OPTIMIZING WELL INTERVENTION
Software applies real-time data,
automation to redefine wireline
sleeve shifting operations
Using available instrumentation, workflows
can be streamlined to reduce reliance on
individual experience, improve overall reliability
BY STEPHEN WHITFIELD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The success of conventional wireline
intervention shifting typically depends
heavily on the field engineer’s experience
and knowledge. Any error in that individu-
al’s judgment could lead to nonproductive
time (NPT), or even total failure.

To help redefine the selective shift-
ing workflow, Schlumberger has devel-
oped new surface acquisition software. It
leverages available instruments and uses
an automated real-time data collection
system to streamline and simplify pro-
cedures, eliminating or reducing human
error and reducing the burden placed on
the field engineer for post-job deliverables.

“When you’re operating the shifter, you
have to rely a lot on the engineer’s judg-
ment. It’s pretty time consuming because
we have to do a lot of operations for this,
and if you somehow get things wrong or
take a wrong step, you have to go back.

That can take a lot of time,” said Jisheng
Li, Software Engineer at Schlumberger,
during a presentation at the 2022 SPE/
ICoTA Well Intervention Conference in The
Woodlands, Texas, on 22 March.

In a conventional shifting operation, he
said, it is possible to miss the collar joint,
waste considerable time finding the loca-
tion, or even perform the shifting opera-
tion at the wrong location. The software
correlates the completion mapping depth
based on the operator-provided comple-
tion table, creating a channel similar to a
casing collar locator (CCL) recording, thus
enabling side-by-side correlation directly
on the depth log. The software also renders
details of the well completion mapping
and shifting tool string on the same graph
38 for visualization of the relative locations of
the toolstring, the shifting target and the
collar joints in real time.

The software allows users to initiate an
automated seeking function to locate and
latch the shifter key onto the target pro-
file within a few millimeters in the well,
including extended-reach drilling and
wells intervened on a floating installation.

Critical data from each user operation is
logged and displayed on a two-dimension-
al plot and customized table, and users can
generate operations reports that include
all relevant data.

The software addresses five key chal-
lenges in sleeve shifting operations: pre-
cise depth control for toolstring convey-
ance, target profile seeking and latching,
winch seeking, operations reporting, and
troubleshooting and reliability improve-
ments. To address depth control, Schlumberger
developed a two-step correlation process
based on completion mapping that it
embedded into the software as part of the
shifting operation workflow. In the first
step, the software imports a completion
mapping profile into the software system
and creates data channels and logs that
can help real-time correlation on an acqui-
sition log. Then, it implements the depth
control user interface that integrates both
completion mapping and toolstring details
with real-time movement for visual cor-
relation and depth control.

Mr Li said this process allows users to
monitor, in real time, both the toolstring
position and speed in the well. It also sim-
plifies the operation of conveying the tool
to the desired target depth, eliminating the
risk of missing completion joints.

For the target profile seeking and latch-
ing challenge, Schlumberger embedded
tool control automation into the software.

This enables automatic seeking, latching
and shifting of the target. The user inputs
operational parameters, and the software
then controls the downhole tool operation.

In the winch seeking operation, the
software has what Schlumberger calls a
“profilometer mode,” where it estimates the
shifter’s open diameter. In this mode, the
shifter force will change accordingly with
the inner diameter (ID) of the sections.

The well ID can be estimated from the
shifter pressure, and when the toolstring is
pulled by the winch to seek the target, the
open diameter is computed from the force
measurement. By comparing the shifter
open diameter to the known profile IDs of
different sections, users can tell where the
shifter is located inside the profile and if it
is in the correct latch location.

To improve troubleshooting and reliabil-
ity issues, Schlumberger focused on the
most common cause of downhole shifting
toolstring malfunctions – clogged sole-
noids, which often result in the inability to
control hydraulic pressure in the system
and the tool modules not operating proper-
ly. The software automates the process of
unclogging the solenoids by turning them
on and off while the motor is running,
building up enough pressure in the tool to
flush debris away from the solenoids and
resume normal tool functionality.

To address client reporting challeng-
es, an automated real-time reporting
tool was incorporated into the software.

A data interpretation module correlates
the tool’s operational status with relevant
data channels from the downhole tools,
interpreting and recording key operational
events with real-time measurements. The
software tabulates the events and related
information in chronological order during
the job. This logging table is available to
users in real time and after the job.

“We wanted this software to provide
real-time integration of all the events that
go on during a shifting operation, where it
can automatically put all of these events
in a log, so the engineer can take a look
at it and see if something’s going wrong.

If there is something wrong, you can look
M AY/J U N E 202 2 • D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R



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