QWATER Well Developer

How To Use Production Series

Attachment and Development Procedures

The new Production Series Qwater Well Developer surge block tools fit 4-inch and 6-inch Schedule 40 casing and screens.  A check valve in the removable bottom of the tool allows for pumping sediments out of the well while surging.  The 4-inch and 6-inch Qwater Well Developers can be used with a wireline (a cable attached to a 10-foot section of iron pipe) or drill rod.

Attachment of Tool – The top portions of the 4-inch and 6-inch surge blocks are fitted with a 1.5-inch female tapered NPT pipe thread for attaching a 1.5-inch male pipe thread.  If a wireline is selected to lower the development tool into the well, it is recommended to attach a 10-foot long section of iron pipe directly to the top of the tool for weight to help lower the tool.  Care should be taken not to over-tighten the threaded fitting. Hand tight plus one-half turn is sufficient.  If the check valve assembly is to be used to pump water from the screen, a PVC riser should be attached to the top of the weight pipe and extended from total depth to land surface.  A 90-degree elbow is recommended at the top to direct the purge water away from the wellhead.  If the drill pipe is attached above the top of the tool, care should be taken to ensure that the weight of the drill rod does not crush the tool on the downstroke into the bottom of the well.

Development Procedures – Beginning at the bottom of the screen, using as short a stroke as possible (1-foot to 3-foot), begin slowly raising and lowering the tool.  The polyurethane wipers fit very snugly and can damage even a metal screen if the upstroke is too fast. Screens are inherently weak and have great force pushing inward from the formation.  Strong upstrokes can cause the screen to collapse due to the high suction (vacuum).  Surging speed should not exceed 1/2 foot per second.  Wells with slotted pipe screens generally take longer to develop than wells with wire-wrapped screens.  If the check valve assembly is not used to remove the fines, the well development tool should occasionally be withdrawn from the well and the well screen pumped or bailed to remove fines in the bottom of the screen.

Continue to work the tool up and down, slowly, to surge the water back and forth, in and out of the well screen.  The washing action will work the fines inward through the filter pack and screen, thus increasing the flow or permeability of the formation around the screen.  Wells drilled with the drilling mud containing organic polymers may require an additive (such as Baroid’s Aqua-Clear®) to break down the gel strength of the mud.
If the check ball and riser are used to remove the muddy development water, continue for 2 to 5 minutes per foot of screen to be developed, depending upon the amount of fines (clay, silt) in the formation.