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 were running a pump down perforating job on a horizontal well. The wireline truck had just been reheaded, the perforating guns were armed and loaded, and we were ready to send the wireline tools downhole. From the surface, everything looked textbook. But 3000 feet into the well, tension started fluctuating. Then we noticed drag increasing. Before we knew it, we were stuck.
The Silent Saboteur: Crossed Armors
A crossed armor occurs when the outer strands of a logging cable are twisted over one another during the reheading process or during operations. At best, it creates drag and resistance while logging. At worst, it can cause a full strand break, leading to a fishing wire line job or even lost tools.
In our case, the crossed armors were located just above the grease head. They were subtle—no frays, no visual damage. But the cable was catching inside the pressure control equipment and causing uneven resistance. It was only when we pulled the line through that we felt the rough patch.
That rough patch nearly cost us a full toolstring and a day of rig time.
Crossed armors aren’t just a mechanical issue. They pose a risk to everything downstream: from your wireline logging accuracy to your ability to perform a clean well perforation. In an environment where precision is everything, cable health is mission-critical.
Implementing Prevention Through Process
After that job, we completely revamped how we handle cable inspections and reheading. These practices are now part of our standard wireline services procedures:
- Visual Inspection During Reheading: After pulling armors into the cone, each strand is counted. Any extra strands are cut, and the assembly is inspected to ensure no strands are crossed on the cone or under the outer layers.
- Dual Operator Verification: A second set of eyes always reviews the rehead. Typically, a lead operator signs off on armor placement.
- Grease Head Inspection During Assembly: As the wireline is pulled through the grease head, we now do it one flow tube at a time. We examine the cable for high spots and texture changes that might indicate a cross.
- Operational Monitoring: While going in and out of hole, we watch for sudden tension drops or spikes, which are classic signs of cable damage.
These procedures are now part of our internal wireline courses and reinforced through daily tailgate meetings and on-the-job mentoring.
Why Cable Integrity Affects the Entire Operation
If you’re offering complete wireline solutions, cable health should be non-negotiable. Crossed armors can:
- Affect pressure control and cause grease head failures
- Lead to stuck tools and downhole pipe recovery scenarios
- Interrupt perforation services and delay frac stages
- Distort data during production logging services or cased hole logging
- Trigger misfires in perforating systems if tension data is affected
Whether you’re running a caliper log, cement bond log (CBL log), or formation evaluation, the logging cable is the backbone of your operation. It connects the wireline tools to the surface, transmits data, delivers commands, and handles extreme mechanical loads.
A single crossed strand can compromise your entire downhole tool run.
Lessons for the Wireline Business
If you manage a wireline company or provide wireline services in oil and gas, consider how much of your reliability comes down to cable handling. Your pressure control systems, your ability to reach TD, your safety record—they all depend on a healthy cable.
These days, we treat cable inspection as a core part of our wireline control systems. Every operator is trained to:
- Identify early signs of armor damage
- Recognize tension abnormalities
- Respond quickly to signs of drag during pump down perforating
- Use hole finders or a downhole camera when necessary
This level of awareness is what separates seasoned wireline service providers from the rest.
Make It Part of the Culture
Crossed armors don’t announce themselves with alarms or warning lights. They creep up silently, waiting to catch you off guard. That’s why we bake these checks into our wireline tech training and reinforce them daily.
If you’re new to the wireline services market or looking to reduce failure rates, start by focusing on the fundamentals. Cable integrity isn’t exciting, but it’s one of the most essential parts of successful cased hole wireline operations.
For those wanting to train up their crew, reduce downtime, and avoid preventable failures, I cover scenarios like this one—and the procedures to avoid them—in detail through our online training.
Because in the wireline oilfield, the smallest detail can determine whether your run ends with a clean pull or a fishing job.