing in 1976
using a process similar to Southwestern Pipe. At that time
Quality manufactured exclusively for a single CT service
company. However, by 1982, Quality Tubing provided CT
1941
1965
1983
1985
1986
1987
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CT string and
reel
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Control cabin
and power pack
Injector head
Layer1
H igh
Tem
per
Ca
ool
tu
rate
n
HighExhaus
t
Temperatur e
LowOi l
Pressure
Lo
ssof
Coo
l an
t
i ur
le
Pr O
es
s
Cper
oola
attnure
Tm
e
Per m
istrsive
sta
Eng
i ne
Tcho
a
me
t er
St rat
Engi
relge
Kilne Em Ki
lncy
Ai
r e
Pr s
esur
Strippper
Quad BOP
Fluid handling
and pumping
equipment
Nitrogen handling
and pumping
equipment
Electric power to
the toolstring
Tool string
Electronic data
from the
toolstring
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CT Drilling
Although a more detailed history of coiled tubing drilling is
given in the Coiled Tubing Drilling Manual, reference should
be made to influence given to the general evolution and
development of CT technology.
The initial concept of using a continuous drill string dates
from the late 1940s. However, it was not until 1964 that the
concepts were actually employed. In similar, but independent efforts, the French Petroleum Institute and the Cullen
Research Institute developed working prototypes of continuous drilling systems. In 1976, the Canadian company
FlexTube Services Ltd., developed and commercial operated a continuous drilling system for several years.
The modern CT drilling era began in 1991 and has rapidly
progressed providing the major driving force behind the
development of the 2-in. and 2 3/8-in. CT sizes.
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Determine
treatment
objectives
Select treatment
(i) Fluids
(ii) Tools
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Perform treatment
Evaluate treatment
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CT Equipment
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1943
First downhole CT
1.315 in. x 50 ft butt
-welded to length
1962
1964
1 in. CT
3-1/2 in. CT
pre-installed
gas lift strings
1993
1995
2 in. CT
1990
1992
Hydraulic conduit
installed
(control string)
1-3/4 in. CT
1989
1990
2-3/8 in.
& 2-7/8 in. CT
CT string
manufactured
in 3000 ft lengths
1986
1988
Continuous string
using bias weld
1-1/4 in. CT
1980
1983
1-1/2 in. CT
Canadian string
using 2.3/8 in.
X-42 pipe
1977
1978
70 ksi yield
material
First continuous
CT (1/2 in. & 3/4 in.
x 2000 ft lengths)
1970
1976
Canadian string
using 2-3/8 in.
aluminium tubing
Operation PLUTO
3.35 in. x 20 ft butt
welded into 4000 ft lengths
CT sizes
manufactured
in 80 ksi yield
1995
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CT Applications
Safety and Contingency Planning
Appendices
Many technical papers, magazine articles and similar
reference sources have been used in the preparation of this
manual. The publication of case histories and actual
experiences are acknowledged as providing valuable contribution to the general furtherance and acceptance of CT
technology.
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1 CT STRING
Most coiled tubing strings are constructed from highstrength low alloy steels which are formed into high specification tubing with the desired chemical, physical and
geometrical properties. Under development are composite-material, special alloy, and fiberglass tubing. Improving
the reliability of CT strings was generally regarded as the
prerequisite necessary for the acceptance of CT services
as a viable well servicing option. Manufacturing processes
and quality control/assurance systems can now deliver a
consistent product with a predicable performance and the
manufacturing process is adaptable to the extent that CT
work strings are commonly designed to the individual
requirements of the customer (typically the CT service
vendor).
Coiled tubing, or pipeline was first developed during World
War II as a means of supplying fuel to the invasion forces
following the Normandy landings. The PLUTO (Pipe Line
Under The Ocean) project investigated the feasibility of
coiling 3-in. pipeline onto to massive floating spools were
designed to lay the pipeline as they were towed across the
English Channel. In excess of 20 pipelines were subsequently laid providing the allied forces with fuel to sustain
the liberation of occupied Europe (Figure 3).
While the chemistry, physical properties and construction
of modern coiled tubing is significantly different form that
fabricated for the PLUTO project, many of the issues and
concerns identified then are equally valid now. For example
the inherent weakness associated with butt welding tubes
and the resulting influence on fatigue were identified during
this early work.
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1944
Early live
cable injection
1948-51
1961
Contra rotating
chain drive system
Side door
stripper
introduced
1991
1990-93
Live well
deployment
systems
Development
of wheel
injector head
1988
1990
5000 &
10000 psi Quad
BOPs
Hydra-Rig,
Otis & Uniflex
CTU Introduced
1978
1985
Combi BOP
Introduced
1967-78
1975-76
Bowen system
used on
submarine
1962
1964
Bowen 5M
& 8M CTU
Operation
PLUTO
1993
1994
Automatic stab
BHA deployment
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1944
Wellbore fill
removal and fishing
inside tubing
CT completion
velocity string
1990
1991
CT completion
gas lift string
First commercial
CT drilling
1500 ft gas wells
1985
1988
Real-time
bottomhole
monitoring
Test drilling
with CT
1968
1976
CT logging
Operation
PLUTO
1962
1964
Acidizing
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Resumption of
commercial
CTD
1992
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Equipment
Personnel
Environment
Well Security
Figure 9. CT operation safety and contingency planning factors.
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3 CT APPLICATIONS
An important aspect of CT operations that is often overlooked is that CT simply provides a means of conveyance
for fluids, tools or equipment required to complete the
desired treatment. Only by successfully combining such
fluids and tools with well executed CT services can CT
applications be successfully completed. Consequently,
most CT applications are undertaken through the collaborative effort of two or more service company "disciplines",
departments or organizations. In such circumstances,
good communication skills and team working are prerequisites for a successful job. One obvious, but often overlooked means of encouraging better team working is to
ensure the goals, i.e., the operation objectives, have been
clearly defined. This enables personnel and organizations
to focus on a common objective rather than their individual
contribution.
The unique features offered by CT conveyance, e.g., safe
live well operations, continuous circulation and electrical
connection with the BHA, provide benefits that cannot be
achieved by any other well intervention method (e.g., work
over rig, snubbing, wireline). In the development of CT
applications, these features have been applied in two main
ways. Earlier efforts focused on adapting existing technology to use with CT, e.g., using CT to push logging tools
through deviated wellbores. However, more recent technique developments combine two or more CT features and
incorporated them into application systems specifically
designed for CT conveyance, e.g., underbalanced drilling
with wireline telemetry and control system or stimulation
treatments performed with a real-time bottom hole pressure
and temperature sensor system.
The profile and configuration of oil and gas wellbores have
changed significantly over the relatively short history of CT
services. For example, highly deviated and horizontal
wellbores are now common, completions are now specially
configured with the intention of using CT for subsequent
intervention and many completion or intervention activities
require highly accurate depth correlation. Therefore, it is
understandable that routine CT applications have changed
accordingly. Such changes are evident not only in the
equipment, tools and hardware but significant developments are also noticeable in the design methodology
applied in the preparation and execution of modern CT
operations.
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