What you will learn
- What well intervention and workover mean, and why wells need them
- How intervention jobs are planned, approved and scheduled
- How job execution and results are recorded
- How intervention history builds the well's story
- Where intervention management ends and drilling begins
What this project is
Wells need work during their lives. Pumps fail, tubing corrodes, water production rises, and reservoirs need stimulation or recompletion to keep producing. Intervention and workover jobs do that work: pulling and replacing pumps, repairing tubing, acidising or fracturing to improve flow, or recompleting a well in a different zone. A management system plans those jobs, schedules rigs or units, records execution and results, and builds the well's intervention history, so the next job starts from knowledge, not from scratch.
Job prioritisation is the management challenge. Many wells need work, but rigs and budgets are limited, so jobs must be ranked by production gain, urgency and cost. The system should support that ranking with data: production before and after past jobs, job costs, and failure history, so prioritisation is evidence-based. Job execution recording matters equally: a job that is not recorded properly leaves the next team guessing what was actually done downhole, which is a safety and efficiency risk.
Core features
- Well intervention history by well, with jobs, dates and outcomes
- Job planning with design, cost estimates and approval workflow
- Job prioritisation support from production, failure and cost data
- Rig and unit scheduling against job plans and availability
- Job execution records: operations performed, equipment used, and problems encountered
- Post-job evaluation: production before and after, against the job's objective
How it is built
- Build the well history first, from existing job records, because planning depends on it
- Add job planning and approval, then prioritisation support
- Add rig scheduling and execution recording, then post-job evaluation
- Test post-job evaluation on past jobs, checking that production gains can be measured
- Pilot on one field's intervention program for a quarter, comparing planned versus actual outcomes
Technology considerations
Downhole data is complex and often incomplete. Job records may describe operations in free text, equipment in inconsistent terms, and results without baseline production. The system needs structured job records that field teams can complete accurately, with controlled lists for job types, equipment and outcomes, while still allowing narrative detail where it matters. Production data integration is needed for evaluation: a job's success is judged by production change, and the system must link job records to production data before and after the job.
Scheduling needs to handle rig availability, well readiness and dependencies. A job cannot start until the well is prepared, equipment is available, and the rig is free, and the system should show those dependencies. Safety data matters too: well control, pressure and barrier information for each job should be part of the plan, not an afterthought, because intervention work on live wells carries well control risk.
For the first version, manage one field's intervention program for a quarter: well histories, job plans with approval, rig scheduling, execution records and post-job production evaluation. Well managers judge the system on whether a job's success can be measured against its objective and cost. A system that evaluates one quarter's jobs honestly, including the ones that did not pay back, is ready to plan the next program on evidence.
Challenges to plan for
- Jobs prioritised by urgency alone, ignoring production gain and cost
- Job records so vague that the next team cannot tell what was done downhole
- Post-job production gains that cannot be measured, because baselines were not recorded
- Rigs scheduled to wells that are not ready, wasting rig time
Who it is for, and its limits
This suits an oil and gas operator, a well services company or a field management team. It fits operations with many wells requiring regular intervention. It does not fit a single well with rare servicing, and it is not a drilling system: it manages work on existing wells, drilling creates new wells.
An intervention system does not keep wells producing by itself. Production depends on reservoir, well condition and job quality; the system makes intervention planning, execution and evaluation disciplined. Costs vary with well count and job complexity, so confirm with a quote after the well portfolio is mapped.
Frequently asked questions
What is a workover?
Major work on an existing well, such as replacing a pump, repairing tubing, or recompleting in a different zone. Workovers typically need a rig or workover unit, unlike lighter interventions.
What is intervention?
Any work on a well after it is completed, from light servicing to major workover. The system covers the full range, with job types and records appropriate to each.
How are jobs prioritised?
By production gain potential, urgency, failure risk and cost, using past job outcomes and current well data. Prioritisation is supported by data, but the final ranking is a management decision.
How is job success measured?
By production before and after the job, against the job's objective, with costs recorded. A job that cost more than the production it gained is a different result from one that paid back quickly.
Does the system handle well safety data?
Yes, as part of job planning: pressure, barrier and well control information for each job, so safety is planned, not improvised on the day.