SPE-189942-MS

First Time Coiled Tubing Milling in 7-in. Monobore Gas Well Using Downhole
Real-Time Measurements

W. R. Tapia, Z. Erkol, P. Ramondenc, M. Houdaidon, A. Shaaban, and S. Trummer, Schlumberger

Copyright 2018, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing & Well Intervention Conference & Exhibition held in The Woodlands, TX, USA, 27-28
March 2018.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
of the paper have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect
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consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may
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Abstract
One of the biggest sources of dry gas in the world is located in the Middle East. Every project in this field
faces challenges that require good-quality downhole data to be properly addressed. In the present case,
the risks involved when milling inside a 7-in. monobore completion with 2 3/8-in. coiled tubing (CT) in
gas conditions motivated the use of a state-of-the-art bottomhole assembly capable of providing real-time
downhole parameters to operate the mill both safely and efficiently.
The project, which included an extensive integration between the CT and downhole tools providers,
consisted of various innovative stages. First, a stimulation vessel was used to deliver enough pumping
capacity to inject the fiber optics carrier into the CT pipe located on the rig. Then, a customized surface
acquisition system was implemented to comply with strict zoning requirements, and protocols and hardware
were designed for communication between the software of all parties to transmit downhole and surface data
in real time. Finally, a thorough analysis was conducted to identify the safest method to deploy and run the
milling tools to achieve the job objective.
This successful milling operation in 7-in. monobore completion and gas conditions was the result of
several achievements made throughout the project. The real-time telemetry system served rugged downhole
tools, which were being used under these conditions for the first time. They provided downhole torque,
pressure (both inside and outside of the milling tool), depth control variables, and weight on bit to the
CT control cabin, where the CT operator and milling tool specialist effectively interpreted the data and
took actions to mill 100 ft of cement and a drillable plug in three runs. The critical operation to inject the
fiber optic carrier in the 2 3/8-in. CT pipe required incorporating extra measurement equipment such as
flowmeters and pressure gauges in the system to closely check pumping parameters, which will now be
utilized as a standard for other such interventions worldwide. Finally, the design of the communication
interface between the software of the different companies proved to be effective at compiling all the critical
parameters and became a benchmark for future operations.
Even though well conditions changed during the operation, the job was executed safely based on a
detailed decision tree that incorporated several contingencies. Each action was reviewed by all parties
based mainly on the downhole data recorded, which allowed getting the best out of the milling bottomhole
assembly and the expertise incorporated in the project.
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This work shares a vast amount of information collected during the design and execution of the project.
The significant effort performed by all the parties to integrate their equipment and technology are detailed
within the context of the job's objectives and can be used as a reference by other locations. Contingency
plans are also detailed, as well as safety measures and lessons learned.

Introduction
An offshore workover campaign in the Middle East was planned to reestablish the integrity and production
of wells that require wellhead replacements and opening of new zones. As part of the intervention sequence,
a permanent bridge plug must be installed in a 7-in. casing and a further 100 ft of cement must be set on top
to provide a double well control barrier to permit safe replacement of the wellhead and completion. Once
the integrity of the well is recovered, it is necessary to remove only part of the cement plug, leaving enough
cement to isolate the existing zones from the new ones opened after the replacement of the wellhead. After
the new zones are perforated and stimulated, the remaining cement together with the bridge plug must be
milled with coiled tubing (CT).
Considering previous experiences in the area, the operator wanted to improve the operation by
implementing cost-effective solutions to conduct operations in these challenging conditions with sufficient
contingencies. As part of the improvement plan for the milling stage, an extensive study was performed to
design the CT string, the milling tools, and the fluids to be used. However, there were uncertainties that only
real-time downhole readings, such as depth correlation, torque, weight on bit, and pressure, could address
to perform the CT milling operation efficiently.

Challenges
The main challenges for this type of operation stem from the presence of gas in the wellbore; milling with
compressible fluids results in having uncontrolled parameters and requires more control on surface to handle
the returns. In addition, not having proper indication of the torque to be applied on the motor can cause
stalling and free spinning of the motor, both of which can reduce the rotor life without achieving the job
objective.
In addition, the CT milling operation must be done on the 7-in. monobore completion, which requires
high circulating rates through the CT string and the downhole tools to clean out and carry the milled debris
to surface by generating enough turbulence and a high annular velocity. In those conditions, gelling agents
must be used to enhance the carrying capacity; however, such fluids typically generate issues when they
are in contact with opened formations and once they are received at surface; on addition, the presence of
produced gas on surface generates a challenge for these interventions because it requires additional testing
equipment to handle it. Consequently, the monitoring of downhole pressure during a milling operation
is necessary to better assess rapidly evolving downhole conditions and thus decide in real time whether
changes are needed in the operation to avoid pumping unnecessary volume of fluids that could go into the
formation or to avoid the risk to get CT sticking because of some milled debris that could not be moved out
to surface or identify if the motor is stalling without further penetration.
Working in a multiservice provider environment—as it was the case for the present study—often creates
miscommunications and may be prone to lack of synergy, which in turn may cause an operation to extend
beyond the planned schedule. It is thus necessary to ensure that information coming from all the parts of the
system and providers is compiled in a single data repository and made accessible to all the parties involved
in the operation. In this case, the zoning requirement on the rig significantly increased the complexity to
design the data acquisition architecture, considering that all equipment had to comply with strict local and
international regulations. In addition, all the data gathered had to be transmitted to town in real time for
decision making in conjunction with the field crew. The integration of service provider data and town and
rig experts had to be achieved simultaneously for a most effective use of the technology.
SPE-189942-MS 3

Description and Application of Equipment and Processes

Considering the CT portfolio available in the market, the operator evaluated options that would enable
downhole monitoring in real time to be able to evaluate the milling parameters in the field conditions
described above.
The tool selected was an innovative rugged version of a system that provides real-time readouts of
downhole measurements conveyed on CT using fiber-optic telemetry. The basic system is composed of a
thin fiber-optic cable installed inside the CT string, a fiber-optic-compatible bottomhole assembly (BHA),
surface electronics, and specific software.
The fiber optics are inside a capillary Inconel tube, which is nonintrusive (Kusaka et al. 1997). Therefore,
standard CT operations can be conducted, including pumping corrosive fluids and dropping balls. During
the typical operation of this system, downhole data are transmitted from the CT working reel via wireless
communication to the CT cabin where the monitoring system and specialized software acquire, display,
monitor, and record job parameters. The surface acquisition system can also communicate with the tool
downhole and send commands.
However, this conventional system has limited options when it comes to outside diameter, tensile strength,
compression, available torque, high shock, high pressure and temperature, and flow rates. Trends in the CT
industry clearly show that higher rates, larger strings, and harsher downhole environments are becoming
the norm. Introduction of the rugged version of CT real-time telemetry aims to address those challenges
and opens new prospects for providing safe and efficient milling operations. Continuous milling can
now be achieved with intensive high shock and vibrating tools while maintaining robust, uninterrupted
telemetry while encapsulating the electronic package to shield it from the effects of the downhole operating
environment.
The operating envelopes of both standard and rugged versions of the downhole acquisition tools are
compared in Table 1.

Table 1—Property comparison between conventional and rugged versions of downhole real-time telemetry systems.

Specification Conventional Version Rugged Version

Outer diameter 2 1/8 in. 2 7/8 in.

Tensile strength 45 klbf 80 klbf

Torque 800 klbf-lb 2,500 klbf-lb

Pressure, absolute 12.5 ksi 17.5 ksi

Flow rate 2 bbl/min 8 bbl/min

High shock restricted Yes

Temperature 300°F 350°F

Because this unique system had to be run for the first time by the operator, several preplanning actions
were scheduled between the CT equipment provider and the downhole data telemetry tools provider to
ensure proper integration of the system and a successful job execution. This required extensive engineering
study, especially in areas related to the injection of fiber optics in the CT string offshore, the installation of the
surface acquisition system on CT equipment, and the merging of different acquisition and communication
systems to transmit data in real time to the operator's offices to enable real-time, remote steering of the
operations.

Injection of Fiber Optics Offshore

The fibers encapsulated in the Inconel tube and used to exchange information between the downhole tools
and surface acquisition system had to be injected into the CT string ahead of the operation; however, this
4 SPE-189942-MS

intervention had to be executed offshore by utilizing a stimulation vessel with enough horsepower pumping
capability to provide the adequate pressure and rate to safely inject the Inconel fiber. In addition, a portable
skid-mounted design system was brought to the rig to carry the fiber spool and provide enough tension
during the injection (see Fig. 1).
Considering that all pumping parameters involved during the injection are critical, the location
incorporated pressure and flowmeter gauges across the system to support changes in the pumping sequence
and to avoid the lock-up of the fiber when it was being injected. Optimal parameters were obtained from
the experience and simulations from a previous successful injection on land. Communication between the
injection team on the rig and the pump operator on the stimulation vessel was key to performing the operation
successfully.

Figure 1—Injection equipment setup on the rig.

Setup of Surface Acquisition System

Acquisition systems from the CT provider and that of the downhole tools provider had to interact with
each other to provide real-time data to the parties involved in the operation offshore and onshore. The
conventional surface acquisition system used to acquire the downhole telemetry data in real time had to
be modified and re-engineered to comply with the zoning regulations required by the rig because of the
presence of a production gas line close to the CT equipment.
Enclosure-certified systems were designed to convert the conventional electronic systems into approved
zone 2 equipment able to work in this environment. Special cables and adaptors were employed to enable
the systems to communicate with one another. All the components were systematically tested first onshore
to confirm the communication. The data acquired by the surface CT sensors went through the system A,
and then the data was sent to a computer that belonged to the downhole telemetry tools (system B). System
B collected the surface and downhole information. With a second computer, the compiled information was
sent to a screen mirror in a zone 2 screen located inside of the CT control cabin and, at the same time,
transmitted via satellite to the team in town (see Fig. 2)
SPE-189942-MS 5

Figure 2—System description utilized for data acquisition.

Data Use and Results

The rugged version of the downhole monitoring tools was developed mainly for CT milling operations. In
this particular case, the bottomhole assembly (BHA) featured an outside diameter of 2 7/8 in. vs. 7-in. for
the casing. This system is capable of acquiring downhole gamma ray (GR) and casing collar locator (CCL)
signals in high resolution to tie back to original cased hole logs that were obtained during the well completion
and thus enable real-time depth control. The empirically derived qualitative evaluation of the lithology and
shale content and the radioactive marker tags that were positioned strategically in the completion are shown
in Fig. 3. The GR and CCL signals are comparable in quality to the traditional CT GR and CCL signals
due to the high-resolution data band rate.

Figure 3—GR and CCL logs of CT downhole tools (left) vs. GR and CCL logs obtained with wireline (right).
6 SPE-189942-MS

In addition, the ruggedized technology has simultaneous pump-through and perforating capabilities in
CT interventions that are used to monitor the positive firing of the guns down hole by producing hydrostatic
balance data from the pressure sensors and obtaining accelerometry force data from the sensors. This further
enhances the quality, health, safety, and environment (QHSE) aspects of the workover intervention.
CT internal and external annulus pressures have long been used to derive the differential pressure across
nozzles and BHA. After depth control, this is the second downhole measurement that is the most used
during CT operations. The ruggedized version of pressure sensors and downhole tools now makes it possible
to have access to such measurements in high vibration and shock environments. In the particular case of
milling, monitoring of differential pressure across the motor and mill while the apparatus is activated allows
engineers to run performance analysis by tracking the motor efficiency while the motor/mill is on and off
the bottom, motor wear and tear for elastomer life estimation, and stall detection for advance warnings
to onsite engineers to take essential precautions. Additionally, in CT milling operations, excessive solids
loading in the wellbore and fluid loss to the formation are serious concerns for the safety of operations.
The pressure sensor package can also provide real-time indications of potential fluid loss to the formation,
help track fluid column loading with excess of solids, and, more importantly, detect the influx of reservoir
gas and fluid into the wellbore, which can create an undesired underbalance condition that can lead to well
control complications.
To reduce the operational cost of CT interventions, the effective rate of penetration (ROP) during milling
must be closely monitored and kept within the preplanned design, which is the industry-wide established
parameter to measure milling efficiency (Fig. 4).

Figure 4—Surface data acquired during the milling operation. Industry-

wide practice consists in adjusting the ROP watching CT weight and CT speed.
SPE-189942-MS 7

With the afore-mentioned technology, it is easy to control the actual weight on bit as it can be accurately
measured in real time, without delays (green trace in Fig. 5). This, in turn, makes it easy to control the ROP,
which is particularly important when the surface CT weight cannot be applied on the mill advantageously,
such as when the target milling area lays in horizontal or slanted section or for extended reach applications.
Moreover, the availability of real-time data makes possible the early detection of milling complications, such
as sticking and drag, that can affect the ROP. The downhole data can assist in preventing the undesired events
by managing situations with real-time wellbore parameters. In Fig. 4, the effectiveness of this approach can
be seen with an entire milling operation that was completed in two attempts with a bottom-up in the middle.
This clearly demonstrates that by controlling the downhole parameters, ROP can be maintained and the
operation can be executed effectively.

Figure 5—Sample of downhole motor performance monitoring while milling. From top to bottom:
downhole annular temperature (red), downhole pressure inside the CT (yellow), downhole
annular pressure (brown), force at the end of the BHA (green), force at the load module (blue),
torque at the load module (purple), surface CT weight (turquoise), and measured depth (black).
8 SPE-189942-MS

Another advantage of the presented system is the presence of a torque sensor, thanks to which the
performance of the motor and mill can be assessed against motor specification charts for differential pressure
versus torque versus rpm outputs. Based on that evaluation, motor performance can be adjusted by shifting
the true weight on bit and depth control to prevent stalls. This can be achieved continuously without stopping
pumping, as doing so can cause adverse situations, such as, accumulation of non-circulated debris that can
drop around the mill and cause that the CT get stuck.
Motor stalls are not always clearly detectable using pressure fluctuations, and the sustained weight
applied on motor and mill does not adequately translate as a motor efficiency factor. Therefore, obtaining
a comprehensive understanding for decision making can only be achieved by combining downhole and
surface sensor readings. This saves significant cost. Examples of cost savings include eliminating the need
to pull out of the hole to replace the motor and mill, optimizing the motor and mill life, and augmenting the
ROP adjustments to parameters such as pump rate or pressures (Fig. 5).
Fig. 6 shows how during the first milling intervention the downhole and surface parameters for primary
evaluating the performance of the motor during the stall scenarios.

Figure 6—Early stall warnings.

On the left track, torque (in ft-lb) is shown in orange, and downhole weight (in lbm) is shown in red. On
the right track, downhole annulus pressure is in blue, and CT bottomhole pressure is in purple. For this case,
the effective ROP was approximately 30 ft/hr. By analyzing all the data and by tying the downhole data into
surface data, significant contributions can be developed to further improve the operational performance of
the milling, the analysis was focused on the ROP and the appearance of stalling under different parameters,
such as, downhole circulating pressure and the increase on the torque. In a subsequent intervention, lessons
learned were implemented with the positive results of an effective ROP of 20 ft/hr (Fig. 7). In this case,
milling of 30 ft of cement was completed in two stages with an effective ROP of 20.6 ft/hr and with only
one case of motor stalling, which clearly demonstrates the extra benefit introduced into the operation with
the technology.
SPE-189942-MS 9

Figure 7—Improved ROP during subsequent milling operations with better progress and less stalling.
From top to bottom: downhole annular temperature (red), downhole pressure inside the CT (yellow),
downhole annular pressure (brown), force at the end of the BHA (green), force at the load module
(blue), torque at the load module (purple), surface CT weight (turquoise), and measured depth (black).

Conclusions
This successful milling operation in a 7-in. monobore completion in gas conditions was the result of several
achievements made during the course of the project. The CT real-time telemetry system utilized rugged
downhole tools, which had never been used in these conditions before. They provided downhole torque,
pressure (both inside and outside of the milling tool), depth control variables, and weight on bit that were
interpreted to take actions to mill 100 ft of cement and a drillable plug in three runs more efficiently. The
critical injection operation of the fiber-optic carrier in the 2 3/8-in. CT pipe required incorporating extra
equipment such as flowmeters and pressure gauges in the system to closely check pumping parameters.
This validated setup is now to be used as a standard for similar interventions worldwide. The architecture
of data exchange between the software of the different companies involved in job execution proved to be
effective at compiling all the critical parameters and sending then to a remote office for interpretation. This
setup can easily be transposed to other operating environments to benefit operations whereby two or more
acquisition systems are simultaneously required.
10 SPE-189942-MS

Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Schlumberger for the permission to publish this paper and all the people involved
in making this implementation a success.

References
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