This school was put together to teach new hands to run fishing tools and broaden the ability of the more experienced hands. It is a school in every sense of the word. Key people in the company will evaluate you in several categories. There will be a test at the end of the week to help in these evaluations. When you finish this school, you will not be a fishing tool hand, but will have a better understanding of what is expected of you by the company and the customer that you will be working for. The first thing you should do is spend some time in the store nearest you. You should also take some of the tools apart and reassemble them until you understand the way they operate.
- Do Break all tools in the proper places before laying them down.
- Do Release fish from tools before laying tools down.
- Do Count all joints of the work string as soon as possible.
- Do Get an average length per foot on the work string. To do this, you measure in the hole or take their pipe tally and divide the number of joints into the total figure. Example: You have 245 joints measuring 7500 ft. Divide 245 into 7500, this equals 30.6. This can be a big help if a doubt comes up.
- Don’t Wait to keep you figure in order.
Don’t Argue with the company man. Discuss the job with him, but do not argue.
- Don’t Wait to keep your paper work up.
- Don’t Misspell a company man’s name.
When ordering tools or discussing a job, we should all try to use the same terminology. You need to learn which terms are used on your delivery tickets. When calling to order tools, you should know the name, serial number, part number, strength, size, etc. of the part you will need.
All of these things and many more should be considered and some discussed before deciding what to run.
I think every Fishing Tool Supervisor should be on hand when a job that he is going on is being laid out. If he is not on hand, and something is left out, then he doesn’t have anyone to blame but himself.
When discussing the dimensions of tools, we will refer to the inside diameter as the I.D., and the outside diameter as the O.D., all linear measurements will be in tenths.
A fishing tool hand is supposed to be an expert, a professional or an authority on what he is doing. To make a customer believe this, you will have to have your program planned ahead and not delay operations by shutting things down while you figure out what to do next. Always have the tools you plan to run measured and ready to go in the hole when it is time to run them. Don’t wait until you are ready to pick them up to do this.
No one is expected to have all the answers, such as dimensions and strengths of tools and pipe, so it is a good idea to have sheets with this kind of information with you and know where to find it. I know it is impossible to carry all the books you would need; therefore, I would suggest you get a large loose-leaf notebook and compile your own book by taking the important pages out of other books, this way you will eliminate lots of things you don’t need.
A fishing job should be planned ahead of time, I don’t mean before you leave the shop. I mean by you on the job, plan what you are going to run next, know all the facts before going on the rig floor: O.D.’s and I.D.’s, lengths, strengths, where you will hit the fish, how many joints of pipe it will take to reach a desired depth. Think about what you intend to do when you go on the rig floor. If you are going to make a rat hole connection, rotate with the slips, or power tongs or what ever. Think about how you are going to move the pipe to keep it free, if you are going to circulate or not. Always have your pipe figures up to date before going on the rig floor.
Figures are probably the single most important thing when running fishing tools. There is no way to impress upon you how important it is to keep good figures and records during a fishing job. Good figures will eliminate loss of doubt by you and the customer.
A Fishing Tool Supervisor should have some knowledge of mud and check it occasionally. He should also have some knowledge of pumps and their abilities.
Never run washpipe or other tools that will create pressure downward in the well at high speed. This can cause lost circulation problems.
Always be sure you are not swabbing the well when you are pulling out of the hole with a packer or other full gage tools.
When a fishing job is necessary, several things should be carefully thought out. What is the fish? What are the exact sizes of the fish? What caused it to stick? Is there a chance of pressure when the fish is pulled loose or washed over? Is the fish plugged? If so, what with? Does the hole have a weak area that could cause a kick?
Be careful not to let some one other than the company man talk you into running something or doing something he doesn’t know about. You will get some good suggestions from others sometimes, and they should not be ignored, but don’t forget who you are working for.
Always follow the company’s safety rules and other rules or regulations that might be imposed on the other personnel on the rig.
You should never jar on elevators when the Kelly can be used. If there is no choice, be sure and secure the latch on the elevators and check them often to be sure pins and etc. are not being jarred loose.
Familiarize yourself with the procedure to close the BOP’s or Hydril, you may find yourself alone on the floor when the well kicks.
When on a fishing job, it is very important to be on the rig floor at all critical times such as when the bottom assembly is picked up or broken down, when going into open hole or when going into the top of the liner, when you get to the top of a fish, or when you expect an obstruction or tight place in the well.
When making up or breaking down a fishing assembly, you should always instruct the crews as to where to put the tongs and how much to tighten each break. I have heard drillers ask, “How tight do you want this?” and the answer be “tight”. You can damage joint washpipe threads by tightening them too tight and sometimes even cause them to fall down hole because they were tightened too much.
Discuss all plans and operations with the company man in charge of the job. Offer ideas to him that he can pass on to his office. If you don’t, the job will soon run out of the office and you will have lost your standing as a fishing tool man. Don’t argue with the company man. Give your opinion after you have thought it out real well, discuss it with him, but do not argue with him.
When you have a wireline unit such as free point and backoff work on the job, always remember that you still have the responsibility of the fishing job and should not let them jeopardize your job in any way. They will sometimes want excessive torque when your tools won’t stand it, sometimes they will have a delay or take an unusual time to do something that will put the washpipe or work string in danger of sticking, or want to work torque down when it will cause a spear or an overshot to release. You will have to remember that they have a job too, and if you work together, both jobs will go much better.
You should always caution the crews on handling washpipe and tools so as not to cause damage to them. Some tools that will stand great punishment down hole when run properly will damage very easily on the rig floor. The less tools you have damaged on a job, handling or down hole, is a reflection on your ability to supervise a job.