Chapter 20

Fishing
What is Fishing?
A fish is any object that becomes lost or stuck in a borehole and impedes further well operations.
It could be anything from a stuck or parted drill string, a wireline logging assembly, a bit cone or
any other type of loose steel objects, known as junk. Fishing refers to the tools, equipment, and
procedures used to recover these objects that cause an impedance to forward operations.
This discussion focuses on conventional fishing, which is concerned with recovering objects lost
inside casing or open hole, and which dates back to the early days of cable tool drilling. 1 Further,
the discussion will focus on retrieving the three common types of fishes:

1. stuck or dropped parts of the drill string

2. wireline
3. junk

The other major branch of fishing involves through-tubing procedures that employ coiled tubing
or wireline-conveyed tools in a wide range of remedial and workover applications.

Because anything that can be run or dropped into a well may eventually need to be fished out,
and because this could happen in any type of well at practically any stage of its life, fishing
operations encompass a wide range of tools and procedures. All of them, however, are designed
around three key technologies: cutting, milling and pulling of pipe or other downhole
components. Operations such as sidetracking or subsea plugbacks/abandonments, although they
do not directly involve objects lost in the well, are often included in discussions of fishing
because they involve these key technologies.

The decision to undertake or continue a fishing job should be based on its cost and its likelihood
of success when compared with leaving the fish in the hole and either (1) sidetracking and
redrilling the well from a point above the top of the fish, (2) completing the well in a shallower
zone or (3) abandoning the well.

The better option, of course, would be to avoid losing the fish in the first place, through proper
well planning and good drilling practices. Nevertheless, a fishing situation must be considered as
something that could arise at any time during drilling, completion or workover operations.

Preparation for Fishing

The faster the response when a fish is lost in the hole, the greater the likelihood of a successful
recovery. The keys to a fast response are good record keeping and advance arrangements for
fishing tools and services.

Good record keeping means knowing at all times exactly what equipment, with its dimensions, is
in the hole. Tour sheets, mud reports, daily drilling reports and all other records must be
complete, accurate and up-to-date. Drill pipe tallies should include pipe lengths, diameters,
weights, grades and detailed information on rotary connections. Information on performance
properties such as tensile strength and rotary torque limits should be readily available. Bottom

20.1
hole assembly diagrams should likewise completely describe the dimensions and connections of
each component. In the same way, the types and dimensions of any coring, logging, testing or
surveying tools should be quickly accessible, and casing records should include diameters,
weights, grades, connection types and setting depths.

The best time to arrange for fishing tools and services is before a problem occurs. These
arrangements will vary according to location. In developed areas with an established oil and gas
infrastructure, it may be enough to have a reliable service company on 24-hour call. In more
remote locations, there should be an inventory of fishing tools at the rig; the additional rental
cost may work out to be much less than the cost of time spent waiting for tools, and their ready
availability may ensure a successful recovery. Some fishing tool rental companies will allow an
oil operator to inventory some tools on the rig on a no-cost basis until the tools are actually used.

Fishing for Stuck Pipe

Table 20-1 summarizes the common circumstances under which pipe can become stuck. If initial
actions to free the pipe are not successful, a review of these circumstances will be the starting
point for subsequent fishing operations.
Table 20-1: Stuck Pipe Mechanisms
Mechanism Occurrences and Indications
Differential Pipe embedded in filter cake opposite a permeable zone, where wellbore pressure
pressure exceeds pore pressure
sticking Overbalanced conditions with drill string in open hole; sticking takes place
following interruption in pipe movement.
Can take place at any point in the drill string; often occurs in the drill collars,
particularly in long or oversized strings.
Cannot raise, lower or rotate pipe, but can establish normal circulation.
Key Seating Can occur in any well that has doglegs, due to pipe wearing a slot into the side of
the wellbore.
Usually occurs at a tool joint or large-diameter tool such as a drill collar.
May be able to circulate mud or rotate the pipe.
May be able to raise or lower the pipe until it becomes stuck at a tool joint or drill
collar. If tool joint or drill collar is not jammed into the key seat, may be able to
move the pipe downward.
Shale sticking Pieces of formation become lodged around tool joints or bottomhole assemblies.
Sloughing or heaving shale sections above stuck interval.
Undergauge Hole diameter too small to allow tool joint passage. Results from swelling shales,
hole sticking salt sections or abrasive formations
Mud sticking Precipitation of barite or other mud solids due to mud contamination, temperature
changes or dehydration.
Lost circulation Solids buildup and bridging due to addition of lost circulation material.
sticking
Cement Results from mechanical malfunctions; inaccurate displacement calculations; hole
sticking washouts during blowout control efforts; use of cement plug to stop lost
circulation.
Unable to move pipe during or after cement displacement.
Blowout During a kick or blowout, formation solids, together with drill pipe protectors or
Sticking other objects that may be blown up the hole, can bridge off and stick the pipe.
Saltwater kick fluids can aggravate the problem by flocculating the mud cake.
Mechanical Crooked or corkscrewed pipe due to buckling or dropping the string; wrapped-
Sticking around multiple tubing strings; wedged junk in hole; stuck packers or other
downhole equipment.

20.2
Initial Recovery Efforts. The first response to a stuck pipe situation is to try and work or jar the
pipe free.

For differentially stuck pipe, recommended practices include (1) shutting down circulation to
minimize the equivalent differential pressure, (2) working the pipe with approximately 10
percent slack-off and no pull on the pipe and, (3) torquing the pipe to the right while working the
string.2 Spotting a lower-density fluid—safety and well control concerns permitting—may also
help to reduce differential sticking.

If the pipe is stuck in a key seat, the driller may be able to rotate through the interval, especially
if there is a key seat reamer positioned above the drill collars. Where sticking results from
bridging or fill accumulations, it may be possible to circulate out the solids using a clear fluid;
again, subject to safety and well control considerations.

An overriding consideration in working and jarring stuck pipe—and in any subsequent fishing
operations—is the tensile strength of the pipe, its prior service life and the rig’s hoisting capacity.
All pre-job calculations should include a determination of the maximum pull that can be taken on
the pipe based on these limitations, and including appropriate safety factors.

Free Point Determination. If a pipe string cannot be worked or jarred free, the next step is to
determine the free point, or depth above which the string is free to move. An initial estimate
involves taking a stretch reading to see how far the pipe moves in response to an applied tension.
While not as accurate as the wireline methods that may be used later, stretch readings provide a
good first approximation of the free point. And if the drill string is plugged, stretch readings may
be the only way of obtaining this information.

With the free point approximately known, a free point indicator (Fig. 20-1) may then be used for
a more accurate determination. This wireline-conveyed tool is run through the drill pipe,
stopping for measurements at various depths.

At each depth, the indicator measures

the degree of pipe movement occurring
in response to an applied surface torque
or tension, and transmits this
measurement back to the surface. A
collar log is also run in conjunction
with free-point tools for positive depth
control.

A pipe recovery log (Fig. 20-2) records

acoustic measurements, in which high
energy readings indicate free pipe and
low-energy readings indicate stuck
pipe. It provides a continuous record of
stuck intervals and identifies potential
trouble spots or areas where sticking is
especially severe.

Fig. 20-1 Wireline Free Point Indicator

20.3
 Fig. 20-2 Pipe recovery log

Spotting Fluids. Fluid-spotting techniques are designed to lower friction and, in some cases,
reduce the contact area between the pipe and the sticking point. They are primarily applicable to
differential pressure sticking, although they may also help to reduce friction at key seats or in
intervals of solids accumulation. This subject is discussed in greater detail in the section on
differential pipe sticking.

Application of Resonant Vibration Technologies. A relatively recent alternative to

conventional methods of freeing stuck drill strings, liners and tubing is the use of resonant
vibration technologies, which work to literally shake the pipe loose. In 1986, Gonzalez3
described an eccentric-weight oscillator that transmitted a harmonic vertical-force component
down the pipe as a series of alternate tension and compression waves, resulting in a rapid series
of large percussive forces at the stuck point. The oscillator assembly was hung from elevators on
the traveling block and clamped onto the exposed tubular above the rotary table. Bernat and
Bernat4 related two applications of this technology in recovering a coiled tubing string for which
conventional means of recovery had proven unsuccessful, and in recovering a 488-ft section of
5.5-inch liner set through a 90-degree hole deviation at a depth of 2000 ft. They indicated pipe
stress as a limiting factor in applying vibration technology, and designated a hook load capacity
limit of 160,000 lbf.

More recently, Stoesz and DeGeare5 discussed the development and testing of a Down Hole
Vibration Tool (“DHVT”) designed for use as part of a fishing assembly to place the vibration
source closer to the stuck point and improve the rate of successful pipe recovery, particularly in
highly deviated wells. While still in its early stages, the use of this technology in fishing
operations offers additional cost-saving opportunities for operators.

20.4
Pipe Recovery Above the Free Point. If efforts to free a stuck drill string are unsuccessful, the
next course of action is to either back off or cut the pipe above the free point. Once this is done,
the upper part of the string can be retrieved and then a fishing assembly can be run to engage and
recover the remainder of the string. The back off or cut point should be at least one or two joints
above the indicated free point to ensure that there is enough free pipe to engage with the fishing
tools.

With other variables considered equal, fishing inside casing is preferable to fishing in open hole,
and fishing in a straight, vertical hole section is easier than fishing in a deviated or crooked hole
section. It is therefore advisable to back off or cut the pipe inside casing if the free point is not
too far below the casing shoe, and to stay above doglegs, key seats, hole restrictions or other
potential problem intervals.

Pipe should only be parted when the hole is full of fluid. It is a safe well control practice to set a
plug in the drill string below the back off or cut point. The plug can be mechanical or cement.

Backing Off. A string-shot back off tool contains a precise amount of primer cord that produces
an explosion at the back off point (Fig. 20-3). This tool is wireline-conveyed, and can be run
alone or with a free point indicator. Once the tool reaches back off depth and the pipe has been
tightened, the driller picks up the pipe to a neutral position and applies a predetermined amount
of left-hand torque. Recall that tool joints use a right-hand thread. The wireline operator
detonates the cord, and the force of the explosion
partially unscrews the pipe. The pipe connection is
then unscrewed completely from the surface, and the
free pipe is recovered. The size of the charge used in
a string shot back off tool depends on the pipe size,
weight and condition, make-up torque, the depth of
the back off, the mud weight and the temperature.

The back off method is the only pipe parting

technique that leaves a threaded connection “looking
up,” making it possible to screw back into the pipe—
this is the preferred method of engaging stuck pipe,
because it restores the string to its full inside diameter
and strength.

In addition to unscrewing rotary connections, string

shot tools may also be used to release stuck packers
or other equipment, remove corrosion, open up
perforations, remove jet nozzles from drill bits and ,
in hard formations, knock drill pipe out of key seats.
When a string shot cannot be run inside of pipe due to
plugging or other restrictions, string shots can be run
in the annulus to perform an “outside back off.”
Fig. 20-3 Back off tool run on wireline
Chemical Cutters and Jet Cutters. Chemical cutters
(Fig. 20-4) are run on wireline, and employ a high-pressure propellant and a chemical reactant to
burn holes in the pipe body, weakening it so that it can be easily parted. The resulting cut is
relatively even, and does not cause significant distortion of the pipe (Fig. 20-5). Chemical cutters
are available for practically all sizes of tubing and drill pipe, as well as most sizes of casing.

20.5
Their main limitation in drilling operations is that the drilling fluid needs to be clean and should
contain no lost circulation material.

Fig. 20-4 Chemical Cutter

Fig. 20-5 Distortion from Chemical Cutter Fig. 20-6 Distortion from Jet Cutter

Jet cutters are shaped charges run on wireline. They are used when well conditions preclude the
use of a chemical cutter, and usually result in flaring the pipe at the cut point (Fig. 20-6).

Mechanical Cutters. When operating conditions do not permit the use of wireline parting
methods, hydraulically activated mechanical cutters can be run on a work string. Depending on
the size of the pipe and the hole geometry, the operator may run either an internal cutter to cut
from the inside of the pipe, or lower an external cutter over the outside of the pipe. (Fig. 20-7)

20.6
 Inside Mechanical Cutter External Tubing Cutter
With Washover Shoe

Fig 20-7 Mechanical Cutters

Parted Pipe. Drill string failures result primarily from fatigue, which is caused by repeated or
cyclic stresses that are less than the pipe’s tensile strength. These stresses are products of the
bending, torsion, vibration, tension and friction inherent in drilling operations, and are
aggravated by corrosion, erosion, poor handling and other factors.

Fatigue failures are progressive. They generally begin as small cracks, which propagate as
continued stress is applied. Fatigue failure can occur rapidly under certain conditions. In areas
that experience a high incidence of washouts or pipe failures, drilling personnel must be
particularly selective about what they run in the hole, even if it means discarding joints for which
the only signs of fatigue might be a few gouges in the slip area.

A twist-off results when the torque applied to a pipe string exceeds the torsional strength limits
of either the pipe body or the rotary connection. If it occurs during circulation, it is usually
accompanied by a sudden loss of hook load and a sharp drop in pump pressure, and often occurs
when trying to rotate stuck pipe.

20.7
A washout is a small hole in the pipe that most commonly results from improper make-up, cracks
or defective materials. It typically appears at a rotary connection, becomes progressively larger
with continuing circulation of the drilling fluid, and may ultimately result in failure of the
connection. The primary surface indication of a washout is a gradual decrease in pump pressure
at constant pump rate.

Fishing Tool Selection

Depending on well conditions, hole geometry and the condition of the fish itself—and if it is not
possible to simply screw back into the top of the fish—the fishing tool assembly will be designed
to engage either the outside or the inside diameter of the pipe.

Engaging the outside diameter. The strongest device (and therefore the tool of first choice) for
securing a fish is the overshot (Fig. 20-8). To engage the fish, the overshot is first lowered down
on top of the pipe. It is then rotated slowly to the right and, at the same time, lowered over the
external diameter of the pipe. The inside of the overshot is fitted with either spiral grapples for
large-diameter pipe or basket grapples for smaller pipe diameters.

Fig. 20-8 Overshot with Grapples

Because an overshot exerts its grip over the large outer surface area of the pipe, it can handle
heavy tensile, torsional and jarring loads without damaging itself or the pipe. Some
recommended features of over shots are (1) a circulating pack-off, which allows circulation
through the pipe and provides for better removal of solids around the fish; (2) releasing tools,

20.8
which make it possible to engage or release the fish with either right-hand or left-hand rotation;
and (3) full-opening inside diameters (equal or larger than the other tools in the fishing
assembly) to allow for passage of free point indicators or back-off tools.

If the top of the fish has jagged or flared ends, it may be necessary to smooth them out with a
milling shoe before engaging with the overshot.

Box taps, or die collars (Fig. 20-9), are internally machined one-piece tools with wickers
designed to engage the outside of a fish. A box tap may be run to the top of the pipe while
maintaining circulation to help clean out solids. When it reaches the top of the fish, circulation is
stopped and a light weight applied to the fish. The tool is then rotated, embedding the wickers in
the fish, until it cuts enough threads to provide a firm grip; rotation is then stopped and the fish is
pulled. Although circulation may be resumed to provide additional lift to the fish, this may result
in washing out the new threads. One shortcoming of a box tap is that it does not contain any
built-in releasing mechanism. It should always be run, therefore, with a drilling safety joint that
allows the fishing string to be disengaged from the tool should it become stuck.

Fig. 20-9 Outside Die Tap or Collar

Wash pipe or wash over pipe is a large-diameter tubular (usually N-80 grade casing cut into
Range 2, or 30-33 ft lengths) that is run in sections to clean out the annulus around stuck pipe. In
its simplest configuration, it is run with a rotary shoe. This assembly is rotated and lowered over
the fish while maintaining circulation to remove solids from outside of the pipe. Circulation
continues until the fish is completely washed over or it reaches the top of the wash pipe. The
wash pipe is then pulled and laid down, and other tools are run to engage and pull, cut or back
off the fish.

The amount of wash pipe needed varies according to hole conditions and the length of the fish.
Depending on the length of a bridged section, a number of runs may be required. Minimum

20.9
clearance between the outside of the wash pipe and the hole ranges from ¼ to ½ inch, while the
minimum clearance between the inside diameter of the wash pipe and the outside diameter of the
fish is 1/8 inch.

A wash pipe-rotary shoe assembly may also be run in combination with an overshot placed at the
top of the wash pipe. The wash pipe is lowered over the pipe section until the overshot engages
the top of the fish, and then the pipe is backed off at the deepest free point and retrieved. This
configuration is common, and makes it possible to clean out around a section of fish and remove
it in one trip.

Fig. 20-10 Internal Taper Taps

Fig. 20-11 Pipe Spears (Drill Pipe or Tubing on Left, Casing on Right)
Engaging the inside diameter . When there is insufficient annular clearance to engage the
external diameter of a fish, the alternative is to try and engage its inside diameter. Taper taps, for
example, (Fig. 20-10) are externally threaded to engage the pipe’s internal diameter in much the
same way that a box tap would engage the external diameter. They are especially useful for

20.10
latching into large, heavy objects such as drill collars. Like a box tap, however, a taper tap has no
release mechanism, and so should always be run with a safety joint.

Releasing spears are designed to internally engage all but the smallest inside-diameter pipes. A
releasing spear contains slips that can be set by rotating the fishing string once the tool is inside
the pipe. The slips can be released by bumping down and rotating the string—an advantage over
taper taps, which do not have a built-in releasing mechanism. Releasing spears can be run in
combination with back-off or cutting tools and pulling equipment. Fig. 20-11 shows a releasing
spear used for engaging drill pipe or tubing. Also, Fig . 20-11 shows a casing spear.

Wireline Tool Recovery

Wireline tools can become stuck through many of the same mechanisms that cause pipe to
become stuck, although fishing for wireline tools requires different equipment from that used in
pipe recovery. The main concerns with wireline tools are that the cable can become tangled or
wadded in the hole, or that fishing attempts may cause the wireline to pull out of the rope socket
or even part, making retrieval of the tool more difficult. Tangled wireline is often called a “bird
nest”. Safety and environmental factors can also come into play, particularly when a lost or stuck
logging assembly contains radioactive source material.

Stuck Cable or Tools. The first thing to do when a wireline assembly becomes stuck is to
determine whether the problem lies with the tool or the cable. The standard procedure is to apply
normal logging tension on the cable and let it sit for a few minutes while recording (1) the
present depth of the tool, (2) the cable’s surface tension just before getting stuck, (3) the cable
type and size and (4) the cable-head weak point rating. The cable is marked (using chalk or
friction tape) at the rotary table, and a T-bar clamp is securely positioned around the cable, just
above the rotary table. If the cable should break, the clamp will hold the cable end at the surface
to prevent all the cable from snaking down the hole and landing in a tangle on top of the tool.
The winch operator then applies 1000 lbf of tension on the cable and measures the distance that
the cable mark has moved at the rotary table. This distance amounts to the stretch produced in
the elastic cable due to 1000 lbf of extra tension. The length of free cable can then be estimated
from a stretch chart or from knowledge of its stretch coefficient. If the calculated length of free
cable proves to be the present logging depth, then the tool is evidently stuck and the cable is free.
On the other hand, if the length of free cable is less than the present logging depth, then the cable
itself must be stuck higher up the hole.

If the tool is stuck rather than the cable, pulling on the cable will either (1) cause the tool to come
free, (2) cause the weak point to break, leaving the tool in the hole but saving the cable, or (3)
cause the cable to break at the top of the sheave or near the surface of the wellbore (i.e., the
point of maximum tension).

Causes of Sticking. Differential pressure sticking or excess friction on the cable occurs as the
cable cuts through the mud cake. One side of the cable is exposed to formation pressure while
the other side is exposed to the hydrostatic mud column. The resulting difference in pressures
will force the cable against the formation, and the resulting friction stops any further cable
movement. Other cases of sticking may be attributed to ledges, borehole caving, severe doglegs
or corkscrewing of the borehole. The risk of sticking a tool increases with dogleg severity, length
of the tool, and the amount of time that has passed since the last conditioning trip.

20.11
Recovery Options. There are a number of options available for recovering a
stuck wireline tool and/or cable.

A side-door overshot (Fig. 20-12) is similar in principle to the conventional

overshot used for pipe recovery. One difference is that it contains a removable
side door that allows assembly of the tool around the wireline at the wellhead.
The tool can then be run on tubing or drill pipe alongside the wireline to directly
engage the tool, thus protecting the wireline from parting. The side-door
overshot is not recommended for deep open hole intervals because of the
potential for key seating or differentially sticking the line in the mud cake.

Fig. 20-13

Fig. 20-12 Side Door Overshot

Historically, the surest way to recover a stuck logging tool and its attached wireline is the cut-
and-thread method, so-called because the wireline is cut at the surface and then threaded through
a pipe string as the pipe makes its way downhole to engage the logging tool. This technique
involves securing the line at the surface, cutting it, and then fitting rope sockets to each end so
that a spearhead can be made up on the end sticking up from the well and a spearhead overshot
made up on the end coming from the logging unit. Next, a stand of pipe is hung in the derrick,
with an appropriate overshot on the bottom for catching the wireline rope socket or, preferably,
the logging tool itself. The upper end of the line is spooled down through the inside of the pipe
until the spearhead overshot can be connected to the spearhead on the rig floor. The pipe is then
run in the hole, and the procedure is repeated with subsequent stands until the bottom of the
string is close to the fish. At this point, the spearhead overshot can be disengaged and the
overshot circulated clean before engaging the tool. Once the fish is securely caught, the wireline
can be pulled free from the rope socket and spooled out of the hole, while the tool is recovered
with the fishing string. This procedure, while time-consuming and potentially hazardous, is
known to improve greatly the chances of full recovery of the wireline and the tool at its end in
the shortest overall time compared with trying to engage the wireline in open hole.

If neither the side-door overshot or cut-and-thread methods are feasible, another option is to
break the weak point, recover the cable, and fish for the logging tool with the drill pipe. If the

20.12
tool cannot be recovered, the only alternative may be to push it to bottom and plug it with
cement.

To recover dropped wireline that may have become wadded or tangled, a wireline barb or rope
spear may be used to penetrate, engage, and pull the debris (Fig. 20-13). One of the oldest and
simplest types of fishing tools, it can be very effective when properly applied.

Junk
The term junk applies to small objects or debris left in or dropped down the hole. Examples of
junk include bit cones or cutting elements, bottom hole assembly components, downhole tools,
float collar remnants, dropped tong dies or hand tools, or any number of other objects. The type
of junk in the hole may be obvious in cases where something is left behind after tripping out of
the hole, or where something is dropped down the hole. In other cases, it might not be so evident.
During drilling, junk may be indicated by irregular torque and inability to drill ahead after
running a new bit.

Depending on the size and type of object in the hole, and on the hardness of the formation, there
are three ways of dealing with junk: (1) recover it intact, (2) break it up until it can be recovered
in pieces, or until it is too small to cause further problems or (3) push it into the side of the hole
if the formation is soft enough, or down to bottom if there is a sufficient rat hole interval below
the formations of interest. If none of these options are successful and the junk prevents well
operations from continuing, it may be necessary to sidetrack or abandon the interval.

Various types of junk baskets are available for recovering bit cones, sidewall core bullets, pieces
of cementing equipment and other small materials. A core-type junk basket (Fig. 20-14 left) is
so-called because it is designed to penetrate the formation and cut a short core, effectively
“digging” debris from the bottom of the hole and trapping it in an inner barrel. A reverse-
circulating junk basket, on the other hand, causes drilling fluid to circulate around the outside of
the basket and sweep junk into the upper section of the tool before continuing up the annulus. It
may also be designed to cut a small core. Other baskets may use a directed high-velocity jetting
action to force materials into the basket (Fig. 20-14 right).

Magnets can be run on drill pipe or wireline and, depending on their size, are capable of pulling
from 5 to 3,000 lbf [22 - 13345 N]. (Fig. 20-15) Magnets are designed to extend their magnetic
field axially, or downward, to prevent damage as they are lowered through casing. Permanent
magnets are run on drill pipe, and equipped with circulating ports so that fill and cuttings can be
washed away and contact made with the metal fish. Electromagnets are run on wireline and
activated only when they reach the fish. While they can be run quickly in and out of the hole,
they do not have fill-cleaning capabilities, and so cannot engage a fish that is covered with rock
fill or debris.

20.13
 Fig. 20-14 Junk Baskets

Fig. 20-15 Magnet

Some objects are easier to break up than to retrieve. Others may simply need to be broken up
before a junk basket can be used. In certain instances, it may be practical to break up small
objects using a hard-formation rock bit; otherwise, a junk mill is appropriate for this purpose
(Fig. 20-16). A junk shot, or shaped charge explosive, may be used to break up objects into
smaller pieces so they can be picked up with a junk basket.

20.14
 Fig. 20-16 Junk Mill

Breaking apart of a fish such as a lost bit cone always results in smaller
pieces that must be removed. In addition to circulating the mud and
pumping small volumes of high viscosity pills, a junk sub is usually run
in the drill string above the bit. It is designed to catch smaller metal
pieces tending to settle to bottom. (Fig. 20-17)

Auxiliary Tools
Fishing tools are designed to grab on to, latch into, break up or otherwise
engage a fish. But there are other tools used in fishing operations that,
although they do not contact the fish directly, are just as important to a
job’s success.

Impression block. Beyond establishing the type of fish in the hole, it is

not always easy to determine its condition and orientation. The fish may
be aligned at an angle, the end of a joint of pipe may be jagged or flared,
or there may be hole restrictions. An impression block (Fig. 20-18) may
be used to determine the condition and configuration of the fish. This
tool consists of a steel body holding a molded piece of lead or wax.
When it is lowered down on the fish, an impression of the fish top forms
on this soft material. This impression may provide valuable clues for
Fig. 20-17 Junk Sub
selecting fishing tools. As a cautionary note, however, it may often give

20.15
an unclear or misleading message as well.

Fig. 20-18 Impression Block

Knuckle joint. In an oversized or deviated wellbore, a fish may lie at an angle, making it
difficult to engage with the fishing string. A knuckle joint (Fig. 20-19) is designed to orient the
fishing assembly in such a situation. It is capable of transmitting full torque, and can be used
when jarring, pulling, bumping or rotating the tool string. Knuckle joints are also widely used in
directional drilling.

Fig. 20-19 Knuckle Joint

20.16
Jarring

The jar is designed to impart a force impact into the fish. Impacting an object can often cause a
quick release whereas very large, steady tensile loading may not release the stuck object. This is
accomplished in the following manner. The string is stretched putting strain energy into the
string above and below the jar. The amount of tension put into the string greater than the weight
of the string above the jar is called the over pull. At some predetermined load value, the jar is
designed to “trigger” or release. The top and bottom parts of the jar disconnect from each other
and are free to travel up for the top part (called the hammer) and down for the bottom part (called
the anvil). Both parts of the string contract at what is known as the free contraction velocity and
build kinetic energy. Eventually, after the anvil and hammer have traveled a certain distance
(called the stroke), they impact occurs. Most kinetic energy is converted back into strain energy
that then propagates up and down the string. Some of this energy will propagate to the stuck
point and hopefully jar the fish loose. The amount of force, energy, impulse, etc. depends upon
the initial strain energy, stroke length, and wave propagation characteristics of the jarring string.

The original type of jars used in cable tool drilling consisted of two links of steel attached to the
cable. The links would be loose while attached to the fish. Then the driller would pull on the
cable causing the two links to crash together. This applied a jolt to the fish.

Today there are two types of jars. They are either fishing jars or drilling jars. Fishing jars are
used in fishing strings. They are built somewhat lighter than drilling jars and are more easily
adjusted from the surface. In addition, they are designed to generate a larger impact than the
typical drilling jar. Drilling jars are part of the drill string. They are placed in the drill string to
be ready for immediate use in case the drill string gets
stuck. The two types of jars operate on either a
hydraulic or mechanical principle. Most jars can
operate either down or up but are really designed to
impart a larger impact force up rather than down. Note
the jars are ineffective if the stuck point is up the
wellbore above the tools.

Hydraulic jars. Hydraulic jars are often called oil jars.

(Fig. 20-20) This is because a hydraulic fluid or light
oil is used in the jar. In the cocked position, the jar has
a tight fitting piston (the hammer) inside of a cylinder.
There is fluid in a chamber above the piston. As the
string is pulled in tension, the piston tries to move up
but the fluid above cannot bypass the piston. The fluid
increases in pressure and slowly bypasses the piston
through a bypass hole or channel. At some point as the
piston slowly travels up the cylinder, the tight fitting
clearance opens up to a very loose clearance and the
fluid can easily bypass the piston. This triggers the jar.
The sudden reduction in pressure above the piston
allows the piston to freely travel up the cylinder until it
impacts the anvil. After impact and after the strain
waves have died, the jar is reset by slowly
recompressing the jar in order that the piston is shoved
back into the tight fitting cylinder. This can take a few Fig. 20-20 Drilling Jars (Hydraulic)

20.17
minutes.

The big advantage of a hydraulic jar is that the impact intensity can be varied from the surface by
changing the over pull in the string prior to triggering the jar. However, heat and recocking too
fast can destroy the seals in the hydraulic jar. If the seals leak, the jar has failed and a trip is
necessary. Hydraulic fishing jars are built somewhat lighter than their cousin, the hydraulic
drilling jars.

Some jars can be triggered to impact upward and downward. The upward impact is called an
“up hit”. This is the usual operational direction of most jars. However, in some cases, such as
unsticking a key seated string, the jar should be fired downward. This is called a “down hit.”
Most jars do not work as well downward as they do upward.

Mechanical jars. Mechanical jars trigger differently from hydraulic jars. The triggering
mechanism can be a set of rollers or a spring detent that is set at a given load for triggering. The
given load is set at the surface prior to running in the hole. Once in the hole, most mechanical
jars cannot be reset to a different triggering load. A few mechanical jars allow for very limited
trigger load changes by using torque from the string to reset the trigger load. These kinds of jars
can be re-cocked up to three times per minute as opposed to the two to three minutes for the
hydraulic jars. Mechanical jars tend to be more rugged than their hydraulic counterparts and are
used more often in drilling strings.

Accelerator. An accelerator is often called a booster jar or an intensifier. It is a device run in the
jarring string somewhere above the jar. It is full of a compressible fluid that acts like a spring.
The accelerator can act as a shock absorber for the rest of the jarring string under the impact of
the jar, but its main purpose is to intensify the impact force.

The force of the jar impact is directly related to the velocities of the hammer and anvil. The
accelerator acts to increase the velocity of the hammer by reflecting the free contraction waves
sooner than it would have without the accelerator. The position of
the accelerator in the jarring string is critical to the success of this
intensification. It allows for a shorter duration and higher force
impact.

Bumper Sub. A bumper sub is used to impart a downward impact

into a jarring string. It is a mechanical slip joint. The impact occurs
because the string is allowed to fall over the length of the slip joint.
After the string travels the distance of the slip joint, it stops with an
impact.

By maintaining the load such that the slip joint is within its stroke,
only the load below the bumper sub is the string. Also, if an
overshot or a spear is grappled onto a fish, it takes a downward blow
to free the grapples.

Safety joint. Sometimes, best efforts notwithstanding, a fish simply

will not come free. At worst, the fishing string itself may become
stuck. A safety joint provides a quick way out of such situations by
allowing the fishing string to be unscrewed from the stuck tools,

Fig. 20-21 Safety Joint

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using either less torque or a different direction of rotation from the other tool connections in the
string. (Fig. 20-21)

Fishing Economics
The tools and procedures used in fishing, the duration of the job and the decision of whether to
fish in the first place are ultimately based on economics—specifically, on the overall cost of
fishing when compared with other alternatives such as sidetracking or abandoning the interval.

There is a certain urgency associated with fishing in that when a fish is lost in the hole,
programmed well work comes to a halt, and no further progress can be made until the situation is
resolved. Along with this urgency is an element of uncertainty. Depending on circumstances,
fishing may take a few hours or it may take many days. At worst, the decision to sidetrack or
abandon an interval might come only after numerous unsuccessful fishing attempts.

No fishing job can go on indefinitely. After a time, the cost of fishing will be equal to the cost
that would have been incurred if the well had been immediately sidetracked. In the simplest
terms, this may be expressed as

TCS
EFT  (20.1)
DCF

where
EFT = Economic fishing time, days
TCS = total cost to abandon the fish and sidetrack
DFC = daily cost of fishing

Suppose, for example, that the cost to sidetrack an interval was estimated at $400,000, while the
daily cost of a proposed fishing operations was estimated at $50,000. According to Eq. 5, if the
fish is recovered in less than eight days, the job may be considered economically successful,
while if recovery takes more than eight days, the operator would have been better off to sidetrack
immediately.

The difficulty in this analysis is that while estimating sidetrack and redrill costs might be
relatively straightforward, the duration of a fishing job and its chances of success are likely to be
much harder to predict. While it is easy enough to determine unit costs for tools, services, rig
time, mud costs and so forth, it is difficult to estimate how long the job will take.

Numerous authors7,8 have accounted for the risks and uncertainties involved in fishing. There are
three possibilities to consider when a fish is lost in the hole 9: (1) sidetrack immediately for a total
cost of TCS (2) perform a successful fishing job within a time period T, at a total cost of
(DCF)(T) or (3) conduct an unsuccessful fishing operation over a time T, followed by a
sidetrack, for a total cost of (DCF)(T) + TCS.

The probability of a successful fishing job is estimated based on the circumstances at the well,
local conditions and experience, and through the use of such risk analysis tools as probability
distributions based on data from past jobs in the area, as well as decision trees based on expected
costs. The probability is then integrated into the EFT relationship:

20.19
 TCS
EFT  p s (20.2)
DCF

where
ps = probability of successful fishing

The value obtained for ps is location and job-specific, and may be refined for use in a particular
area. Schofield et. Al10 established a time-dependence for ps based on North Sea data which
confirmed that the likelihood of successfully freeing stuck pipe decreased rapidly over time,
from roughly 80 percent within the first 24 hours of first becoming stuck to almost negligible
after 72 hours. In their cost calculations, they also found that the expense of remedial operations
following a successful fishing job was a significant factor in the economic evaluation.

In addition to using establishing probabilities of success and incorporating uncertainty into

preliminary economic decisions, these tools can also be used obtain a relevant comparison of
fishing versus sidetracking costs by calculating the economics on an ongoing, daily basis.

20.20
References
1. DeGeare, J., Haughton, D. and McGurk, M.: The Guide to Oilwell Fishing
Operations: Tools, Techniques and Rules of Thumb, Elsevier Science, Burlington,
MA USA (2003).
2. Moore, Preston L.: Drilling Practices Manual, Second Edition. PennWell Publishing
Company, Tulsa, OK USA (1986).
3. Adkins, C.S.: “Economics of Fishing,” paper SPE 20320, Journal of Petroleum
Technology (May, 1993) 402-404.
4. Gonzales, Orlando J.: “Retrieving Stuck Liners, Tubing, Casing and Drillpipe with
Vibratory Resonant Techniques,” paper SPE/IADC 14759, SPE Drilling Engineering
(September, 1987) 245-256.
5. Bernat, B. and Bernat, H.: “Mechanical Oscillator Frees Stuck Pipe Strings Using
Resonance Technology.” Oil & Gas Journal (November 3, 1997).
6. Stoesz, Carl W. and DeGeare, Joe P.: “Low-Frequency Downhole Vibration
Technology Applied to Fishing Operations,” paper SPE 63129 presented at the 2000
SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Dallas, TX (1-4 October,
2000).
7. Harrison, C.G.: “Fishing Decision Under Uncertainty.” Journal of Petroleum
Technology (February, 1982) 299-300.
8. Keller, P.S., Brinkman, P.E. and Taneja, P.K.: “Economic and Statistical Analysis of
Time Limitations for Spotting Fluids and Fishing Operations,” paper OTC 4792
presented at the 16th Offshore Technology Conference, Houston (1984).
9. Cunha, J.C.S.: “Risk Analysis Theory Applied to Fishing Operations: A New
Approach on the Decision-Making Problem,” paper SPE 287276, presented at the
SPE International Petroleum Conference & Exhibition of Mexico held in Veracruz,
Mexico (10-13 October, 1994).
10. Schofield, T.R., Whelehan, O.P and Baruya, A.: “A New Fishing Equation,” paper
SPE 22380, , presented at the SPE International Meeting on Petroleum Engineering
held in Beijing, China (24-27 March, 1992).

20.21