This paper describes the development program for a new and innovative well intervention service for lifting naturally flowing wells back into production.
The Well Initiation Service Tool (WIST) is a high efficiency, slimhole pumping system that is conveyed and powered through a wireline power cable to the appropriate depth to lift high density kill fluid; thereby, lightening the fluid column to kickoff/initiate and allow the well to flow naturally to surface.
A multi-resettable inflatable packer system has been developed to work with the permanent magnet motor pumping system, which allows the pump to be positioned and repositioned in the well as required. This design improves operational efficiency, enabling jobs to be conducted in a single run, rather than multiple runs as would be the case with conventional packer design.
The rigorous test program looked at each element of WIST individually and then as a system in both horizontal and vertical flow loops to verify performance. The novel multi-resettable inflate hydraulic logic circuit worked perfectly exceeding design/performance expectations. Planning is now in progress for three field trials to validate WIST performance. This paper will describe the development activities, results and future plans.
This lightweight cable deployed pump system is an alternative to coiled tubing and nitrogen kickoff jobs, which can often be expensive and logistically challenging, requiring a large amount of equipment and personnel at the wellsite to perform the activity.