Safety valves are essential components of any producing well, although they can often incur issues later in life due to general wear and tear. This can cause the flapper to fail or become stuck closed, halting production.
During a recent project in the Gulf of Mexico, an independent operator had a safety
valve malfunction on a producing well. With no control of the flapper valve and no
way of hydraulically or mechanically forcing it to stay open, Coretrax’s Mohawk
ReLine WL was deployed to remediate the issue.
Unlike conventional
tools, the ReLine WL’s slim OD means it can bypass various ID restrictions to reach
the flapper valve. The tool creates a large ID to provide greater access to the
wellbore and allow for a maximum production conduit to the surface. The one-trip,
rigless device has been developed to allow for stackability which creates a longer,
integrated straddle to be deployed, without losing ID.
Once in position at 8,675 ft, the patch was expanded to permanently open the valve. This resulted in full well access so upper completion removal could be facilitated. When compared to costly and time-consuming traditional milling operations, the ReLine WL saved the operator an estimated eight hours of rig-time.
Key Benefits:
- Full well access regained with large ID to provide greater access to wellbore
- Eliminated the requirement for costly milling operations which can lead to damage of other well components
- Efficient solution saving around eight hours rig-time.
