The Surge That Tangled the Cable and Severed the String—Why We Rethink Stuck Tool Recovery

Posted on by Crissa Fel Tawadan

You don’t forget the sound a cable makes when it blows out of the hole. It’s not like a clean break or a snap—it’s a whoosh, a violent recoil, and then silence. On that night, it was the last sound I heard before I realized the gunstring was gone.

We were deep into a pump down perforating job on a horizontal perforation well, and it had already been a rough run. The frac had screened out. Coil had gone in to clean up, and now we were back in with wireline. The gunstring kept hanging up, sticking just 400 feet shy of the target depth.

We did what we usually do—adjust tension, play the line, work it slowly—but this time, it wasn’t budging. Then came the call from the company man: “Let’s try surging the well.”

We hesitated. We knew the risks. But the pressure was on, and after two surge cycles, the string popped free. It seemed like a win—until it wasn’t.

When the Surge Backfired

We pulled up, confirmed the string was moving. The plug was set. First gun fired. Smooth. Then we prepped to fire the second gun and ran a switch test. Short circuit.

I began troubleshooting—nothing obvious, no open signs. Then I tried moving uphole again… and that’s when it happened. The tension dropped out. The cable recoiled. And the well spat it out.

The gunstring was no longer attached to the cable. It had either parted midhole or was severed by the first gun’s blast. We later discovered the true cause: when we surged the well, the gunstring shot upward, passed a loop in the cable, and that loop wrapped around the tool.

After that, we weren’t applying tension to the weakpoint anymore. We were tensioning cable around the body of the gun itself. That’s why the tension readings were off. That’s why it eventually broke free.

The Hidden Danger in Surging Stuck Strings

Here’s what most people don’t consider about surging: when the well suddenly releases pressure, tools can jump uphole faster than the line can react. That movement may cause the logging cable to wrap around the perforating gun, especially if it was under compression or loosely tensioned.

And if that cable gets positioned across the firing ports, it might be cut by the gun itself during the next perforation. That’s exactly what we think happened here.

The Fix: Controlled Surging Protocol for Cased Hole Wireline

After this job, we changed how we approach stuck tools in cased hole wireline runs. Surging is no longer considered a routine maneuver. It’s a last resort—and only done under tight conditions.

Updated Surging SOP for Wireline Services

1. Exhaust All Other Options First

  • Before considering surging, apply tension, work the winch, and attempt low-rate fluid displacement.

  • Use hole finders or caliper logs to determine if the tool is caught in restriction.

2. Mandatory Communication

  • If surging is suggested, the engineer must immediately call a manager to review the situation.

  • The decision must be approved, and the client must be informed of the associated risks.

3. Surge Time Limited to 2 Seconds

  • The well should only be opened for very short intervals—no more than 2 seconds at a time.

  • Long open periods create excessive tool acceleration.

4. Controlled Tension During Surging

  • Cable tension must be held at 500 lbs above normal.

  • If the tool pops free, move the wireline truck winch uphole immediately to recover slack and avoid cable wrapping.

5. Tension Monitoring is Non-Negotiable

  • Continuous monitoring using wireline control systems is mandatory.

  • If tension drops or fluctuates, stop and reassess immediately.

Why It Matters in the Wireline Services Market

Today’s wireline providers operate in environments where downtime is expensive and reputation matters. Stuck tools, cable parting, or misfires can derail entire cased hole logging schedules and cost thousands in NPT.

Surging done incorrectly can lead to:

  • Loss of perforating systems

  • Severed logging cable and fishing wire line operations

  • Extended downhole pipe recovery

  • Uncontrolled perforation services failures

  • Damage to well integrity and cement bond

What We Now Emphasize in Wireline Courses

This incident is part of our hands-on wireline courses, where we teach:

  • Identifying when surging is appropriate (and when it’s not)

  • How surging affects tension, tool acceleration, and cable geometry

  • Safe decision-making under pressure from clients

  • Real-life consequences of uncontrolled gunstring movement

Trainees walk through simulated pressure scenarios using wireline tech and review data from cases just like this.

Applying This Across Services

These updates now apply to all high-risk wireline services, including:

  • Horizontal wireline perforating

  • Long-string wireline well logging

  • Plug and abandon jobs with aging casing

  • Tracer tech and CBL log verification

  • Wireline oilfield fishing and recovery operations

We also added surge tracking to our pre-job checklist and brief every crew before entering the hole.

Final Thoughts – Surging Isn’t a Shortcut, It’s a Gamble

That night, the well got its way. The cable came flying out, the gunstring stayed behind, and we spent the next 48 hours fishing it out of a hot, high-pressure wellbore. The lesson was brutal, but it stuck.