NEW WORKOVER TOOL IMPROVES WELL PERFORMANCE.

This article describes a newly developed tool called hydro-knife designed specifically for cleaning slotted liners. The tool's key features are expandable knife plates mounted between two cups. As the tool passes across the liner, steel knives pop into the liner's slots to clean out debris. The tool is run to the bottom of the well on a string of tubing. A workover fluid is pumped down the tubing to pressure out the knife plates to within 1/8 in. of the liner wall, which gives the plates clearance between slots. The action of the knives in scrapping out debris combined with pressure washing action of the workover fluid being pumped down the tubing dramatically improves the cleaning process. The hydro-knife was installed at a Texaco operated well in the Kern River field in California where it helped raise the well output from 8 b/d net to 20 b/d net.