A squeeze job is a repair for oil wells where a cement slurry is pumped into a damaged casing or pipe to plug holes and create a seal. The process involves closing the bradenhead, pumping the slurry, and removing excess cement before restarting the pumps.
A squeeze job is a term that refers to a repair done on an oil well. A cement slurry, which is typically a mixture of cement, water, and fine sand, is pumped into a casing or pipe that has been cracked or otherwise damaged. The slurry plugs the holes, effectively repairing the damage and allowing the well to continue to be used.
Another name for a compression job is bradenhead compression; to carry out the repair the bradenhead, another name for the crankcase, must be closed. Otherwise, the concrete will flow out the top of the pipe instead of plugging the holes. The process for repairing a cracked oil pipe using a squeeze job involves several steps, starting with pumping the cement slurry into the pipe. It’s important to pump enough to plug the holes, but not so much that the extra can’t be removed from the system before it sets. The bradenhead is then closed.
After the initial preparations, the pumps are started to carry the oil out of the well. This causes them to pump the contents of the pipe to the surface, which now consists of a large amount of cement slurry. Because the tube is plugged, the contents cannot leave the tube.
The pressure from the pumps pushes the slurry out through all available holes, which can only be the damaged areas of the pipe at this point. As the pressure continues, particles of sand and cement settle into the cracks as water and oil are squeezed out, giving rise to the term “squeeze job”. Ultimately, this repairs the tube by creating a seal anywhere that had a crack or hole.
Once the pressure within the pipe builds, indicating that the holes have been plugged, it is important to remove any excess cement before it settles at the bottom of the pipe. This is done by stopping the pumps and opening the bradenhead. The pumps are restarted and all of the water, oil and cement slurry from inside the pipe is pumped out.
After the pipe is cleared of excess cement, the patches are allowed to cure so that the compression job repair becomes permanent. The pipe can then be reconnected to the delivery pipe which takes the oil from the well and delivers it to the storage area. The pumps are restarted and work resumes, usually after a minimal amount of downtime and expense.
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