The Essential Coil Tubing

By Allison Fernandes

Coil tubing is a long, continuous length (2000ft to 15000ft) of pipe. This pipe is unwound before inserting in a well and is again coiled back for storage. It is mainly used for operations where drilling is necessary. It uses a process where fluid is pressurized to thousands of psi. This pressure is focused at a point so that it breaks the rock and allows the flow of oil or other chemicals. If used correctly, it can easily do any operation in an oil well. It can be used onshore too. In such cases one has to use mobile self contained rigs or much smaller service rigs.

The Second World War brought the advent of coil tubing. The Allies had to provide fuel to its forces present in the mainland. As a solution to this they developed long continuous pipelines which stretched from the English mainland to the continent of Europe. The technology was further perfected by the California Oil Company, USA in around 1960 with the help of Bowen Tools. It was first put into use to clean the sand which was choking the flow of oil in the oil wells. Previous to this only rigid piping was used. Rigid piping had to be inserted in sections which was expensive and at the same time hazardous. The new technology had no such drawbacks. Coil tubing could be inserted into the well at a much higher speed. The tube could be unwound and fed into the well as fast as about 30 meters per minute. However obstructions could drive the rate down to an average of 20 meters per minute. A coil tubing operation is usually performed through a drilling derrick in the oil platform. The platform supports all the surface equipment. But it can also be performed in platforms without drilling facilities by using a self supporting tower instead. Maintenance work in the oil wells usually account for 80 percent of the expense. It also brings this cost down and in turn reduces the cost of fuel for the common man. Installation and maintenance must be done by professionals having superior knowledge of oil wells and oil well technology. Possibly the only disadvantage is that it does not work in depths more than 6000 feet. In such cases traditional methods of drilling have to be used. In brief this technology has made gas and oil wells much secure, safe, profitable and cost effective.

Coil tubing tools also have a wide usage. The coil tubing tools at the bottom of the tube can vary from being a simple jetting nozzle for jobs which involve simple pumping of chemicals to much complex set of tools depending on the job. The tools can be either mechanical or hydraulic. Some are used for easier handling or deployment while some are used for reducing the stress in the pipe. Packers, isolation tools, anchors, pump-out plug, casing scraper, and grapple are some of the few tools. Usually most companies have an array of support tools as well. Companies building these tools have an easily accessible catalogue of their products in the internet

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