How Snubbing Units Work

HISTORY OF SNUBBING UNITS

Snubbing units have evolved into one of the most capable and efficient well servicing tools in
the oil & gas industry. In the 1920's, the need for a rig to work with pressures at surface drove
the invention of the snubbing unit. The first snubbing unit was primarily designed to work in well
control situations to "snub" drill pipe and or casing into, or out of, a well bore when conventional
well killing methods could not be used. The first snubbing unit relied on the draw works of the
companion rig to supply its' power. A series of sheaves, cables and counter weights were rigged
up so that as the rig's traveling blocks hoisted up, the snubbing unit would snub in the hole.
Conversely, when the traveling blocks on the rig were lowered, the snubbing unit would snub
out of the hole. As you can imagine, this required close communication with several different
contractors in order to perform the work safely and efficiently.

COMPONENTS OF A SNUBBING UNIT

One of the main components of a snubbing unit is the slip. Stationary and travelling slips are
operated in sequence to grip the pipe as it is snubbed into the well. Typically, a minimum of four

slip bowls are used in snubbing operations. Two slip bowls are designated for "pipe light"
operations. Pipe light is when the well bore forces are greater than the tubular weight in the well
bore. The other two slip bowls are designated for "pipe heavy" operations. Pipe heavy occurs
when either enough pipe has been snubbed into the well bore and fluid weight inside of the pipe
is greater than the snub forces acting against the pipe in the well bore.
While snubbing into the hole, there is a transition point the tubular goes through from being pipe
light, to pipe heavy. This transition is an equilibrium typically referred to as the "balance point".
The balance point occurs when there is enough pipe weight in the wellbore to equal the snub
forces generated against the pipe. In certain instances, thousands of feet of pipe can be moved
with minimal effort since the pipe weight is at an equal state with the snub forces. Snubbing
contractors calculate this snub force and add in a friction factor from the BOP and wall contact
on either a casing or tubing string. If done correctly, the snubbing contractor can predict when
this balance point will take place and can properly prepare for it.

Modern snubbing units are powered by sophisticated hydraulic systems. These hydraulic units
typically supply all power required by the components of a snubbing operation. With a better
understanding of hydraulics and modern advances, companies have been able to harness this
hydraulic energy to develop precision controlled snubbing units. These units move tubulars into
and out of a well bore by use of a "multi cylinder jack"; a snubbing jack comes in many sizes
depending on the task at hand. They are usually denoted in size by the snubbing unit
description (i.e. 460K, 340K, 200K, etc). The 460K snubbing unit has the ability to lift 460,000
LBS and a snubbing capacity of 230,000 LBS. Most snubbing units can typically snub half of
their lift rating. Assume you had a well with 10,000 PSI at surface and wished to snub in a string
of 2 3/8" tubing. The snubbing contractor can calculate the snub force, add in their respective
friction calculations and project the snub force to overcome will be approximately 51,000 LBS.

This would put a 120K snubbing unit to close to its maximum capacity of 60,000 LBS snub
loading. The safest bet would be a 150K or 235K snubbing unit.
Well control is taken very seriously by snubbing contractors. The BOP is the only barrier
between the well bore and personnel. Depending upon well conditions, pressures and work
performed, the BOP stack configuration varies greatly; there can be a minimum of three BOP's
and in some cases, up to ten. All of this is determined in the pre-job phase of the operation.
Pipe handling is performed by the snubbing units "gin pole" and "pipe winches". The gin pole is
typically telescoped out in excess of 40ft above the snubbing unit. With the use of dual tubing
winches, multiple joints of pipe can be handled simultaneously, speeding up the operation.

The snubbing "basket" is the platform where the snubbing personnel work. The basket contains
all of the necessary hydraulic controls to operate all the features of the snubbing unit, as well as
a large bank of BOP's and hydraulic valve controls.

SNUBBING UNIT APPLICATIONS

Today's snubbing units can be employed to provide a wide range of services. In essence, a
snubbing unit is a hydraulic rig that can do everything a rig can do, plus it can perform under
pressure in an under balanced live well state. This is especially critical to the operators in the
Haynesville Shale, which is known for HPHT wells. With the use of the snubbing units' hydraulic
rotary, the unit can be employed for fishing, milling, drilling, side tracking or any task needed to
remove bridge plugs, cement or deepen wells.

ADVANTAGES
The industry has become more aware of damages caused by heavy kill weight fluids and mud.
This has helped make snubbing units more popular in a completion and workover role, versus

its' traditional use as a well control response tool. With the advances in drilling technologies in
the unconventional shale market, the benefits of snubbing units have become very apparent.
These types of completions often have laterals extending out thousands of feet. With costly
stimulations used to help extract the gas more efficiently, operators often times do not wish to
turn around and load the well with heavy fluids to complete the well dead.
Coiled tubing has its limitations in reach, due to wall to wall mechanical friction in horizontal
wells. Often times the coiled tubing units cannot reach TD or supply the needed weight on bit to
mill up composite plugs typically used in completions.

Another clear advantage to using a snubbing unit is its' small footprint, which is critical on the
tight locations in the unconventional shale's. Moreover, the small size and ease of mobilizing is
especially useful and cost effective with offshore wells.
In conclusion, with the snubbing unit's size, ability to handle pressure, rotary capabilities, rigidity
of jointed tubing and minimal wall contact, snubbing units have become the chosen resource for
these types of completions.