Well Site Completion Safety
Once the design well depth is reached, the formation must be tested and evaluated to determine whether the well will be completed for production, or plugged and abandoned.
To complete the well production, casing is installed and cemented and the drilling rig is dismantled and moved to the next site.
A service rig is brought in to perforate the production casing and run production tubing. If no further pre-production servicing is needed, the Christmas tree is installed and production begins.
The Christmas tree includes the control valves, pressure gauges, and chokes assembled at the top of a well to control flow of oil and/or gas after the well has been drilled and completed. It is used when reservoir pressure is sufficient to cause reservoir fluids to rise to the surface.
Specifically, well completion activities include:
- conducting drill stem test
- setting production casing
- installing production tubing
- starting production flow
- hydraulic fracturing
- beam pumping units
After production starts, the well may need further servicing.
If it's decided that the well will not be completed, then it will be plugged and abandoned.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-1. When is a "christmas tree" installed to get production started?
You forgot to answer the question!