Perforating

CONTENTS
1 SHAPED CHARGE CHARACTERISTICS AND
PERFORMANCE
1.1 Principles of Shaped Charges
1.2 Factors Influencing Charge Performance
1.3 Perforation Charge Arrangement
2 ASSESSMENT OF CHARGE PERFORMANCE
2.1 API RP. 43 Fifth Edition - Standard Tests
2.2 Significance and Validity of API RP No 43
Tests
3 PERFORATING GUN SYSTEMS
3.1 Wireline Conveyed Casing Guns
3.2 Wireline Conveyed Through Tubing Guns
3.3 Tubing Conveyed Perforating Guns
3.3.1 Deployment Options
3.3.2 Firing Options
3.3.3 TCP Gun Disposal
3.3.4 Advantages / Disadvantages of TCP
4 OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
4.1 Surface Pressure Equiptment
4.2 Depth Correlation
4.3 Safety Procedures
4.4 Gun Length/Perforated Interval
4.5 Perforating Multiple Zones
4.6 Temperature Effects
4.7 Casing Damage
4.8 Gun Orientation
4.9 Charge Quality
EXERCISE

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Having worked through this chapter the student will be able to:
Describe the options and their advantages and disadvantages for perforating oil and
gas wells.
Describe how to select between over balance and under balanced perforating.
Describe how to define an outline strategy to complete a well as part of a completion
operation.
Understand the importance of charge design and what factors influence performance.
Identify draw down condition to be specified.
Discuss the importance of protecting perforations against leak off and damage
during completion and work over operations.

Perforating

INTRODUCTION
In the majority of completions, once the reservoir has been drilled, production casing
or a liner is run into the well and cemented in place. To provide the communication
path between the reservoir and the wellbore, it will be necessary to produce holes
through the wall of the casing, the cement sheath and penetrate into the formation.
This is accomplished by a technique called perforating.
The basic operation requires that a series of explosive charges are lowered into the
well either on an electric conductor wireline cable, or on tubing or drillstring, and
when the charges are located at the required depth, they are detonated to produce a
series of perforations through the wall of the casing and the cement sheath.
Since the perforations will hopefully provide the only communication between the
reservoir and wellbore, it is necessary to carefully design and execute the perforating
operation, to provide the required degree of reservoir depletion control and maximise
well productivity/injectivity.
Initially, the type of charges used in perforating guns were bullets, but with the
development of armour penetrating explosives during World War II, shaped charges
or jet perforators are now almost exclusively used.

1 SHAPED CHARGE CHARACTERISTICS AND PERFORMANCE

A considerable amount of research has been conducted through the years into the
mechanics of the detonation of shaped charges and the subsequent penetration of the
target. A large number of design parameters, as well as operational conditions, can
markedly effect the performance of shaped charged perforators.

1.1 Principles of shaped charges

The basic shaped charge consists of:
(1) A conical metallic liner
(2) A primer explosive charge
(3) The main explosive charge
(4) A charge case or container
The components are depicted in Fig 1.

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Case or Container
Main Explosive Charge
Detonating Cord
Groove Point of
Initiation

Primer Charge

Figure 1
Shaped charge

Liner

The main explosive charge is usually a desensitised RDX (Cyclonite) type of

explosive which besides being extremely powerful in terms of the energy released per
unit weight of explosive, also reacts very quickly. In fact, once the main charge is
detonated the process is completed after only 100 - 300 seconds. This fast reaction
time is of importance in that it concentrates the detonation energy of the exploding
charge to a very limited target area and also excludes any thermal effects.
The main explosive is contained within a charge container which can be manufactured
as either a metal or a disintegrateable case e.g. ceramic which will be shattered during
the explosion. Whilst a metal case would assist in containing and directing the force
of the explosion to a certain target area, the target area would be diffuse as it would
depend upon the diameter of the exit area for the explosion from the charge case and
its distance from the target area. To concentrate the impact of the explosive force on
the target the charge case is normally designed with a conical liner. This conical liner
assists in concentrating the explosive force of the charge so that it provides maximum
penetration of the target over a limited area as illustrated in Fig 2. From Fig 2, it can
be seen that if a flat end is used for the shaped charge, the force of the explosion is
spread over a wide area of the target with very limited penetration. However, if a
conical cavity is introduced, the force of the explosion provides much greater
penetration of the target. However, if the conical cavity is lined with a metallic liner,
the penetration is substantially increased.

Flat - End
Effect

Unlined Cavity
Effect

Lined Cavity
Effect

To understand more clearly how the use of a metallic liner can influence the
penetration in this way, it is necessary to consider in more detail the actual mechanics
of the explosion. The detonation is actuated from surface by either electrical current
in the case of a wireline conveyed gun or by mechanical, hydraulic or electrical means
if the gun is conveyed on tubing. First, the primer charge is detonated and this in turn
fires the main charge.
4

Figure 2
The importance of using a
conical liner in a shaped
charge

Perforating

On detonation of the main charge, a detonation wave is produced which moves from
the apex of the charge container at a speed estimated to be 30,000 ft/sec. This
explosive detonation wave exerts pressures of up to 2-4 x 106 psi against the liner
which then starts to deform. The material of the liner on the outside flows towards
the centre of the cone to form a jet of fluidised material, whilst the material of the cone
initially in contact with the explosive charge, collapses inwards towards the central
axis of the cone, to produce a slug or tail of fluidised material. The relative
distribution of the material between the jet and the slug is 1/3 and 2/3 of the total
respectively, Fig 3.
Main Charge
Primer

Detonation
Wave

Conical Copper
Liner
Slug

Figure 3
Detonation process and
deformation of the conical
liner

Collapsing
Liner

Jet

(a)

(b)

The jet leaving the charge has a velocity of the order of 20,000 ft/sec. and has an
impact pressure on the casing of 5 x 106 psi. Under such high impact pressures, the
casing material that it contacts, becomes plastic and moves away from the impact of
the jet. The material in the formation will be compacted and moved back into the
formation ahead of the jet as the tunnel is created through the casing and cement
sheath into the formation. The whole process takes place almost instantaneously and
since no thermal effects take place, no fusion or burning occurs. The penetration
is due solely to the extremely high impact force exerted on the target by the jet.
The jet, whilst it is being created over an interval of a few microseconds starts to
extend and move away from the charge. However, the slug material, although it
comprises the bulk of the mass of the liner will lag behind the jet and in fact plays
no real purpose in creating the perforation. On the contrary, the material of the slug
will follow the jet into the perforation where, due to its mass, it will be deposited,
thus giving rise to plugging of the perforation. The presence of the slug is therefore
detrimental to the subsequent flow performance of the perforation. One approach
to eliminate the slug has been to create a bi-metallic liner system, where the inside
surface of the cone which will produce the jet is composed of copper whilst that on
the outside is a metal, such as zinc, which will readily vapourise during the explosion,
figure 4.

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Zinc

No Slug

Jet

Copper

Figure 4
Schematic of bimetallic
liners deformation

It is therefore clear that the penetration process is controlled to a large extent by the
characteristics of a jet moving at very high velocity which impacts on the target
material. The area of the target affected will be directly proportional to the diameter
of the jet produced. Since the depth of penetration is directly influenced by the speed
of the jet, it is evident that it is of paramount importance to maintain the jet at a
minimum diameter Figure 5
Charge

Vi

Slug

Pi
Jet

0.5

1"
16

Pressure On Target - Pi = 5 x 106 PSI

Velocity Of Forward Jet - Vi = 20,000 Ft./Sec.

The impact of the perforating jet upon the formation it penetrates is one of compaction
of the rock which it encounters. Since the rock is not vapourised, it will be merely
pushed back into the formation around the perforation tunnel it creates. The material
will be crushed and compacted. The consequent perforation tunnel and surrounding
formations will thus consist of several zones in which the natural state of reservoir rock
has been changed as depicted in Figure 6. The zone immediately adjacent to the
perforation tunnel will consist of a layer of compacted and crushed formation grains
and will possess a permeability substantially lower than the original reservoir
permeability. Adjacent to this layer will be a series of layers in which the rock will
have been overstressed resulting in a combination of micro-fractures and grain
compaction and breakage. These layers referred to as the crushed zone will extend to
a radial depth of the order of 1/2 inch around the perforation tunnel wall. The
permeability has been estimated to be of the order of 20% of the original permeability.

Figure 5
Perforating jet
characteristic and
properties at impact with
the target

Perforating

Berea sandstone core

1.375

Radial Distance, (Inches)

Radial extent of consolidation

Significantly reduced permeability, this region and inward
Significant grain fracturing: original grain-to-grain
contacts remain intact. Low permeability, diminishing radially
0.75

Significant grain fracturing: grain separation parallel to

perforation axis. Assumed low flow resistance

0.50
0.30
0.20
Open
Perforation

Intense fracturing, debris, quartz and carbonate

fines. Assumed low flow resistance

Figure 6
Crushed zone and
compaction regions around
the perforation tunnel

1
2
Linear Distance, (Inches)

However, the properties and extent of the crushed zone will depend upon a number
of factors including:
(1) Size of perforation charge
(2) Casing wall thickness and strength
(3) Cement sheath thickness and strength
(4) Grain composition, size and shape of the formation rock
(5) Stress conditions in the near wellbore region
(6) Proximity of nearest perforations in the same vertical plane.

1.2 Factors influencing charge performance

The physical performance of a shaped charge is normally gauged from a number of
characteristics:(1) Penetration length
(2) Perforation diameter
(3) Perforation hole volume
(4) Burr height on the inside of the casing around the perforation entrance hole.
However, charge performance will be a complex matter since it will be affected by
charge size, material and configuration, the dimensions and shape of the charge case
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and most importantly the characteristics of the conical liner as shown in Figure 7 as
well as the strength characteristics of the formation and the wellbore conditions.
Volume

Shaped Charge
p

Target

L
Ent.
Hole

Dv

Standoff

Penetration

To Increase:
Penetration - reduce , increase b, a, d, t, C, and Dv
Entrance hole - increase , d, reduce b, t, and Dv at apex
Hole volume - increase , d, t, Reduce b, adjust Dv and L within charge

It would, therefore, be expected that the following parameters may influence the
physical performance of the shaped charge:(a) Gun size/explosive charge size
The size of the perforating gun will dictate the maximum explosive load which can be
accommodated in the charges.
In general terms, both the penetration and the diameter of the entrance hole will
increase as the gun diameter and hence the size of explosive charge also increase as
shown in Figure 8.

Figure 7
Factors which influence
shaped charge performance

Perforating

80

80 Gms.

11

150

100

80
10

13.8"

50
26
Grams of Explosive
18 - 21

35

54

1.1

36
7

9 - 15

1.0

19

0.9

16
6

0.8

37

0.7

0.6

0.5
3

0.4
0.3

0.2

Figure 8
Effect of gun size on
entrance hole diameter and
depth of penetration

Entrance Hole (tenths - inches)

Penetration (inches)

18
1

11

1 16

28
2

34 3238
3

0.1

44

58
5

Gun Diameter (inches)

(b) Wellbore fluid pressure, temperature and density

It would be expected that if the fluid in the wellbore were very dense, then it could
reduce the jet velocity and impair its physical performance. However, in reality the
thickness of the fluid film through which the jet moves is normally small. If however
the charge size is small or the gun clearance is large, penetration could be reduced.
Similarly well pressure has shown no observable effect on charge performance. This
is particularly important given the frequent use of reduced hydrostatic pressure in the
wellbore whilst perforating in an underbalanced mode. The effect on flow performance is much more important. However, elevated well temperatures can lead to
significant degradation of the charges with consequent poor performance. However,
the effect is only serious in deep hot wells where the gun contact time is large. In such
situations, the protection of the explosive charges by their inclusion in a hollow gun
carrier is advisable.
(c) Gun clearance
Since all perforating guns have a diameter which is substantially less than the casing
inside diameter it follows that the gun cannot be expected to be centralised. If the
charges are loaded on a design which calls for them to fire at different angular phasings
then each charge will face a varying gap between the gun outside diameter and the
inside diameter of the casing. This gap is known as gun clearance.
The effect of gun clearance upon penetration and entrance hole size is shown in Fig
9 for a simulated perforating configuration. It can be seen that maximum entrance hole
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size is achieved with a gun clearance of 1/2 inch (normally provided as a defined stand
off in the gun) but in general both penetration and entrance hole size decrease with
increasing clearance.
0.1" - Ent. Hole
2.5" - Pene.

0.18" - Ent. Hole

3.7" - Pene.

Simulated Formation
- Berea Sandstone

Cement

7" Casing
0.3" - Ent. Hole
6.0" - Pene.
0.3" - Ent. Hole
6.0" - Pene.

Bore Hole

Figure 9
Typical result of
perforation with 1 11/16"
through tubing gun in a
deviated production casing

The effect will be most serious when a very small diameter gun is used as is the case
with wireline conveyed through tubing guns where the gun size is selected to pass
through the completion string. In such cases it might be preferable to place all the
charges to fire in-line and align the gun in the casing using a positioning device, to
provide minimum gun clearance.
(d) Compressive strength of formation rock
It would seem logical for the compressive strength of the rock to have a large effect
on the physical performance of jet perforators. Although the effect is not clearly
quantified, the perforation obtained is inversely proportional to rock compressive
strength as shown in Fig 10. It will be necessary to extrapolate test firing results
obtained from a standard test material to specific reservoir rocks.

20
18

4" Bullet Guns

16

Penetration - Inches

14
12

4" Jet Guns

10

Hydraulic
Perforator
(20 minute, without
nitrogen)

8
6
4
2
0

10

12

14

16

Rock Compressive Strength - 1,000 PSI

10

18

20

Figure 10
Penetration reduction
produced by high
compressive strength of the
formation rock

Perforating

(e) Strength of casing and radial support of cement sheath

If the casing to be perforated is constructed from high grade tensile steel, it will absorb
more energy whilst being perforated and hence reduce the overall length of the
perforation. In reality, the effect is relatively small.
However, as the number of perforations shot into a casing increases, the structural
integrity of the casing is reduced and the possibility of splitting the casing cannot be
discounted. This will be a very serious consideration where the cement sheath is
incomplete, as perforating a casing, behind which no cement exists, could give rise
to casing rupture.

1.3 Perforation charge arrangement

In the preparation of a perforation gun, a number of charges are assembled on a carrier
such that upon detonation they will yield a series of perforations into the formation.
The arrangement provides for variation in the number of shots to be fired per unit
interval, i.e. the shot density and the direction in which all, or individual, charges will
be shot, i.e. the shot phasing.
The number of shots installed in a perforating gun varies from low shot density, e.g.
less than 1 shot/ft, to higher shot densities of up to 16 shots/ft. The lower shot densities
are normally adequate for production in reservoirs of moderate to high productivity
or are selected for specific injection operations where flow control is required. The
higher shot densities will provide improved inflow performance in all reservoirs but
may only be significantly beneficial in reservoirs with a low vertical permeability or
where severe local drawdown might give rise to formation sand collapse.
The orientation of perforations defined as the angular phasing can be:
(a) 0 or in-line firing which can provide the minimum clearance for all perforations
if the gun is positioned to fire on the low side of the hole.
(b) 45 to 90 phasing which provides the nearest approximation to radial flow.
(c) 180 phasing in either of the two planar directions.
(d) 120 phasing either with all 3 shots firing at 120 to each other or omitting 1
charge such that the 2 shots fire at +60 and -60 angular phase.
The phase orientations are depicted in Figure 11. All perforation flow patterns are
utilised. 90 phasing which provides the best radial depletion can be very effective
when conducted with high shot densities. However, the selection of phasing will
depend not only on shot densities but gun size, gun clearance, formation isotropy or
anisotropy with respect to permeability. It is clear that for each shot density a number
of options regarding phasing can exist, for example, 4 shots/ft can normally be fired
at 0, 90 or 180 phasing (Figure 12).

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11

Shot Orientation

Angular Phasing

45

60

90

120

180

12

Figure 11
perforation shot phasing
pattern

Perforating

Figure 12
Perforation shot density:
Example of four shots/foot
in line firing and 90
phasing

4 Shots per Foot

0 Phasing

4 Shots per Foot

90 Phasing

2 THE ASSESSMENT OF PERFORATING CHARGE PERFORMANCE

2.1 API RP. 43 Fifth Edition - Standard Tests
There are a large number of companies who offer a perforating service, but the
industry has defined a series of standardised test procedures which will allow a
comparative measure to be made of the charges on offer. The test procedures and
guidelines are contained within the API Recommended Practise No 43 5th edition. To
characterise the performance of perforation charges, a number of different tests are
proposed. Section I details the testing to be conducted to assess the physical
performance of perforating charges in terms of the perforation dimensions under
preset firing conditions. Section II of API RP 43 deals with the assessment of the
impact of confining pressure on the physical dimensions of perforations created in a
sandstone sample confined by a simulated over burden pressure. Section 3 and 4 deals
with the effects of temperature and the flow capacity of perforations respectively.
The section I test prescribes the firing of a perforating gun into a casing which has been
cemented with concrete into a drum. The gun can be positioned to provide the degree
of eccentricity to be expected within the casing under downhole conditions and will
contain several charges which will be detonated simultaneously to simulate downhole
firing. Normally the gun will be arranged to provide the shot phasings and clearance
expected to be used downhole. The test requires that the concrete must have been
cured for a minimum of 28 days prior to use and possess a minimum tensile strength
of 400 psi (which corresponds to a minimum compressive strength of 4000 psi).
After detonation of the gun, the casing and target will be examined and the following
measurements made and reported:(1) The burr height on the casing
(2) Average diameter of the perforation
(3) Length of the perforation.
In addition, the gun clearance for all shots and gun positioning must be recorded.

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13

The Section I test in no way attempts to compare the flow effectiveness and takes no
consideration of the crushed zone characteristics. However it does give a guide to
comparing perforation charge capabilities albeit on a comparative basis only, since no
attempt is made to assess the performance in specific lithologies.
In the section 2 test a 4" diameter Berea sandstone core is perforated.

2.2 Significance and Validity of API RP No 43 5th Edition

It must be stressed that the API RP 43 tests are principally of comparative value only
and provide little direct indication of downhole performance.
The section I test seeks merely to establish a comparative measure between the
physical characteristics of perforation produced under constant conditions using a
range of charges. Since no attempt is made to establish the performance in specific
lithologies and using realistic in situ stresses the results in fact provide little indication
of the real perforation characteristics which will be achieved in the reservoir. Since no
method has yet been published to allow a prediction of performance under different
compressive loads and with different lithologies, it is difficult to use the Section I tests
to predict downhole performance.
The section 2 test allows the effect of over burden or confining stress to be evaluated.
The data from this test can be extrapolated to penetration in any reservoir of known
compressive strength using:Ln Pf = Ln Pt + 0.086 (Ct - Cf)/1000
where
Ct = Compressive strength of test material, psi, e.g. Berea sandstone 6500 psi:
Cf = Formation rock compressive strength, psi.
Pt = Penertration measured in API RP 43 test, inches.
Pf = Penetration predicted for formation rock, inches.

14

Perforating

API RP 43 - Linear flow

Pseudo sperical or hemi - spherical flow

(low shot densities or high vertical
permeability)

Figure 13
Flow profiles compared
between single and multi
shot tests

Ellipsoidal - linear flow (high shot densities

or low vertical permeability)

Similarly, the flow test Section 4 test is both simplistic and idealised and has the
following limitations:
(1) The core material is specifically sandstone and the crushed zone properties
obtained with this may be radically different both in terms of permeability and
permanency than for, say, a chalk reservoir.
(2) The core is bounded by a steel canister and this allows about 1 1/ 2" of core
surrounding the perforation tunnel. This confinement system may contain and
restrict the diameter of the perforation thus perhaps extending its length. This
may be a suitable test to simulate 4 shots/ft in line firing where a no flow
boundary may occur at 1 1/2" radially from the centre line of the tunnel but may
not simulate the case of lower shot densites or 90 and 180 firing.
(3) The fluid flow profile in the core is linear through the unperforated section and
into the end of the tunnel. In reality the flow profile will vary from being near
hemispherical in the case of 1 shot/ft, through ellipsoidal at intermediate shot
densities 2-4 and perhaps approximately linear at the high shot density
situations. This is depicted in Figure 13.

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15

It is clear that there is no complete ability to extrapolate API RP 43 test data to predict
real downhole performance in specific reservoirs. Further, the general validity of the
specific tests to simulate real perforation flow and clean up characteristics is doubtful.
Work has been conducted on various lithologies and also using cylindrical cores with
a variable overburden pressure.

3 PERFORATING GUN SYSTEMS

Several key features classify perforating operations including:
(1) Whether the gun will be run on wireline or be conveyed on tubing or a drill
string.
(2) Whether the pressure in the wellbore at the time of perforating will be less than
reservoir pressure, i.e. an underbalanced pressure condition, or be greater
than reservoir pressure, i.e. an overbalanced condition.
(3) The extent to which the gun, the charges or charge carrier will be retrieved from
the wellbore after perforating.
(4) Whether perforating will be conducted prior to, or after, mechanical completion
of the well.
The majority of wells are perforated using wireline conveyed guns. However, there
are two alternative approaches:
(1) The guns can be lowered into the cased wellbore prior to installation of the
production tubing. In such cases, the guns are referred to as casing guns and
both during and after the operation it is necessary to maintain a wellbore
pressure which exceeds the reservoir pressure unless surface pressure control
equipment is being used. Thus the approach utilises overbalanced pressure
conditions.
(2) Alternatively, after installing the completion tubing, a gun can be selected to be
run down the inside of the tubing, out of the tailpipe and perforate the casing.
The guns in this case are referred to as through tubing guns.
Alternatively, the perforating guns can be tubing conveyed either on the end of the
completion string, coiled tubing, or at the end of a drill pipe test string which will be
retrieved after well clean up prior to running the completion string.
The options are depicted in Figure 14.

16

Perforating

Figure 14
Optional techniques for
perforating

Through tubing
wireline guns

Wireline conveyed
casing guns

Tubing conveyed
guns

Perforating guns also vary according to the extent to which they are expendable, and
are classed as follows:
(a) Retrievable or hollow carrier guns are designed such that the individual charges
are fitted to a carrying strip and then connected to a primer or detonating cord.
The carrier strip with charges is then inserted into a steel carrier tube which is
sealed prior to running downhole on wireline (Figure 15). The advantages and
disadvantages of this type of perforating gun are listed in Table 1.
Steel Carrier

Figure 15
Schematic cross section of
hollow carrier perforating
gun

Main Charge

Port Plug

Primer

Air Cushion

Shaped Charge
Assembly

Electronic Detonator

Detonating Cord

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17

Advantages

Disadvantages

Retrievable
hollow
carrier gun

Robust and less liable to

be damaged during running
in charges protected from:
(a) well fluids
(b) well pressure
(c) well temperature
Fast running speeds into the
well bore.
No debris

Gun length is limited by height

availability for handling or
lubricator size (normally 60'
max). Weight of hollow carrier
can be significant.
Large intervals to perforated
will require multiple runs.

Fully
expendable
guns

Flexible and thus can be run

in longer lengths (up to 200
ft per run).
Most economical in terms of
both gun cost and time.
required.

Debris left in wellbore.

Components immersed in well
fluids.
Pressure and temperature may
limit the use of certain charges.
The gun is not rigid nor durable
and maylimit running in speeds
or tension to be pulled if gun
becomes stuck.

Semi expandable

Debris limited to crushed

charge cases.
More economical than hollow
carrier guns.

Rigid carrier strip constrains

gun length as for hollow carrier
guns.
Charges may suffer pressure
and temperature limitations
since they are immersed in
well fluids.

(b) Expendable perforating guns are designed such that the gun will self-destruct
on detonation and thus only the connectors and depth correlation equipment
will be retrieved from the well. Such guns comprise a number of charges which
are essentially strung together, i.e. no rigid carrier strip or tube is used. The
charges are also designed such that the charge case or container will fragment
/ disintegrate on detonation. The material used for fabrication of the charge case
must be friable, e.g. ceramic or aluminium, but must offer a reasonable
degree of robustness to protect the charges during handling operations.
Since the assembled gun is not rigid, the length of gun which can be used is not
limited by height availability or lubricator size. Table 1 lists some of the important
advantages and limitations of these guns.
(c) Semi expendable perforating guns are designed to offer the advantages of gun
durability and robustness which exist with the hollow carrier and the charge
disintegration of fully expendable guns. The guns are designed such that the
charges which are expendable are mounted on a carrier strip for running into the
wellbore.

3.1 Wireline Conveyed Casing Guns

These guns are largely constrained by two factors:
(1) The gun diameter must be less than the casing inside diameter. This allows a
large diameter gun to be used and hence large charges.
(2) The length of gun is defined by either the weight which can safely be suspended
by the wireline or by the length of lubricator into which the gun will be retrieved
after perforating in underbalanced conditions.

18

Table 1
Comparison of retrievable,
expendable and semi
expendable perforating
guns

Perforating

Thus, guns are normally in the range of 3 3/8" to 5" diameter and have the following
advantages:
(1) The gun diameter can allow for the use of fairly large explosive loads in the
shaped charges.
(2)The gun diameter which can be run into the well must allow for a minimum
clearance of 1/2". However if the gun size is fairly large there will be reduced
standoff or clearance for the charges, and such guns can take full advantage of
90 shot phasing to provide improved flow performance.
Casing guns are available in all 3 classifications of retrievability as shown in Figure
16. In the majority of operations where the interval to be perforated can be accomplished
with a limited number of guns, then a retrievable hollow carrier gun or a semi
expendable gun will be used. These guns can be used with a pressure control system
at surface which would comprise a lubricator and wireline BOP system mounted on
the Xmas tree.

7" Production Completion

WLD (ft BSV) TVD (mBRT) DD(mBRT

BPV Profile

line

7" 29 lb/ft tubing

1/ "Control
4

ft. flow coupling

ft. flow coupling

Ported nipple

18 5/8" 87.5 lb/ft

J55 casing

Flow coupling

Nipple

Flow coupling

Side pocket mandrel

13 3/8" 68 lb/ft

J55 casing

7" 29 lb/ft

ft flow coupling

M90 Tubing

Nipple

ft flow coupling

Sliding sleeve

Top of PBR

Bottom of PBR

Liner packer

Liner hanger

9 5/8" 47 lb/ft

Casing

Perforated intervals

Cerment drilled o t to

Length
Max. I.D.
Min. I.D.

Figure 16
Casing perforating guns

The principal application of the fully expendable guns would be in the perforation of
long intervals where, because of their flexibility, longer lengths can be introduced into
the wellbore. Thus, it may be feasible to create all the perforations simultaneously.
In general terms, the penetration obtained with casing guns is high, due to the larger
charge sizes which can be used in combination with the reduced gun standoff.
However, the larger the gun size, the higher is the entrance hole size and the CFE
obtained. The 5" big hole guns are intended primarily for perforating to reduce the
possibility of sand production or prior to the installation of a gravel pack. The
principal advantage of these guns is that the entrance hole is substantially larger than
with guns with a diameter in the range 3 1/8" - 4".

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

19

Casing guns can normally provide perforations which are larger in diameter and
deeper than those obtained with through tubing wireline guns. Their size provides an
opportunity to use not only larger explosive charges but also higher shot densities.
The main disadvantage is that this type of gun is most frequently used prior to
mechanical completion and since it will thus provide communication between the
formation and the wellbore it is necessary to either isolate the perforations or retain
a fluid in the wellbore which exerts a bottom hole pressure greater than the reservoirs
pressure. This can be obtained by any of the following:
(1) Use a drilling mud in the wellbore which, because of its pressure, will leak into
and plug the perforations (see Figure 17). This is not recommended.

Casing
Conical
Liner
Explosive

Berea Sandstone
Cement

Before Firing

A
Shaped Charge
Jet

Crushed Sandstone

During Penetration
Explosion
Undamaged Sand, Ko

After
Perforating,
Before Flow

Dirty Perforation
Debris
~ 1/2"

After Flow

Ko

Clean Perforation

Crushed Zone, Kc

(2) Use a clear completion fluid which will require effective fluid loss control using
either a high viscosity or a granular bridging material if losses are not to become
excessive.
(3) Set a high viscosity plug across the perforations, with a kill fluid above it. It is
imperative that after perforating in this way the bottom hole pressure is
maintained throughout the period of installing the completion string until the
well can be brought into production.
The use of such guns therefore is a compromise between better charge performance
and ultimate reservoir performance. Compared with through tubing guns, casing guns
20

Figure 17
Perforation plugging prior
to flow caused by solids
invasion from the fluid in
the wellbore

Perforating

offer substantially better charge performance as is evident from Fig 18. However, the
final productivity may only be comparable to, or in a large number of cases inferior
to, that obtained with through tubing guns.

Casing Guns
Natural
Completions
17

High Shot Density

Guns - Gravel Pack

14
13

Penetration (Inches)

12

Range

15
Through - Tubing
Guns
(Positioned)

11
10

1.0

0.9

1.8

1.7

1.6

1.5

1.4

1.3
1.2

Figure 18
Comparison of API RP 43
section I performance of
hollow guns

Entrance Hole Diameter (Inches)

Range

16

- Semi-Expandable Version

1
1

3
8

11
1
2
16
8

2
2

1
1
3
4
2
8
7
5
3
8
8
Gun Diameter (Inches)

0.1
5

3.2 Wireline conveyed through tubing guns

Wireline conveyed through tubing guns will obviously be constrained in diameter,
and consequently charge size, by the smallest inside diameter in the production tubing
string. In low flowrate wells where very small tubing sizes are necessary, this
technique will thus not be feasible and in such cases wireline conveyed casing guns
are used. However, through tubing guns are available in sizes down to 1 3/8".
Since the gun can be run in after the well is mechanically complete and the equipment
pressure tested, the well can be perforated under drawdown to simulate the reverse
pressure firing mode. In such cases the drawdown can be controlled by a combination
of fluid density and surface pressure.
Through tubing guns are available in a range of diameters from 1 3/8" to 3 1/2", as
retrievable, semi-expendable and fully expendable perforating guns (Figure 19).
Most commonly, however, it is the retrievable and semi-expendable guns which are
used. In general terms, the through tubing guns give reasonable performance, with
the semi-expendable charges giving slightly better performance for comparable
charge size in terms of penetration and flow efficiency. In comparison with casing gun
charges, the through tubing gun charges offer substantially reduced penetration and
in terms of flow efficiency they at least match the performance of casing guns.

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

21

- End
f
Unlined Cavity
Eff
Lined Cavity
Eff
The real benefit of through tubing guns is their ability to perforate under drawdown
conditions. The use of a drawdown prevents fluid inflow from the wellbore into the
perforation and also serves to flush out material lodged within the perforation tunnel
or surrounding matrix. It must be stressed however that due to the restriction on gun
length caused by gun retrieval only the first gun is detonated in under balance. In
general terms to remove damage from the tunnel itself, the higher the differential
pressure the more effective will be the clean up process. However the use of excessive
drawdowns can lead to:
(1) Collapse of the formation around the perforation tunnel.
(2) Mobilisation of fine particulates within the formation which can cause
destabilisation of the formation or blockage of the pore space.
In most cases the drawdown must be held within reasonable limits although for the
lower permeability rocks higher drawdowns can be used because:
(1) Higher drawdown will be required to create sufficiently high flowrates.
(2) If the reduced rock permeability is due to grain size and not just to pore space
infill, then the compressive strength of the rock will be higher.
For oil wells the drawdown should be in the range of 250-1000 psi for productive
wells; and for low permeability wells, say, 1000 psi for wells of a permeability of 100
md, and up to 2000 psi for lower permeability reservoirs. Gas well drawdowns in
excess of 1000 psi are typical and can be increased up to 5000 psi in reservoirs with
a permeability of 1 md or less.
However, the exact drawdown has to be matched to specific well conditions.
22

Figure 19
Wireline conveyed through
tubing perforating guns

Perforating

Through tubing perforating is a most widely applied method and offers a reasonable
compromise between charge performance, well productivity and safety.

3.3 Tubing conveyed perforating guns

As the name implies, tubing conveyed perforating, or TCP, involves the assembly of
a perforating gun on the end of drill pipe string, production tubing or coiled tubing and
its lowering and positioning in the wellbore prior to detonation. The technique has
increased rapidly in both application and development during the 1970s and is now
widely employed. After detonation, the gun can either be pulled from the well or
detached to drop into the wellbore sump below the perforated interval.

3.3.1 Deployment Options

Tubing conveyed perforating can either be employed by:
(1) Running the guns with a conventional drill stem test assembly as shown in
Figure 20a. After clean up, the well would have to be killed prior to retrieving
the test string, normally with the spent gun. Subsequently, the well would
be completed if required.
(2) The gun could be run attached to the base of the completion string tailpipe
below the packer. The string would be run into the hole, landed off, the packer
set and the gun detonated under drawdown. Normally, the guns would be
detached and dropped into the sump (see figure 20b).
(3) Running and retrieving the gun on coiled tubing using a CT deployment system.

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

23

Temporary
completion

Permanent
completion
Options:
APR valve
Hydra spring
Knock out disk

Tubing release sub

Retrievable packer

Permanent packer

Ported debris barrier

Ported debris barrier

Water filled tubing

Water filled tubing

Centralizer housing

Centralizer housing

Pup joint

Pup joint

Perforating guns

Perforating guns

(a)

(b)

3.3.2 Firing Options

When the gun is in position, it can be detonated by one of a number of optional
techniques:
(1) Mechanical firing
A bar or go-devil can be dropped down the tubing onto a plunger which contacts a
blasting cap on top of the gun. An inferior method is to incorporate the blasting cap
on the bar which is dropped downhole. This method can be unreliable if debris is
allowed to accumulate on top of the firing head. This potential problem can be
alleviated by running a ported debris barrier which will allow circulation above the
firing head prior to detonation. Apart from surface pressure, there is no reliable
indication of detonation and this can lead to uncertainties regarding safety if the string
has to be pulled.
(2) Hydromechanical
In this technique, the annulus can be pressured up and the pressure routed through a
bypass valve above the packer, onto a series of shear pins on the firing head. Once a
differential pressure is exerted sufficient to shear the pins, the firing pin is driven down

24

Figure 20
Common configuration for
TCP system

Perforating

against the detonator. This technique would be more reliable than the mechanical
method, especially in deviated wellbores.
(3) Wireline firing
In this system, a special wet connect is run on wireline after the guns are positioned.
This wet connect attaches to the firing head which can then be fired by passing an
electrical current down the cable from surface. The main advantage of this technique
is that, besides surface pressure being created on successful firing, there are also
electrical indications at the surface.

3.3.3 TCP Gun Disposal

After detonation the gun can be dropped. However, if it is decided to flow the well
either before detaching the gun, or if it is intended to retrieve the gun, a vent assembly
or perforated joint must be provided below the packer where fluid can enter the flow
string.

3.3.4 Advantages / Disadvantages of TCP

A major advantage of TCP is that as with using casing guns, the gun size and,
accordingly, that density and charge size can be quite large. Given the size of the guns,
it would be expected that the charges would offer deep penetration with large entrance
hole size and good flow efficiency. The principal advantages of TCP are that it can
offer the ability to use large charges with high shot density (up to 16 shots/ft) and
perforate under substantial drawdown if required. It therefore combines some of the
advantages of casing and through tubing guns.
The advantages of tubing conveyed guns are:
(1) The ability to use high shot densities and to create large entrance hole sizes can
lead to reduced hydraulic erosion in the formation around the perforations. This
allows higher flowrates to be realised without formation breakdown.
(2) The perforating operation can be completed in one run even for long intervals.
Intervals in excess of 1000 m have been shot in one run with TCP.
(3) Unlike wireline operations, even if the interval is fairly large, the ability to shoot
the interval with one gun means that all the perforations are created
simultaneously, which benefits well clean up and productivity.
(4) As with the through tubing techniques the well is not perforated until the well
is completed and it is safe to allow well fluids to enter the wellbore.
(5) With wireline conveyed guns, whilst perforating under drawdown, there is a
danger that the guns will be damaged or blown up the wellbore if too high a
pressure drawdown is used. With TCP, the durability of the system allows high
differential pressures, e.g. >2500 psi, to be used.
(6) If the hydromechanical firing option is used the technique is feasible, even in
highly deviated wells, as there is no dependence on wireline nor on a go devil
detonation system.
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

25

(7) If either the mechanical or hydromechanical firing system is used there is no

necessity for radio silence.
The disadvantages of TCP are:
(1) If a misfire occurs, then gun retrieval will require a round trip which is both time
consuming and costly. There is also a safety concern as to why the gun has
not detonated. Detonation whilst the string is being retrieved, although rare, has
occurred.
(2) If the gun is not detached but is to remain opposite the perforated interval, it will
prevent production logging or through tubing wireline below the tailpipe.
(3) Since the running procedure for the guns is prolonged, the charges may be
exposed to well temperatures for an extended period and this may lead to
degradation.
(4) In general, the costs of TCP are higher than conventional wireline perforating.
The cost differential will decrease as the length of interval to be perforated
increases. Further, if the gun is to be dropped into the sump the cost of
drilling the additional sump length must be considered.
(5) Surface observation of the degree to which the charges have fired is not possible
unless the gun is retrieved.

4 OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Exphasis has been placed in the previous sections upon the concepts of perforating and
charge performance. In this section operational considerations will be discussed.

4.1 Surface pressure equipment

The majority of perforating operations are conducted under conditions of under
balanced pressure. In the case of through tubing guns particularly, there will be a need
to allow retrieval and removal of the gun from the well on which there will exist a THP
after perforating. There will therefore be a need to assemble a lubricator and wireline
BOP in much the same manner as for the conventional slick wireline. Normally both
a hydraulically actuated and a manual BOP valve are located at the base of the
lubricator. In addition, since the gun will be lowered on a braided electrical conductor
cable, the sealing of pressure as the cable leaves the lubricator will be a serious
problem. In conventional slick line, a stuffing box can be reasonably effective on a
single strand line. However, when perforating, sealing is provided by grease injection
through a port into a flow-tube through which the cable passes.

4.2 Depth correlation

A reservoir can either be blanket perforated in which most of the reservoir is perforated
with little selectivity, or alternatively selectively perforated over a reduced interval(s).
The latter case is perhaps more prevalent, and it will therefore be necessary to ensure
26

Perforating

that the perforating guns be located at the required depth prior to firing. A number of
wireline techniques are available for depth correlation against previous wireline logs:(1) Gamma Ray Log GR
A gamma ray log can measure the shaliness of a formation even behind a casing. Since
the log is widely run, a log will normally be available at the time of perforation for
correlation. Thus a gamma ray log is frequently incorporated above the perforating
gun and used to depth correlate against a previous gamma-ray log.
(2) Casing Collar Locator CCL
A casing collar locator log monitors the location of casing couplings in that it responds
ultrasonically to the wall thickness of steel. This log is normally run with a cement
bond log CBL or cement evaluation tool after casing cementation. A CCL can be run
above the perforating gun and used to monitor casing collar location for depth
correlation against a previous log. However, since most casing joints are similar in
length, confusion as to the exact depth can occur. This can be prevented by installing
a smaller pup joint (10' or 20') in the original casing string, located in the proximity
of the top of the reservoir. This joint will act as a marker and ease exact depth
correlation.
(3) Nuclear Logs
It is possible to use nuclear logs such as the Compensated Nuclear Log CNL as these
will respond to fluid saturation/porosity behind the casing. However, given that these
logs utilise a nuclear source, they are less frequently used in conjunction with
perforating guns.
In most cases a combination of CCL and GR is used and using these techniques it
should be possible to depth correlate to with a minimum of 1-2 ft. of the required depth.
In the case of TCP, a radioactive source is frequently used for depth correlation.

4.3 Safety procedures

It is well recognised that explosives of any sort should be handled with extreme care.
In most cases the charges themselves do not pose any real danger until they are
assembled in the gun and the gun is armed.
For wireline conveyed guns where the guns will be detonated by an electrical current
signal passed down the cable, there is real concern that the gun could be accidentally
detonated by stray current. When using wireline guns there is a need to observe certain
precautions aimed at eliminating sources of stray current. Some of the safety rules
normally applied are as follows:(1) Radio silence to be observed on the rig and adjacent to the location.
(2) No welding.
(3) No crane operation.
(4) No high amperage lights in the drill floor vicinity.

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

27

(5) Shutdown temporarily cathodic protection system if working offshore.

The danger of stray current detonating the gun exists from the time the gun is
armed until it has been run to a safe depth downhole, say a minimum of 500ft.
below the sea bed. The shutdown safety procedure should also be observed in
retrieving the gun until the gun has been checked to ensure that all the charges
have fired.
In the case of TCP, the above concerns of stray current will also apply to those guns
which use an electrical detonation system.
As an attentive safety shutdown system are available which will isolate the gun in the
event of a stray detonation current source.

4.4 Gun length/perforated interval

The length of gun which can be used in the case of retrievable or semi expendable guns
is limited by the lubricator length and in the care of larger gun diameters, the tensile
strength of the cable. Normally the gun will be between 15 - 40ft. If the required
perforated interval is larger than this, then multiple trips with perforating guns will
be necessary. In such cases
The lubricator provides the necessary well security. Perforating usually starts at the
lowest interval in the zone or the interval with the lowest permeability and moves
upwards on successive runs.

4.5 Perforating multiple zones

If, for example, 3 intervals each 10ft. in length are required to be perforated it is
possible to make up a single gun which comprises 3 sections and can be detonated with
a switch system.
If the zones are large, they will normally be perforated separately with individual guns.

4.6 Temperature effects

Explosive charges can spontaneously detonate if exposed to high temperature. The
RDX explosive will detonate at 340F. Other explosives are available which are more
stable at temperatures in excess of 500F. However, the stability is also affected by
the duration of exposure. In most wireline perforating operations, the gun will never
warm up to bottom hole temperature because of the thermal lag and the fact that in a
newly completed well, the completion fluid will perhaps not have had time to warm
up. However, such benevolent effects cannot normally be relied upon and the
explosive charge should be selected appropriate to the anticipated well temperature.
However, in the case of TCP, the deviation of exposure of the charges in increased and
the possibility of spontaneous detonation potentially more dangerous.

4.7 Casing Damage

The present trend is to use large charges (largest diameter gun) with higher shot
densities. However, the possibility of casing damage is increased in these situations.
In general terms, casing damage will be influenced by:-

28

Perforating

(1) Casing steel grade and consequent compressive strength.

(2) The quality of the cement sheath and the extent to which it provides radial
support to the casing.
(3) The shot density, the number of shots in any plane will influence the stress on
the casing during perforating.
The damage, if it occurs, is likely to be in the form of splits along the casing wall
in the axial direction between perforations. This is clearly undesirable and should be
avoided at all costs.

4.8 Gun orientation

There are two particular situations where it is either desirable or essential to orientate
the gun to perforate in a specific direction.
(1) In deviated wells, where the gun size is substantially smaller than the casing
size, the degree of gun clearance due to the lack of centralisation will affect
charge performance. In such cases it is frequently more beneficial to use 0
phasing and a magnetic positioning device to position the gun to fire in the low
side of the hole where the gun is in contact with the casing. To further improve
the effectiveness of this approach, a series of retrievable hollow carrier guns
known as scallop guns were developed. The scallop gun as depicted in Figure
21, has part of the carrier wall machined opposite the charge to reduce the wall
thickness of the steel carrier and provide optimum standoff. A further
refinement is the hyperdome scallop which is designed to reduce the energy of
the jet consumed in perforating through the carrier.
Unique hyper - dome
scallop design results in
performance gains

Figure 21
Scallop and hyperdome
scalop guns

Regular scallop gun

New hyper - dome scallop gun

(2) If it is decided to run through tubing guns to perforate a dual or triple

completion, there will be a requirement to orientate the gun whilst perforating
the upper zone to avoid perforating the longer strings which will produce the
lower zones. In such cases a radioactive isotope can be installed in the long
string and the gun lowered through the short string with an orientation tool.
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

29

4.9 Charge quality

An investigation by King et al has attempted to verify the extent to which charges live
up to the expectations indicated by their quoted performance in the API RP.43 tests.
It is clear that whilst some of the charges did in fact meet the quoted performance, a
large number gave inferior performance. A large number of factors could influence
this, including the age of the charges and the conditions under which they have been
stored.

30

Perforating

EXERCISE 1.

Jet Perforator Penetration as a Function of Compressive Strength

To convert from test data for perforation penetration obtained for API RP 43 we can
use
Ln Pf = Ln Pt + 0.086 x (Ct - Cf) / 1000
Where:
Pf = Expected penetration in formation with a compressive strength of Cf psi
Pt = Test perforation based on Ct = 6500 psi

Two gun systems are being assessed for deployment for perforating:
1.

2 1/8" scallop through tubing (T.T.) gun giving 12" penetration in Berea sst.

2.

4" wireline (W/L) conveyed casing gun, giving 17" penertration.

Compare the guns for the following scenario:

1.

Both guns for use with a low compressive strength chalk reservoir with Cf of
4000 psi.

2.

Both guns for use with a deep high compressive strength rock with
compressibilities of 12000 and 18000 psi respectively.

Solution: Jet Perforator Penetration / Function of Compressive Strength.

From the formula given:
Compressive Strength psi

4,000
12,000
18,000

Penetration Depth In.

Through - tubing
Casing gun
12" Berea pen.
17" Berea pen.
14.88
21.08
7.48
10.59
4.46
6.32

Note the substantial reduction in penetration as a function of high compressive

strength.
Benefit of casing gun is substantially reduced at higher compressive strength.

Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

31