Wireline

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Wireline
Wireline is a process of running a tool string attached
to a wire into or out of a well bore, with or without
pressure, to carry out specific well intervention
operations in a safe and controlled manner.

Constant awareness of barriers in place or being

altered is necessary

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Wireline
• Application
• Types
• Equipment
• Complications

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Applications
• Setting or retrieving tools – gas lift valves,
SSCSV, plugs, packers
• Fishing
• Logging
• Perforating
• Paraffin cutting
• Sand bailing
• Spot treating or cement spotting
• Opening and closing sleeves and ports

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Types of Wireline
•Slickline
•Braided line
•Electric line

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Slickline
• Single strand of flexible high-strength steel with a small diameter
• Special alloys are available for H2S and CO2 service
• Most common diameters are 0.072”, 0.092”, 0.108” and 0.125”
• Minimum rated breaking strength ranges from 961 lbs to 3203 lbs
• OD of wire is easy to seal around with packing device called stuffing
box

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Slickline Unit Components
Wireline Reel pack Control unit

Power Pack BOP and lubricator

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Braided Line
• Multi-strand cable that is stronger than slickline
• Special alloys are available for H2S and CO2 service
• Common diameters are 3/16” & 7/32”
• Breaking strengths range from 4500 lbs to 6000 lbs
• OD of wire requires a grease seal arrangement

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Braided Line Applications
Anything requiring greater pulling strength than
slickline
– Fishing (main use)
– Stuck flow control devices
– Swabbing well

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Braided Line vs Slickline
• In high pressure situations, braided line requires
more tool weight to be able to strip-in the well
• Braided line requires grease injection assembly to
maintain pressure seal on moving line
• Cost
• The slickline valve contains pressure without wire
across the ram

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Electric Line
• Multi-strand line with internal wires sheathed in
insulating material
• Common diameters are 0.23”, 0.29” and 0.32”
• Breaking strengths range from 5600 lbs to 9000 lbs

Common applications:
– Logging
– Perforating
– Operating any down hole tool that requires an electrical
charge to activate it

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Slickline Lubricator Assembly

Stuffing box

Lubricator

Bleed off Sub

Wireline valves

Pump-in Tee

Tree Adapter
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Slickline Stuffing Box
Manual Stuffing Box

Hydraulic Stuffing Box

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Slickline Valve & Seal
• Can be manual or hydraulic

• Cannot manually open a hydraulic slickline valve

• Can manually close a hydraulic valve if fitting on valve is
removed
• Seal can contain pressure without wire

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Single Ram Slickline Assembly
Correct ram assembly

Incorrect ram assembly

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Braided Line Lubricator
1) Line Wiper
2) Wiper Fluid Return
3) Hydraulic Packoff
4) Grease Return Line
5) Flow Tube
6) Grease Injection Line
7) Ball Check Valve
8) Tool Catcher
9) Lubricator Sections
10) Tool Trap
11) Vent (Weep Hole)
12) BOP (Dual)
13) Grease Injection Line
14) Equalizing Line
15) Tree Cap
16) Control Pack

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Braided Line Packoff
• Used to maintain pressure with static wireline
• Used to pressure test lubricator assembly

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Braided Line Valve
• Closing of rams on braided cable will not shut-off (isolate) well pressure
without grease being injected between upper & lower rams
• Grease injection pressure should be 20% above wellbore pressure

Bottom ram inverted

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Braided Line Seal Components

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Braided / Electric Line Seal Assembly

Braided cable enclosed by rams

Gas migrates through braided

cable so there is a need to
inject grease between the rams

Notice bottom set of rams are

inverted to hold grease pressure
from above.

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Tool Catcher
• Placed above lubricator.

• Used to possibly avoid a fishing

job should the tools be
inadvertently pulled Into the
lubricator and break weak point.

• When the catcher is in the catch

position, it latches the rope
socket/cable head and holds the
tools safely in the lubricator

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Grease Injection Head
• Controls well pressure while allowing
free movement of wire.

• Pressure seal is maintained by thick

viscous grease pumped into a small
annular space between wire and flow
tubes.

• Well pressure keeps the grease in the

tube and it flows upwards through the
return line.

• In practice, small amounts of grease

are lost at both ends when the wire is
moving, but well pressure is retained.

• New and used cable have an effect on

the seal as well as flow tube size and
grease used.

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Grease Tubes
• Grease Injection Control Head
contains Hydraulic Grease Tubes
• These provide a pressure tight seal
on MOVING cable which allows us
to move tools in and out of the well
• We inject grease into the grease
tubes
• There is very small clearance
between the cable and the rubber
inserts generally between 0.002 –
0.008 in.
• The grease maintains well pressure
at the well end and atmospheric
pressure at the stuffing box end

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Equalization of Pressure Across
Rams

Basic equalization valve

Integral equalization with

grease and glycol ports

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Tool trap
• Manual or Hydraulic
• Retainer plate larger than wire smaller than
tools
• Plates spring loaded and will be lifted as
tools ascend
• Close once tools have passed plates
• Opened to let tools pass into the wellbore
• Some have external indicator
• Should be tested to ensure plate returns

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Quick Test Sub
• Allows pressure testing integrity of the

connection without testing the entire

assembly.

• Quick test joint in the center with

longer pin

• Test is achieved by applying pressure

between the two o-rings

• Recommended for testing the

lubricator prior to perforating without
exposing live perforating gun to test
pressure

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Pump-in Sub/Tee
Allows fluids/chemicals to be
pumped into the well bore

Note:
There is no isolation valve on this
Pump-in tee. A lo-torque valve
should be installed

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Lubricator
• Lengths of pipe interconnected which allow
tool containment while opening the well under pressure.

• Should be +/- 4 feet longer than tool to be run or pulled

• Supplied in lengths of 4,5,6,8,10,12 ft. Integral and screwed

• I.D range from 2” to 7”

• Some sections are ported to allow for bleed valves/pressure gauges.

• Come in standard and H2S service.

• Lubricators seals are made of different compounds depending on the

operating temperature and nature of the well bore fluids.

• Connected together with quick unions

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Lubricator
Integral Screwed Composite
Light weight

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Quick Union

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Operational Issues
• Never weld on any PCE.

• Do not make modifications by drilling, boring, filing, cutting.

• Always secure during transportation.

• Avoid using pipe wrenches on PCE.

• Avoid using V stamps, mark only on non-critical areas with dot

stamps

Generally treat pressure control equipment with care.

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Shut-in While Using Wireline
• The entire tool string needs to be pulled into the lubricator,
this allows for recovery of the tool prior to shutting in the well

• If the wire parts, close the swab valve on the xmas tree

• If wireline is across the xmas tree valve, then close the

wireline valve

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Differential Pressure
Differential pressure is the difference between the pressures
on each side of an isolation point

Differential pressures should be considered during wireline

operations such as:
• Opening well
• Equalizing across wireline valve
• Pulling flow control devices: SSCSV, plugs, pack offs
• Opening SSD
• Pulling gas lift valves or dummies
• Perforating

Differential pressure can result in tools being blown up or

down the hole

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Shearing Wireline
• Wireline can not be sheared with the
standard wireline valves
• Shear seal rams can be used in the
lubricator assembly in high pressure
applications
• Manual & Hydraulic tree valves may cut
up to 0.108” slick line but will not cut
braided cable
• A drop down type wireline cutter, such as
Kinley or Flo-petrol, may be used

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