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Onshore Well Sites & Offshore Platforms

Wireline and Slickline interventions play an integral part in various phases of a well’s life, with
activity taking place on a rig during drilling, testing and completion, on well pads onshore and
jackets, platforms or intervention vessels offshore during the production phase and on a rig
during abandonment operations.

Onshore Wells
Onshore wells can be single well locations where wells are drilled vertically to the target
reservoir, or on multi-well pads. Pads offer a considerable cost saving for the oil companies and
by using directional drilling techniques all areas of the target well reservoir can be accessed.

Single well location, Christmas tree above ground, Well pad with multiple wells, Christmas trees above
well head with casing head flanges ground, wellheads in the cellars

Rigless Operations Onshore

Onshore well interventions the unit and associated equipment are truck mounted and driven to
the well site. Some land units have an integral mast or crane like the NOV Elmar TruckLine
otherwise a 3rd party crane is used to rig up and support the Pressure Control Equipment on the
Christmas tree. Typically the unit would be rig-safe with the winch being run from the truck
engine via a PTO, but some units like the LandLine D equipped with a powerpack can be
certified for Zone 2 areas. All associated equipment such as the PCE control panel, transport
racks for the PCE, down-hole tools are transported and stored on the truck. In some cases

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when pressure test or circulating pumps and additional fluid tanks are required an additional
specialised truck would be used.

Slickline UniTruck (NOV

Elmar) operating in Bolivia
with a 3rd party crane used for
PCE operations

Note, the truck side storage

panels for DH tools and
accessories, lubricator
storage under deck, WLV
storage in the winch drum
bay

Vehicles and Transport

Land operations have a heavy focus on logistics and driving security. All equipment taken to the
well site is transported by truck and may require more than one vehicle in the case of an
operation involving a 3rd party crane, addition equipment such as a pump and fluid tanks,
additional control panels and surface accessories and a support vehicle. For operations on
remote locations where journey times may exceed the recommendations careful planning and
sufficient personnel resources must be assigned to the pre-job mobilisation plan. The
requirements for company vehicles, which are typical for many service companies today, used
for journeys undertaken for company business: -

 Risk assessment conducted which addresses the specifics risk in the local area
 Emergency response plan
 In Vehicle Monitoring System (IVMS)
 Communications
 Adherence to applicable local laws
 Journey times

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 Inspected and maintained vehicles meeting company standards

 Journey Management procedure
 Hazardous goods must be identified and transported according to local laws

Well Sites
The condition of land well sites will vary considerable across the Company’s global operation,
for instance in Europe well sites will be fenced with security and access requirements, while
during operations there will be a Company representative present at all times and the operation
will be conducted according to a defined program. This not always the case in all areas, desert
locations can be particularly difficult to work in, not only because of climatic conditions and the
long distances to the location, but also finding the physical well, in areas of sand dunes it is not
unknown for a Christmas tree to be completely covered by sand and a bulldozer required to
clear access for the Slickline crew.

Land operation in the Libyan desert

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Offshore Platforms

Depending on sea depth there are a wide variety of offshore structures / platforms supporting
offshore oil and gas production.

Offshore wells, either on a fixed or floating platform will require the use of Slickline and Wireline
services to perform a wide variety of downhole services during production or during rig
completion and workover activity.

Unmanned Platforms
Unmanned offshore production platforms are known as Normally Unmanned Installations (NUI)
and are used to produced hydrocarbons from offshore wells in shallow waters, considered to be
less than 1000ft.

They are a relatively easy and cheap option to produce a field in shallow waters as compared to
the cost of using subsea wells or installing a fully manned well head and production facility.
NUI’s as their name implies are normally unmanned, meaning there is no constant presence of
personnel, while flow systems and other production processes are controlled remotely from a
central field platform.

An NUI can be quite small, in some cases consisting of well head and Christmas tree decks
with a helideck on top. Single well facilities or multiple wells and are found in all areas of the
oilfield, from the north sea, to the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Thailand, Australia, Gulf of Mexico, West
Africa etc.

As the pictures below show NUI platforms can be also be equipped with a wide range of
production equipment including separators, chemical processing, pumps, generators, cranes
and other facilities

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SS 263 Field, Munro Platform, Cliff Head Alpha Platform

Gulf of Mexico Southern North Sea Offshore Austalia

Platform Interventions
Slickline is used extensively on producing wells to service the completion, open new zones,
change out safety valves amongst other services. Equipment is modular in design and shipped
to the location in a variety of skids which are laid out and assembled on site. Part of the
equipment spread may include a mast or gin pole unit to lift and support the Pressure Control
Equipment mounted on the wellhead. The Slickline equipment will be rated to Zone 2 at a
minimum for work within close proximity to the wellheads, production facilities and in confined
spaces when working on the production deck.

Platform Access
Safe access to unmanned platforms is critical, the following are the current access methods:
 Helicopter
 Fast Rescue Boat (FRB)
 Walk-to-work (W2W) bridge from a support vessel, based on a hydraulically controlled
bridge
 Boat access using a compensating step-up platform / Z-step system
 Offshore Service Rig (OSR)

Traditionally helicopters have been preferred in the North Sea but boats have also been widely
used. Partly initiated by the offshore wind industry, alternative access methods have been
developed, for example the walk-to-work (W2W) bridge

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Classification of Unmanned Well Head Platforms - with reference to a Norwegian Petroleum

Directorate report, Unmanned Wellhead Platforms.
The report studied unmanned wellhead platforms worldwide and based on the characteristics of
the platforms they are grouped into 5 types, based on the complexity, operational features, well
intervention, methods of access, manning frequency, man-hours on board and operational
experience.

Type 0 - Complex platform with helideck, fire water system and various process systems,
crane, automated for remote operation for typically 1-5 weeks
 The platform is designed for frequent manning and if necessary the crew may stay
overnight for periods of time.
 The platform is designed for both coiled tubing and wireline operations
 The platform has a crane sized for coiled tubing equipment, 50-60 tonnes
 There are separate wellhead control systems, Emergency Shutdown systems, Fire & Gas
Systems, as well as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems (SCADA systems)
 Remote shutdown systems
 Primary evacuation method by helicopter
 Secondary evacuation method by Totally Enclosed Motor Propelled Survival Craft
(TEMPSC)
 Tertiary evacuation method by life rafts

Type 1 - Simple platform with helideck, typically 2-12 wells, crane, no fire water, test separator
or multiphase metering, designed to operate unmanned for periods of 2 – 3 weeks at a time
 The platform is designed for manning by helicopter during daytime but the platform is also
equipped with an emergency shelter to be used in case sudden bad weather makes a
return to the main platform impossible
 The platform may be designed for both coiled tubing and wireline operations or only for
wireline operations
 The platform has a crane sized for well intervention equipment, 10-50 tonnes
 There are separate wellhead control systems, whereas Emergency Shutdown systems,
Fire & Gas systems as well as SCADA systems are integrated into one common logic
solver or computer

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 Remote shutdown systems

 Primary evacuation method by helicopter
 Secondary evacuation method by Totally Enclosed Motor Propelled Survival Craft
(TEMPSC)
 Tertiary evacuation method by life rafts

Type 2 - Simple platform without helideck, typically, 2-10 wells, or can be up to 30, crane, no
fire water, no process facilities, designed to operate unmanned for periods of 3 – 5 weeks
 The platform is designed for manning by a Fast Rescue Boat (FRB) launched from a
standby
vessel during daytime and in calm weather. The standby vessel will stay at the platform,
when
manned, and will also act as a crew facility.
 The platform may be designed for light wireline operations
 The platform has a small crane, 1-2 tonnes
 Wellhead control, Emergency Shutdown systems, Fire & Gas systems as well as SCADA
systems are integrated into one common logic solver or computer
 Remote shutdown systems
 Primary evacuation method by FRB
 Secondary evacuation method by life rafts

Type 3 - Minimalistic platform, typically 2-12 wells, no crane, no fire water, no process facilities,
designed to operate unmanned for periods of 6 months to 2 years
 The primary method of access is by walk to work bridges from a standby vessel. During
the entire operation or manning period the vessel will be connected to the installation also
acting as a crew facility, access by FRB will only in exceptional cases
 All well intervention operations require the presence of a suitable standby vessel or
Offshore Support Rig (OSR)
 No platform crane, all lifting based on a cargo transfer system from the standby vessel or
the OSR
 Wellhead control, Emergency Shutdown systems, Fire & Gas systems as well as SCADA
systems are integrated into one common logic solver or computer

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 Remote shutdown systems

 Primary evacuation takes by W2W bridge
 Secondary evacuation by FRB or standby vessel
 Tertiary evacuation by life raft

Type 4 - Super minimalistic platform, typically only one well (max. two) on one small deck, well
connected directly to pipeline, may have lift gas
 The platform is very small, escape is by FRB, which brought the crew on board. There are
no other lifesaving appliances on board

Manned Platforms

Fixed Platforms – manufactured with concrete or steel legs, or both and anchored directly onto
the seabed with decks and space for drilling rigs, production facilities and crew quarters. These
platforms are immobile and designed for long term use, an example is the Hibernia platform
offshore eastern Canada. Similar fixed platforms are concrete caisson structures known as the
Condeep concept which were originally built for the Norwegian offshore waters, the largest, The
Troll has a total height 472 meters. They are constructed with in-built oil storage tanks.

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Compliant Towers - consist of slender, flexible towers and a pile foundation supporting
conventional decks for drilling and production operations. Compliant towers are designed to
sustain significant lateral deflections and forces and are typically used in water depths ranging
from 370 to 910 meters. The Chevron Petronius Tower is the tallest existing compliant tower,
standing in a water depth of 623 meters in the Gulf of Mexico

Semi-Submersible Platforms - have hulls (columns and pontoons) allowing the structure to
float, but of sufficient weight to keep the structure upright. Semi-submersibles are mobile.
Generally, anchor systems are used to keep them positioned during drilling and/or production
operations, though dynamic positioning systems are used. Semi-submersibles are used in water
depths from 60 to 6,000 meters.

Tension-Leg Platforms - are floating platforms tethered to the seabed with a minimal of
vertical movement. TLPs are used in water depths up to about 2,000 meters and a conventional
TLP is a four column design similar to a Semi-Submersible. An example of a TLP is the
Magnolia in the Gulf of Mexico standing in 1432 meters of water, but was eclipsed by the Big
Foot TLP which was set in 1580 meters of water.

Gravity-Based Structures – are constructed from either be steel or concrete and are usually
anchored directly onto the seabed. Steel GBS are used when there is no or a limited availability
of crane barges to install a conventional fixed offshore platform, for example in the Caspian Sea
offshore Turkmenistan and offshore New Zealand. Steel GBS do not usually have any storage
capacity. GBS are self-installing, which is accomplished by controlled ballasting of
compartments with sea water.

Spar Platforms - are moored to the seabed like a TLP, but whereas a TLP has vertical tension
tethers a spar has conventional mooring lines. The spar has more inherent stability than a TLP
since it has a large counterweight at the bottom and does not depend on the mooring system to
hold it upright. The first production spar was Kerr-McGee's Neptune, anchored in 590 metres in
the Gulf of Mexico

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Manned Platforms

Typical installation in the North

Sea and many other worldwide
locations, multiple platforms
incorporating drilling and
workover, multiple well heads,
flow lines, production processing,
fluid treatment, injection, systems
control and management,
generators and engine modules,
personnel accommodation

Typically an offshore platform will have a number of decks housing different equipment and the
functions required for drilling and production. Generically, the upper deck is the main deck and
drilling deck, below it is the Production deck and below that the cellar deck.
 Main Deck & Drilling Deck - contains the derrick and drill floor, accommodation modules
and offices
 Production Deck – houses the generators, production manifold and separator, gas
injection compressor and wellheads
 Cellar Deck – a variety of pumps and fluid storage, emergency generator and various
treatment units

Well Interventions
Well interventions will cover the full range of services, but can be limited by access and crane
capacity which will impact the size and capacity of the intervention equipment which can be
hoisted on board.

In the case of platforms (Type 3) without cranes or platforms with small cranes of limited
capacity an alternative method of moving equipment for light short time frame interventions is by
helicopter. Heliportable equipment must be light and modular and in general limited to 3000lbs,
a typical equipment spread would comprise of: -

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Unit – lightweight (aluminium frame), single drum, two or three skid modular (powerpack,
hydraulic and winch modules) unit. In cases where weight limitations are extreme the winch
drum can be dis-mounted from the winch and transported separately.

Mast unit / gin pole – traditionally gin poles were used, manufactured locally in many cases to a
very basic design with two or more sections of concentric tubes fitted together and assembled
into a socket attached to the Christmas tree or an A frame fixed to the platform deck adjacent to
the Christmas tree. Stability of the gin pole provided by rope guy lines. A set of rope falls would
be used to picking up the PCE.

Gin poles have been replaced by mast units, such as the NOV Elmar 35ft Lightweight
Telescopic Boom Mast which weighs 1146lbs and has a lifting capacity 2240lbs, it’s a two man
operation where rigging up and picking up the PCE is performed manually

NOV Elmar 35ft Lightweight Telescopic Boom Mast

Downhole tools will be transported in special tool boxes, often with the minimum requirement of
tools for the specific work program and similarly the PCE will be either transported in a skid or
lubricator clamp

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Operations – Due to actual size of the work area on the helideck, working conditions are
cramped where good housekeeping practices become critical. The distance from the front of the
winch unit to the lower sheave is often short, sometimes a matter of a few feet.

Spotting the equipment is important to maximise the work space available and to provide
sufficient space for laying out tools and equipment and rigging up and rigging down.

The equipment, especially the unit must be properly secured to the deck. Generally wells will be
4-1/2” or smaller, depths up 10,000ft +/-. External pressure sources for equalising will be
unavailable, purging well fluids between runs could be an issue, especially if there are fluids to
surface.

A functioning means of communication is vital, radios will be required on remote platforms to

maintain communications with the central platform to inform them of work progress or to obtain
transportation or if an emergency occurs.

Slickline personnel will have to be trained in performing helicopter lift hook-ups.

Downhole failures which result in a fishing operation can pose significant problems due to the
limited lifting capacity and often the requirements of additional lubricator sections for fishing for
long tool lengths coupled to generally little or no riser from the helideck to the Christmas tree
requires careful planning and access to additional resources.

As crane capacity increases with the type 1 and type 0 unmanned platforms equipment
limitations are no longer a factor in job planning and generally the full range of Wireline and
Slickline intervention equipment can be used to access wells which can be up to 9.00”
completions, heavily deviated and deep.

Limitations on the equipment spread will be limited by: -

Deck space - the physical area available on the working deck to spot equipment, especially in
interventions involving multiple services and it may become necessary to offload equipment
when it is not in use.

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Deck loading - many Clients impose deck loading limits, this is calculated based on the
footprint of the equipment or skid times the gross weight. In the case of a mast unit wire
operating tensions will have to be added, generally these are not a significant factor during
normal Slickline operations, but in respect of a 5/16” heavy duty fishing operations where high
line loads are anticipated these loads have to be factored into the calculation. Clients will
require the intervention equipment to be spotted so that the load is carried on the structural
beams as opposed to the un-reinforced decking.

Safety
Working Area - working on an open deck, often with multiple items of intervention equipment
present, personnel must maintain an awareness of where they place themselves during
equipment movements by crane, rigging up and rigging down and their movements around the
deck in relation to the well access hatches in order to avoid personnel injury. Often, deck
hatches are of such a size that they require a crane to remove them to provide access to the
Christmas tree, this results in a large uncovered area adjacent to the riser / WLV/ lower PCE
assembly where personnel are expected to work. In order to avoid injuries hole covers must be
used, they must be of sufficient size to cover the openings in the deck as well as be secured to
the deck to avoid any movement.

A feature of Rigless, offshore, manned and unmanned platform activity is the use of a
mast unit for rigging up and well activity, the mast unit is maintained, certified and operated
by the company and personnel operating the mast must be trained, certified and competent
in its use. (See Lifting Equipment & Accessories, Section16)

Simultaneous operations (SIMOPS) planning must be effective on offshore platforms, when

multiple activities are in progress in the vicinity of the Slickline intervention. The most obvious
are crane movements around and over the work area, but pumping operations may be in
progress which are less obvious but the hazards associated can be more devastating, or
production crews are working on adjacent well heads. The work permit and pre-job tool box
meeting are essential to highlight potential hazards and to ensure personnel are informed or

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that one activity or another will have to be suspended pending the conclusion of a critical
activity (see SIMOPS, section 4.6)

Intervention Equipment
A typical offshore equipment set will comprise of: -

Unit - single skid (SlimLine, UniLine, MultiLine) or a multi skid (SlimSplit, UniSplit, MultiSplit).
The WinchDrum module will be double drum, for standard operations will have 0.108” x 0.125”
wires, or two reels of 0.125” wire. A closed loop hydraulic system will be powered by a zone 2
powerpack (72, 109, 174 HP respectively). The unit will be equipped with a MP16 II
MeasureHead and CombiGauge providing analogue depth and tension readings, in addition a
zone 2 SmartMonitor or LineMinder will be included in the unit dashboard providing electronic
depth and tension readings.

Mast – a typical mast for general Slickline activities is the HighReach mast from Elmar NOV,
with an under hook height of 13 metres and main winch lifting capacity of 2.7 tonnes. The
mast’s hydraulic system is either driven by an electric motor or via a separate zone 2 diesel
powerpack.

PCE – the complete Pressure Control Equipment set is transported in a free standing self-
contained skid, which may also contain a well head control module for such functions as WLV,
Stuffing Box, Tool Catcher, Tool Trap functions. In addition the skid may also contain a grease
injection module. The well head control panel pumps would be air driven using air provided by
the rig air system.

Well Control Skid – there will be an additional skid housing control systems to manage the
upper master valve and downhole safety valve functions. This skid is air driven using air
supplied by the rig air system

Tool Container – An additional 10 ft or 20ft container is used to ship down hole tools and rig-up
equipment and accessories. The tool set will meet the requirements of the planned program and
to cover contingency requirements, in addition critical tools will have back-ups available.

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