PREVENTING TUBING LEAKS IN THE FIELD "A REALITY CHECK"
Tubing leaks due to rod wear and corrosion are common in the oil field and can add significantly to the operating cost of any well. The preferred field applicable approaches to finding production tubing weak spots and leaks vary with different companies and range from pouring paint from a bucket, hydrostatic testing, and electronic inspection of the tubing as it is tripped. We have taken field data from numerous jobs and explored how each of these testing methods can be improved or enhanced to increase information reliability and to reduce the frequency and cost of well failures. Caveat: It is not the purpose of this paper to review or judge the attributes of the various techniques and apparatus used in electronic tubing inspection services as the equipment varies in how it works and how it is built. This paper addresses how the on-lease technology is applied over the well and how the results can change based on field applications and interpretations.