ADVANCED DRILLING

ENGINEERING
SKPP 4413 / SKM 4413

FISHING OPERATION
PROF. DR. ARIFFIN SAMSURI
 Topic Outcomes

Students should be able to:

• Explain the causes of fishing jobs &
taking steps to prevent it
• Analyze various kinds of fishing tools &
the techniques used to retrieved the fish
• Calculate fishing costing & the do
economic analysis.

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 FISHING
 Fish:
 Any objects not suppose to be in hole or any object accidentally left in drilled
hole during drilling or workover operations, which must be removed before
work can proceed
 Fishing:
 Operations/process concerned with retrieving of fish or equipments from
hole.
 Most common fishing job:
 To recover a portion of ds left in hole due to its failing or stuck

 Disadvantages of fishing:
 Extremely costly
 Time consuming
 Lost rig time
 Lost hole

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 FISHING – Cause & Prevention
1. Problem related to drilling fluid
1. Stuck pipe
2. Differential pressure sticking
3. Inadequate hole cleaning
4. Lost returns
5. Hole sloughing
 Prevention: drilling fluid properties monitoring & controlling to minimizing
hole problems
2. Mechanical failure
Bit or some other ds component fails due to:
• Bad manufacturing
• Too long running a tool w/o changing them
• Drilling with old dp
Ex: - Twisting off dp
- Running cones off bit
- Fatigue failure in crossover
 Prevention: properly maintain bit or ds components
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 FISHING – Cause & Prevention
3. Drill string failure & hole problem
1. Improper care & maintenance of drilling assembly
2. Crooked hole problems
3. Poor drilling practices
4. Inadequate drill string design
5. Weight indicator or torque gauge not calibrated
 Prevention: immediately analyzed & practices changed to avoid re-occurrence
1. Twist-off & washout
2. Key seat
3. Undergage hole
4. Junk in hole
4. Drill crew negligence
Example: dropping hand tools down hole when ds on surface
 Prevention: Always have hole cover on when not running ds

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 FISHING TECHNIQUE
Best fishing technique:
Elimination of cause & problems through:
• Periodic equipment inspection
• Internal
corrosion survey
• Magnetic flux testing

• Drilling crews alertness

• Crooked joints detection

• Tool joint threads cleaning & lubricating

• Good housekeeping

• Safety precautions

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 FISHING TOOLS
• Specially designed tool which attached to drill string in order to recover fish.
• Selection based on:
• Fish size

• Fish shape

• Problems severity

• Experience

• Tools:
1. Overshot
• Cylindrical bowl shaped tools which telescope over fish
• Internal slip arrangement grasps outside of fish
 grip tightening as pull increased
2. Spears
• Device pass inside fish
• Expanding slip grasps fish inner wall
• Slips can be set or released by rotating ds
• Used when hole clearance will not tolerate overshot
• Better than tapered tap, i.e releasing mechanism

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 FISHING TOOLS
3. Tapered taps
• Oldest fishing tool
• Run into fish & rotated until sufficient threads are cut for firm hold
4. Washover pipe
• Pipe section with sufficient inside diameter to telescope outside fish
• Used when annular cleaning around fish required
5. Inside & outside cutters
• Pipe cutter
• Can be actuated by surface manipulation of dp
• Inside cutter : cut fish from inside
• Outside cutter : cut fish from outside
• Used when considerable length ds must be retrieved in sections
• Common sequence: washing over  cutting  retrieving
• Cutting by set of knives rotated by ds
6. Junk basket
• Used for small fish (bit teeth, bit cones, etc)
• Permanent magnet runs on ds

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 FISHING TOOLS – accessory equipment
• Jarring device
• Provide hammer type impact
• Commonly run in conjunction with overshot,
spear, etc.
• Utilize compressed fluid energy which drive free
moving piston or hammer against top of jar
• Compression by proper dp surface movement
• Type: nitrogen, mechanical & torque
• Safety joint

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 Guide to tool selection
Objective/target Tools
To recover small junk •Junk basket
•Fishing magnet
•Reverse circulation junk basket
To recover wireline •Wireline spear
To catch fish externally •Overshot
•Short catch overshot
•Washpipe
To catch fish internally •Taper tap
•Pin tap
•Spear
•Packet-picker
Other components/tools used in fishing •Bumper jar
strings •Fishing jar
•Accelerator
•Surface bumper jar
•Knuckle joint
•Safety joint

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 Junk Basket Dressed with Mill Shoe

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 Hydraulic Actuated Internal Cutter

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 Outside Cutting Tool

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 Electric Line Pipe Cutting Tools

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 FISHING JOB ANALYSIS
• Complete & accurate information is critical to minimizing fishing operation cost
• Some questions need to address:

1. What circumstance led to fishing job?

a) What was going on when this occurrence happened?
b) Is the pipe differentially stuck?
i. Stuck with hole cuttings
ii. Stuck from cave in
iii. Stuck with object jammed against ds
iv. Stuck in tapered hole, etc.
c) What was the driller, wireline operator doing when the failure occurred?
i. Rotating
ii. Coming out the hole
d) What do the drilling charts show?
e) Was the mud weight being increased or decreased?
f) Were the mud properties being changed?

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 •FISHING JOB ANALYSIS – cont.
g. What are the hole characteristics?
i. Sands
ii. Washouts
iii. Doglegs, etc
h. Have similar failures occurred or almost
happened prior to this failure?
i. Has pipe been trying to stick?
2. Do you really have a fishing job?
a. If an object is reported to have fallen in the hole
• Make sure it is not in the cellar lodged in the BOPs
b. If the object is small (bit cone, hammer, etc.)
• An it be pushed in the side of the hole with a bit?
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 •FISHING JOB ANALYSIS – cont.
3. What does the fish look like and where is it?
a. Write a description of the fish
b. Record length, ID, OD, and all pertinent data for ordering
fishing tools
4. Where is the stuck point?
5. Is there a potential well control problem?
6. What materials are on location that will help in freeing stuck
pipe or initiating fishing operation?
7. Are there obligatory reasons for fishing?
a. The need to recover a radioactive tool
b. Isolation of productive formation or zone
8. Are there any other special reasons for not fishing other than
fishing economics?

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 •STUCK PIPE

• Mostcommon cause of fishing job

• Causes:
1. Foreign objects or junk in hole
2. Key seating
3. Sloughing formation (shale, etc.)
4. Bit balling
5. Drill collar balling
6. Pressure differential sticking
7. Cutting settling above bit or dc

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 •FREE POINT DETERMINATION PROCEDURE
• Canbe determine by using electromagnetic
device
• Two electromagnet connected with telescope joint
• Run into hole on electric cable

• Turned on electric current  magnets attach to

inside pipe wall
• Exert pull @ surface  pipe above stuck point 
stretch
• Distance between two magnet = elongation

• Elongation measured by sensitive electronic strain

gauge & transmitted to surface
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 Free Point Indicators & String Shot

DP Recovery Log
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 •Free Point Calculation Procedure
1. Applied upward force (F1) to ds
• F1 > total ds weight – to ensure entire string in tension
2. Marked reference point on pipe at surface (rotary table top)
3. Applied larger upward force (F2)
• F2 < pipe yield strength (elastic limit)
• Ds free portion stretched by amount of reference point movement (e)

IF L = stuck ds depth = free point depth, ft

P = F2 – F1, lb
e = marked or reference point movement, inch
w = pipe nominal weight, lb/ft
0.283 = steel density, lb/cu. in.

And, if neglecting hole-pipe friction, therefore;

L = (735,000)(e)(w)/P

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 •DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE STICKING
• Due to:
• Ds imbedding into filter cake
• Hydrostatic mud column pressure > formation pressure
• Required force to full depends on:
1. Contact area between pipe & filter cake
• Contact length
• Filter cake thickness
• Filter cake toughness (sticking coefficient – stickometer)
• Sticking coefficient = coefficient of friction between pipe-mud cake
• Additive used to produce thin, tough filter cake: bentonite
• Additive used to reduce friction: graphite, asphalt
2. Contact time between pipe & hole wall
3. Differential pressure magnitude

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 •DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE STICKING – cont.
3. Differential pressure magnitude
• Depend on:
• Mud density
• Formation pressure
• Can be minimized by:
• Minimum mud weight
• Pipe movement
• Stabilizer
• Providing thin, tough filter cake
• Mud additives to reduce sticking coefficient
• Recognizing sticking conditions by measuring torque, drag & sticking
coefficient
• Time is critical  immediate action must be taken:
• Oil spotting
• DST tool to reduce hydrostatic pressure

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 Pipe Contact with Mud Cake

Normal Force Differential Stuck Pipe

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S
 •INADEQUATE HOLE CLEANING
• Indicator
1. Excessive fill on trips
2. High torque & variation in RPM
3. Tight hole on connections @ trips
4. Pipe pulling loads decrease when pump placed on hole
5. High pump pressure required to break circulation
6. Small amount of cutting over shaker
• Important factors:
1. Annular velocity
2. Mud density
3. Mud viscosity
• Hole cleaning problems can be reduced by:
1. Increased yield point & mud viscosity
2. Increased circulation rate to provide higher annular velocity
3. Increased mud weight
4. Decreased ROP
• If pipe stuck @ inadequate hole cleaning:
1. Try to rotate & circulate
2. If can  viscous slugs (80-100 YP) may be provide necessary lifting capacity
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 Inadequate Hole Cleaning

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 •TWIST OFF & WASHOUT

• As results of:
• Prolonged cyclic bending of ds
• Fatigue crack occurs

• Continue to propagate  pipe fails

• Washout due to:

• Cracks  fluid leakage  washout
• Prevention & minimized by:
1. Scheduled inspection
2. Thread dopes
3. Dogleg severity check
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4. Frequently changing dp joint above dc
 •KEY SEAT
• Time dependent
• Due to:
• DS or wireline wear slot in hole wall (hard  soft)

• Bottom hole assembly (directional drilling) not provide adequate wiping during trips
to wear away key seat
• Indicators:
1. Pipe load abrupt increase on trip out hole & no indication of tight hole on trip in
2. Hook load increase
3. Increasing drag on trip out
4. Hole will circulate freely when stuck in key seat
• Prevention:
1. Use string reamer placed above dc
2. Use key set wiper
• Pipe stuck in key seat may be freed by:
1. Move string down
2. Slowly rotate collar & stabilizer @ key seat with minimum tension
3. Back off & jarring down
4. Using string reamer or key seat wiper
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 Key Seat

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 •UNDERGAGE HOLE
• Due to:
1. Bit or near bit stabilizer wears excessively
• Depend on:
• Material
• Formation abrasiveness
• Time
• Indicator:
• Torque increase
• Accurate OD gauging after each trip
2. Bottom hole assembly lacks stabilization
3. Clay swelling  cause of undergage hole
4. Filter cake thick
• Indicators:
1. Erratic torque increases while drilling
2. During inspection  bit & stabilizer wear
3. Stiffer BHA is used
4. Excessive filter cake in return over shaker
5. Weight indicator changes in shale & sand intervals during trip
31 6. Pump pressure increase after trip
 •UNDERGAGE HOLE – cont.
• Can be minimized by:
1. Several reaming trip
2. Mud monitoring & controlling  treatment ?
• Precaution if clay swelling & thick filter cake:
1. Pull or lower string slowly through suspected section during trip
2. Pull or lower string slowly through long permeable section
3. Make wiper trip as required
4. Ream through section frequently
5. Measure & plot torque & drag  monitored
• Pipe stuck in undergage hole can be freed by:
1. Working pipe in opposite direction of travel when it stuck
2. Using jar
3. Spotting oil
4. Backing off, re-engaging with jar & jarring
5. Washing over

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 •JUNK IN HOLE & FISHING OPERATION CONSIDERATION
• Prevention of junk in hole:
1. Continually analyze pump pressure, torque, hook load & ROP
2. Keep hole covered:
1. During trip : use pipe wiper
2. During out of hole: use rotary cover plate or blin dram
• Fishing Operation Consideration:
• After analysis  tool & technique ?

1. Spotting oil fluid

2. Accurate free point determination
3. Backing off
4. Cutting or perforating
5. Re-latching into parted fish
6. Milling or washing over

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 •FISHING – operational example
• Drillers twist-off 5” dp while drilling ahead. So
what?
1. POH
2. Make up overshot on dp
3. RIH
4. Get fish first time
5. Pull free
6. POH
7. Make up drilling BHA
8. RIH to condition hole/resume drilling
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 •FISHING or SIDE TRACK ?
• Factors should be considered:
1. Economic
2. Policy
3. Regulation: safety & environmental issues
4. Drilling program objectives  reserve?
• Economic analysis required to justify:
1. Is fishing necessary ?
2. Is fishing practical ?

3. Should fishing be attempted or hole sidetracked

immediately ?
4. Is continued fishing economical ?

35  Decision: minimum cost

 •SIDETRACK
• Involve bypassing fish to drill deeper.
• Sidetrack sequence for open hole:
1. RIH with open-ended dp
2. Set sidetrack cement plug above/across fish
3. POH
4. RIH with drill bit, tag plug and dress off to desired depth
5. POH
6. RIH with turbine/bent sub/etc using directional drilling techniques,
kick well off above fish
7. POH
8. RIH straight drilling assembly & drill past fish
• Sidetrack sequence for cased hole:
1. Same as open hole
2. Run section mill
3. Mill window in casing  open hole in casing from which to sidetrack

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 •ECONOMIC ANALYSIS - SIDETRACK
• Should consider:
1. Cement plug cost (Cc)
2. Kick off cost (Ck)
3. Re-drill cost @ from original cost for interval (Dr)
• Kick off cost:
Ck = Tk (Cr + Cd)
Ck = kick off cost, $
Cr = rig operating cost, $/day
Tk = kick off time, day
Cd = drilling equipment cost, $/day
• Re-drill cost:
Dr = H*Cr / DR
Dr = re-drilling cost, $
H = interval = total depth – top fish depth + safety factor, ft
DR = drilling rate, ft/day
• Sidetrack re-drill cost = Ck + Dr + Cc

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 •ECONOMIC ANALYSIS - FISHING
• Fishing cost estimation include:
1. Fishing time cost
2. Material/fish recovered value
3. Fishing tool cost
4. Operator cost
5. Rig operating cost
• Fishing time (t) determination:
t = h / (Fr*Ff), day
h = fish interval = total depth – top @ fish depth, ft
Fr = fishing rate, ft/day
Ff = fishing success factor, %
• Fishing cost (Cf) calculation:
Cf = t(Cr + Fe), $
Fe = fishing equipment cost, $/day
• Recovered fish value (Fc) determination:
Fc = h*M, $
M = fish value, $/ft
• Fishing estimated cost : F = Cf – Fc, $
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 •MILLING
• Milling operation involve:
• Grinding-away or obliteration or junk/fish in bore
hole
• Low weight (on mill) & high rotary (RPM)

• Casing repair

• Some useful tools:

• Casing scraper
• Casing roller

• Pipe cutter

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 MILLS

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 •REPAIRING TOOLS – CASING SCRAPER
• Application:
• Used for cleaning casing before setting packers

• Used to remove undesirable irregularities (paraffin, hardened mud,

cement or burrs) from :
• tool runs or perforations, etc
• inner surface of pipe

• Consists of:
• Body with blade slot
• Blade – thick wall cylinder
• Rubber blade – lateral spring support for blade
• Washpipe
• Top sub & bottom sub – one with pin connection & other with box connection
• Operation
• Assembled in running string (bit, bull nose or extension below it)
• While circulating & running down hole, tool can be rotated & spudded
• Encounter abrupt changes: shearing or yielding
• Direct or reverse circulation

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 •TUBING & CASING ROLLER
• Application:
• Used to restore dented, buckled or collapsed tubing or casing

• Consists of:
• Mandrel

• Rollers

• Nose cone

• Ball bearing

• Operational
• Made up to ds end

• Slowly lowered through casing until reached damaged portion

• Raise ds a few feet, start circulating & rotate up to 200 RPM

• Let down very slowly until passed damaged area

• Maintained circulation for cooling & lubricating

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 •INTERNAL PIPE CUTTING TOOLS
• Application:
• Hydraulically actuated tool used to mill section or window in casing or tubing

• As pipe cutter

• Consists of:
• Top sub

• Body

• Piston with cam

• Piston spring

• Flow indicating device

• Cutter knives

• Arm stop stabilizer

• Operational:
• Made up dc string

• RIH to depth & start rotation at 60-80 RPM & kick in pump

• Build pressure slowly  flow rate 80 – 125 gpm & maintain

• Rotating & clean the cut for 5-10 minutes

• Applying weight & increase RPM to 100-125

• ROH
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 Thank You

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