Abstract
The concept of tracking coiled tubing (CT) failure statistics for use in developing performance indicators is not new. It has been covered extensively as the subject of previous abstracts. Tracking relies on an established process for reporting and investigation of pipe-related failures allowing the collection of data from CT operations of a leading service provider, which has global representation.
The primary aim of the process is the identification of the immediate cause of the failure and, more importantly, the failure mechanism for the incident. Only with a good understanding of prevailing trends, if any, can remedial action addressing the root cause(s) of the problem be enacted. This is particularly important for an organization with more than 200 CT units and more than 750 CT strings in service over a wide geographic landscape. In an environment of high CT activity, which has been the experience of the last two years, the value of this process cannot be overstated.
The value to overall CT operations is demonstrated in two examples in which the identified failure trends became the focus of separate service delivery improvement initiatives. The first issue resulted in a change in the organization's policy for reel storage and maintenance, while the second caused a modification in the CT unit controls to properly address the root cause. An in-depth discussion of the issues and their mitigation is the subject of this paper.
The most recent paper on this subject presented information covering the period 1995 to 2000. This paper provides updated information on these CT performance indicators, presenting material from activities during the five-year period 2001 to 2005. The evolution of pipe failure trends is covered and contrasted against the changes that have taken place in the CT industry as a whole over the last decade.
