A well designed with an upside-down completion was causing problems for an operator in Indonesia. The operator needed to shift two 4.562″ sliding sleeves in the 5-1/2” lower completion. To do so, the toolstring needed to pass through the 4-1/2” upper completion, where a 3.688” nipple profile was restricting passage. Slickline was impossible. This would require the time-consuming and costly pulling of the upper completion along with the associated deferred production.

Welltec® was called upon due to the operator’s previous experiences with our solution package for mechanical manipulation. The Well Key® design allows it to pass restrictions, as its keys are only extended when positioned accurately in the well to lock into the sliding sleeve profile.

The Well Key 325 Extended Reach was selected to pass through the restriction and reach the sliding sleeve shifting profile. Prior to mobilization, a SIT was conducted at Welltec’s Jakarta facility and the key profile was revised to match the sliding sleeve profile perfectly. The operator was satisfied that the tools would work properly and recommended to reduce the force on the Well Stroker® from 33,000 lbs to 15,000 lbs to avoid damaging the sleeve. During the operation, the toolstring passed through the restriction with no complications.

The Well Key profile was positioned with pinpoint accuracy above the sliding sleeve profile and then activated. The Well Tractor® powered up to engage the Well Key profile to the shifting profile. The Well Stroker, configured with 15,000 lbs force, anchored in position on the 5-1/2” 20# blank pipe above the sliding sleeve and powered up to stroke down and shift open the sleeve. It required two strokes to fully open the sliding sleeve door. Once the first sleeve was opened the well was unloaded and the second sleeve opened a few days later.

This was the first sliding sleeve manipulation using the Well Key 325 and the operator was pleased with the outcome. It took only ten hours from rig up to rig down to open the first sleeve and the second was opened in only eight hours. The Well Key easily passed through the restriction to perform the task. This saved the operator from having to pull the upper completion and avoiding the deferred production these alternatives would have cost.

The operation demonstrated the agility of the Welltec solutions. Even with the upside-down completion, the Well Stroker-Well Key combination brought the well on-line on time and targeted schedule. The well is now producing 10MMsfp/D gas at 18% choke.