NOV CTES has developed a system which pumps cable into and out of coiled tubing (CT) while it is still on the reel. This development was a joint industry project (JIP) for six companies: Atlas Wireline, Halliburton Energy Services, Nowsco Well Services, Precision Tube Technology, Quality Tubing, and Dowell Schlumberger. The cable injector greatly reduces the installation cost when compared to vertical or horizontal installations.

The system uses a capstan wheel inside a high-pressure housing. The cable enters the housing through a wireline pressure control head. After 6 wraps around the wheel, the cable exits the cable injector housing and enters the CT. A hydraulic motor drives the capstan wheel which pulls the cable through the pressure control head. Water pumped at a high flow rate through the CT flushes the cable through. Typical cable installation rates are 100 to 200 ft/min.

The cable feeds off of the wireline spooling unit vertically to a sheave wheel, down to another sheave, and then to the cable injector. This allows the cable spool to rotate around the vertical axis removing any cable torque before the cable enters the cable injector. When a cable is being removed from a reel of CT, a levelwind on the cable spooling unit allows the cable to spool neatly on the reel.

These cable injection systems are skid mounted for ease of transport offshore. This allows lifting a CT string onto a platform without the cable inside, reducing the total weight of lift. The cable can then be installed before and removed after a job.

For additional information or quotation contact our sales department at (936) 521-2200.

Download a printable Cable Injector Brochure

Need the manual? Download it here. (6mb)

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