COILED TUBING ROD STRINGS MAY EXTEND THE LIFE OF SPRABERRY WELLS (AND OTHERS) IN THE PERMIAN BASIN

Spraberry operators in West Texas have been fighting casing leaks caused by the corrosive fluids in the San Andres formation for years. Water produced by the Dean, Upper and Lower Spraberry formations is disposed of into the San Andres. There are possibly thousands of Spraberry wells that were drilled and completed without getting cement across the San Andres. This has resulted in plugging many of these wells. Spraberry wells will produce 5 -10 BOPD for decades, but when the corrosive waters from the San Andres cause casing leaks, it becomes uneconomical to continue producing these wells. This paper will discuss the combination of slimhole conversion and the installation of a coiled tubing rod string system to solve the casing corrosion problems in wells that are usually considered P&A candidates. The development of the coiled tubing rod string system will be looked at. Case histories will also be presented.