Cutting production tubing using coiled tubing-conveyed cutting tools is a relatively common practice in today’s industry. However, the move towards higher and higher chrome and nickel content in the completion metallurgy has meant that the existing tools and techniques require further revaluation and refinement. Cutting material with 28% chrome is much more difficult than cutting material with 13% chrome.

A major international operator in Malaysia recently had a requirement to remove two production strings of 28-chrome tubing from two offshore wells. The two wells were to be worked over, requiring that the tubing be retrieved.

High-chrome tubulars present problems for not only mechanical cutting techniques, but also chemical and explosive techniques. This paper lists the considerations that led to the adoption of the mechanical cut method. Because of the technical difficulties of the operations, significant equipment testing was carried out prior to the work. This paper further details the results of that testing and describes the execution of the work offshore.

Finally, the findings and learnings derived from the interventions will be discussed.

Keywords:
zonal isolation, Completion Installation and Operations, knowledge management, Well Intervention, Upstream Oil & Gas, upper knuckle joint, chemical cutter, assembly, Coiled tubing operations, completion equipment
Subjects:
Professionalism, Training, and Education, Information Management and Systems, Communities of practice, Knowledge management, Completion Selection and Design, Completion Installation and Operations, Well Integrity, Well Intervention, Completion equipment, Coiled tubing operations
Copyright 2006, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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