The Port Plug We Missed and the Gunstring We Should Have Rechecked

In wireline, every run is a high-stakes operation. Between the pressure control systems, the electrical diagnostics, and the explosives packed into every perforating gun, the only thing standing between a flawless job and a flooded gunstring is attention to detail. A while back, during a pump down perforating run on a horizontal well, we learned …

How Grounding Springs Fixed the Ghost Failures in Our Wireline Gunstrings

I’ve been around wireline long enough to know that when something goes wrong, it usually doesn’t scream at you. It whispers. A missed shot here. An intermittent switch test failure there. Just enough weirdness to raise suspicion, but not enough to point a clear finger—until the whole job goes sideways. That’s exactly what we ran …

How a Faulty Detonator Led to a Misrun and the Wireline Fire Check I Never Skip Anymore

In the world of wireline perforating, you’re always one step away from either flawless execution or a frustrating misrun. I’ve been on both sides of that line, but one incident made sure I’d never leave detonator checks to assumption again. This was a standard cased hole wireline operation—horizontal well, multi-stage plug-and-perf, classic pump down perforating …

How We Pulled Off a Perfect Wireline Job Without a Marker Joint or Margin for Error

There’s a certain rhythm to wireline logging—a sequence of checks, measurements, and confirmations that keeps everything aligned downhole. For years, we relied on marker joints to correlate depth for plug setting, perforation services, and cased hole logging. Then came the job where that rhythm broke. No marker joint. No fixed reference point. And no room …

The 10-Foot Mistake That Nearly Threw Off an Entire Perforation Stage

Wireline logging requires accuracy, attention, and repetition. But even with the best wireline tools, advanced logging cable, and seasoned wireline control systems, human error still finds a way in if you let your guard down. It happened on a horizontal well, during a routine pump down perforating run. Everything looked fine at first. The wireline …

The Cable Mistake That Nearly Cost Us a Wireline Toolstring

In this industry, you learn fast that it’s not always the electronics, pressure, or explosives that shut down a wireline operation. Sometimes, it’s something as simple as the cable itself. I found that out the hard way during a routine cased hole logging operation that turned into a troubleshooting nightmare—all because of crossed armors. We …