The Wells Hot Rod & Reasons to Use It
  1. How the WELLS Hot Rod™ Works
    1. The Hot Rod is a 4.5 foot long, 8 pound tool that is lowered into the tubing of a well on electric wireline (e-line).
    2. Electric power from the wireline truck travels down the e-line to the tool and causes the Hot Rod to heat up which melts the paraffin, which is sometimes referred to as wax, allowing it to float to the surface and, subsequently, into the production tanks.
    3. The well can be produced at a restricted rate while the paraffin is melted to accelerate its removal from the well.
    4. Paraffin usually melts at less the 175 degrees Fahrenheit but the tool can be heated to over 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
    5. The Hot Rod can only be used when there are no rods in the well.
  2. Advantages of using the WELLS Hot Rod™
    1. Very Fast – 1½ to 3 hours not including the time to rig-up and rig-down.
    2. All paraffin is produced into the tanks which eliminates the potential for paraffin to be left on the surface at the wellsite.
    3. Doesn’t damage tubing like mechanical cutting does or the formation like hot-oiling can and is much faster and safer than chemical solvents.
    4. Can be used just as easily when the tubing is completely plugged or only partially plugged with paraffin regardless of tubing size.
    5. Also works very fast and efficiently on hydrates.
  3. Other methods currently being used for paraffin removal, commonly called dewaxing
    1. Mechanical cutters can take much longer (sometimes several days), don’t remove all of the paraffin, often leave solid paraffin on the surface at the wellsite and can damage the tubing. The scrapes and nicks inside the tubing provide locations for the paraffin plug to reform more quickly than they otherwise would. If the paraffin is hard, mechanical removal is often accompanied with a hot oil truck to soften the paraffin so the cutter can work.
    2. Hot oiling, except for tubing damage, has the same disadvantage as mechanical cutting. Further, because the oil used for the process usually comes from the bottom of the production tanks, the oil can be full of solids and saturated with paraffin. When pumped into the well some of hot oil often ends up in the reservoir which can reduce the zone’s permeability.
  4. Benefits for the well operator
    1. Less well down time - 1-½ to 3 hours versus 1-3 days.
    2. Removes all the paraffin from the tubing.
    3. Paraffin removal needs to be done less often.
    4. Substantially reduces environmental risk.
  5. Reasons for E-line companies to use the WELLS Hot Rod™
    1. New Revenue Stream - E-line will become the preferred method of paraffin removal for these reasons:
      1. The cost of paraffin removal by e-line will be less expensive than by current methods when the cost of revenue lost due to well downtime is added to the cost of the service.
      2. Other benefits for the well operator listed in number 4 above
    1. Competitive edge in their core business
      1. Not every e-line company will have the WELLS Hot Rod™
      2. Pay once, not twice- Occasionally, an operator calls an e-line company to come out to do a job and they can’t get down the hole because of too much paraffin in the tubing. Once the paraffin has been removed, the operator would have to pay the company a second time to come out and complete the job. However, if the operator were to call an e-line company that has our tool, the operator is guaranteed that the job can be completed in one trip every time. Since many operators don’t know how much paraffin is in the tubing, they would be safer to call a company that uses our tool. As operators realize this, it will lead to new customers for the e-line company.
      3. An e-line company that has the Hot Rod may be called to perform a paraffin removal job by an operator who is currently using a competitor. This gives the e-line an opportunity to interface with the operator and provides opportunities to create new customers for their core business.
  6. What WELLS provides
    1. A tool for 2 3/8” tubing, a tool for 2 7/8” tubing and a backup tool for each.
    2. Attachments are available for other sizes of tubing or casing
    3. The WELLS proprietary, portable, transformer
    4. Training on the use of the Hot Rod
    5. WELLS will be responsible for tool maintenance and will also cover shipping costs to and from our shop