Friday, May 16, 2014

Service Types & Application Areas of Well Intervention Industry

Well intervention or well work activity provides well diagnostics and manages production of the well. These operations are carried on oil or gas well to maintain or increase its productivity. 

Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com

The global market for well intervention is growing at a high rate. The offshore well intervention market having 37% shares in 2012 is expected to hold 46% market share by 2018.

Well intervention is used in different processes. Some of the important types of well intervention processes are mentioned below:

1.   Pumping

The simplest form of intervention is pumping where no hardware is used inside the well. The pumping process involves rigging up to the kill wing valve on the Christmas tree and pumping the required chemicals into the well.

2.   Wellhead and Christmas tree maintenance

The complexity of Wellhead and Christmas tree maintenance can vary depending on the condition of the wellheads. Scheduled annual maintenance may simply involve greasing and pressure testing the valve on the hardware. Sometimes the downhole safety valve is pressure tested as well.

3.   Slickline

Slickline operations may be used for fishing, gauge cutting, setting or removing plugs, deploying or removing wireline retrievable valves, and memory logging.

4.   Coiled tubing

Coiled tubing is used when it is desired to pump chemicals directly to the bottom of the well, such as in a circulating operation or a chemical wash. It can also be used for tasks normally done by wireline if the deviation in the well is too severe for gravity to lower the toolstring and circumstances prevent the use of a wireline tractor.
5.   Snubbing

Snubbing, also known as hydraulic workover, involves forcing a string of pipe into the well against wellbore pressure to perform the required tasks. The rigup is larger than for coiled tubing and the pipe more rigid.
6.   Workover
In some older wells, changing reservoir conditions or deteriorating condition of the completion may necessitate pulling it out to replace it with a fresh completion.

7.   Subsea well Intervention

Subsea well intervention is somewhat more challenging which requires advance planning. This type is mainly used in high or medium intervention vessels such as snubbing and workover.  

Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com
The global market for well intervention consists of different types of services and its applications in different areas. Detailed analysis of well intervention market gives rise to many factors like market drivers, threats & opportunities in the market etc.

Main service areas of this market are bottom hole surveys, stimulation jobs, tubing/packer failure & repair, zonal isolations operations, remedial cementing, fishing, re-perforation, artificial lift services and sand control services.

The demand for workover services is increasing because it is more useful in the oil and gas production from aging brown fields. The demand for well intervention services is increasing globally due to increased demand & large investments for oil field developments. America is the region with most no. of market shares followed by Europe & Asia-Pacific.

Oil field developments in the U.S. are said to be largest end user industry for well intervention services.


Well intervention market has huge potential, the reason behind that is existing oil reserves are depleting at a high rate which forces oil companies to operate in offshore site.  Another factor is the increasing energy demand. To satisfy the increasing demand of oil and gas, oil companies are looking for unlocking the full potential of wells.

Hence, there is a large scope for improvement in equipments and technologies of well intervention. In order to maintain production of oil & gas as per demand, it is important to maintain wells and extract the maximum resources.

Most of the key market players in this market are based in Americas whereas players with significant market base are in Europe. The other countries are witnessing emerging trends of the market.

Key market players in this market are:
  • Schlumberger Ltd (U.S.),
  • Weatherford International Ltd (Switzerland),
  • Aker Solutions ASA (Norway),
  • Archer – The Well Company (Bermuda),
  • Halliburton Co. (U.S.),
  • Superior Energy Services (U.S.),
  • Nabors Industries Ltd (Bermuda),
  • Baker Hughes Inc. (U.S.)


The growth strategy of this industry is developed by strategies of key market players. The commonly used growth strategies by key players in this market are merger & acquisition, diversification & expansions, NPD or new services and improvement in technology.

The global market for well intervention is growing at a high rate. The offshore well intervention market having 37% shares in 2012 is expected to hold 46% market share by 2018.

Logging & bottom hole survey, tubing/packer failure & repair, and stimulation are the major well intervention market contributing 50% of the market.

The demand for technologically advanced and cost effective intervention solutions leads to launch highly innovative and integrated intervention services.

The cost effective intervention technologies are proved to be very useful for companies to expand growth strategy into new and emerging market.

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