The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP

The World According to Wayne: Fishing in the Curve

By Wayne Nash
November 1, 2011

The new technology that allows us to drill in formerly impossible places and produce wells in formerly unprofitable formations make this a very exciting time to be in the “patch.” The ingenuity of the drillers and engineers, plus the world demand for hydrocarbons, has not only allowed, but forced the industry to stay on the cutting edge of innovation.

Back when (nearly) most wells were vertical, wireline tools simply were lowered in the hole; gravity did the work. Now, with horizontal drilling, the laterals might be 5,000 feet to 10,000 feet or even 20,000 feet long; we can’t just lower the tools in the hole. They must be pumped down inside the drill pipe or tubing. This has required the re-engineering of most of the tools. Some tools work best in open hole, and have to be redesigned to work inside pipe. Some tools use a tractor mechanism to crawl through the pipe or hole.

Since most horizontal wells are hydro-fracked to produce their maximum potential, very carefully sized frac sleeves are installed in the production liner to regulate the size and direction of the frac. These all must be considered when running tools, as the normal I.D. of the liner is reduced the deeper in the hole you go.

These and many other factors make fishing operations in directional holes anything but boring. Freepoint and back-offs can be very challenging in the laterals because torque and stretch can be almost completely absorbed by pipe friction going around the curve. Very often, we are right up against the torque or stretch values to get any movement downhole.

Another interesting difference between straight hole fishing and fishing in a directional hole is jar placement. Normally, jars are run as close to the fish as possible to maximize the impact and the likelihood of freeing the fish. I can run my jars in the vertical sections of the hole, or out in the lateral, but not in the curve. Jars, and the drill collars that go with them, are very stiff assemblies, and don’t go around the curve easily. Plus, they are made from very high-tensile-strength steel that does not like to be bent. It is possible to stress the jars to failure, leaving a polished chrome mandrel sticking up that is very difficult to fish. This usually leads to a come-to-Jesus meeting with the company man. The solution is to run the jars above the overshot, up in the vertical section of the hole. Since drill collars really don’t like to work in the curve, we usually run heavy-weight drill pipe between the jars and the primary catch tool. The downside: This pipe is elastic, and absorbs some of the impact of the jars. This lessens the likelihood of freeing the fish. So far, I have been lucky, and recovered fish up to 800 feet from the jars. I generally run a bumper sub right above the primary catch tool. Bumper subs are shorter and a little more flexible than fishing jars, and can be manipulated to provide a pretty good lick in most conditions.

All of these factors are pushing the limits of present technology and metallurgy. It looks like about 75 percent of my fishing jobs are in the curve. A couple months ago, I was finishing up a job about suppertime, and looking forward to a decent meal and a full night’s sleep when I got a call to go to another well site for a simple pick-up job. Since I hadn’t learned the area very well yet, I programmed my trusty GPS to guide me. Turns out the rig was 280 miles away in central Montana. I got up there about 3 a.m., pretty much exhausted. I told the company man that the well looked gassy, and he ought to circulate for at least three hours, and be sure to make some coffee before he woke me up.

When I woke up and returned to some semblance of humanity, he told me the rest of the story. It seems that he had a problem in the curve, in the 7-inch casing. He thought it was collapsed, so he ran a string mill to fix it. It turns out the casing was completely parted, and the string mill had gone into open hole and milled up about 7 feet of casing. The lower portion of the casing had fallen to the low side of the hole, due to a poor cement job. I went in the hole with an overshot to catch the fish, which was a 6 1⁄4-inch bit, a bit sub, and one joint of drill pipe that had twisted off after drilling only 10 feet outside the casing shoe. I took me five hours of manipulation to get my tools into the lower part of the casing. I engaged the fish right where it was supposed to be, and started out of the hole. When we got to the bad spot in the casing, it took a while to get through.

When we got out of the hole, we realized we had lost the fish in the parted area of the casing. I made some changes to my tools, and went back in the hole. Sure enough, the fish was right above the bad spot in the casing. I manipulated the tools for a while until I could make progress down the hole. I intended to push the fish to bottom, make a secure catch and pull it out. When I got to bottom, the tools didn’t stop. We went down exactly the length of the fish and bottomed out on open hole. When we came out of the hole, we realized that we had pushed the fish outside the casing, which propped it up, making near perfect alignment with the upper part. We ran a drilling assembly to bottom, and started drilling ahead – job complete.

You never know what you are going to find on a fishing job, and often the customer doesn’t give you the rest of the story until you are in the middle of something. One thing I can tell you is that it’s never boring.  ND

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Wayne nash 200px
Wayne Nash is a regular contributor to The Driller. He can be reached at rockbit8@hotmail.com.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • geotechnical drilling rig

    6 Onsite Phrases Environmental Drillers Hate

    Here are six phrases that highlight common frustrations...
    Geotechnical Investigation
    By: Jeff Garby
  • Wayne Nash

    Pipe Stuck? Common Causes and Solutions for Drillers

    If you have drilled for any length of time, sooner or...
    Water
    By: Wayne Nash
  • deep water well

    Selecting and Sizing Submersible Pump Cable

    This article helps pump installers and servicers decide...
    Markets
    By: Bob Pelikan
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Manage My Account
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the The Driller audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of The Driller or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit
    Sponsored byGeoprobe

    Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

Popular Stories

The Driller Newscast episode 149: Hard Hats, Hot Topics, and Dad Jokes

Hard Hats, Hot Takes, and Dad Jokes: Drillers Talk Safety and Geothermal’s Future

An image of the Plume Stop tech

New Filter System to Mitigate PFAS Said to Last 40 Years

An image of a pair of boots

The Job Site Fit Check: Boots

The Driller Classifieds

COMPRESSORS

EAST WEST MACHINERY & DRILLING IS BUYING AND SELLING AIR COMPRESSORS, AIR BOOSTERS, AIR ENDS & PARTS
Company: East West Machinery

DRILL RIGS

LOOKING FOR LATE MODEL TOPHEADS & DRILLTECH D25'S
Company: Spikes’s Rig Sales

DRILL RIG PARTS

MEETING DRILLERS NEEDS AROUND THE WORLD
Company: East West Machinery

ELEVATORS

SEMCO INC. PIPE ELEVATORS
Company: Semco Inc.

GROUTERS

GROUTING EQUIPMENT - GROUT PUMPS & GROUT HOSE REELS
Company: Geo-Loop Inc.

PUMP HOISTS

SEMCO INC. - BASIC PUMP HOISTS
Company: Semco Inc.

WELL PACKERS

LANSAS PRODUCTS - INFLATABLE WELL PACKERS
Company: Vanderlans Lansas Products

WELL SCREENS

WELL SCREENS & SLOTTED PIPE
Company: Alloy Screen Works

Products

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

By carefully explaining both the underlying theory and the underlying mathematics, this text enables readers to fully grasp the fundamentals of physical and chemical treatment processes for water and wastewater.

See More Products

The Driller E.G.O. Award - Enter now!

Related Articles

  • The World According to Wayne: More Fishing in the Curve

    See More
  • The World According to Wayne: The Three Ps of Fishing

    See More
  • The World According to Wayne

    The World According to Wayne: Fishing Ain’t What it Used to Be

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • M:\General Shared\__AEC Store Katie Z\AEC Store\Images\ND\new site\in-too-deep.gif

    In Too Deep: BP and the Drilling Race That Took it Down

See More Products
×

Dig deeper into the drilling and water supply industry!

Build your knowledge with The Driller, covering the people, equipment and technologies across drilling markets.

SIGN UP NOW
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Classifieds
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing