GENERAL PACKER MILLING INFORMATION

A. Introduction

The following milling guidelines are intended to inform you of general packer milling equipment
and procedures. Halliburton is not in the milling/fishing business and does not offer this service
to our customers. We will work with the fishing tool company selected by our customer to
ensure an efficient milling operation is performed. These guidelines are general and the fishing
tool operator may have his own preferred procedure to follow. The fishing tool company is
ultimately responsible for the operation and in most cases will be more experienced in the latest
tools and techniques.

Retrieving packers is something all oil and gas operators are faced with from time to time. The
one trip retrieval method has been used for many years but by no means perfected. A vast
variety of special tools have been developed over the years strictly for this purpose. One of the
more familiar tools is the standard retrieving spear consisting of a mandrel and catch slip (See
Attached Figure). A J-release mechanism is used should the spear need to be released from the
packer. This tool works reasonably well in straight and shallow wells, but has posed problems in
deeper and highly deviated wells. It is sometimes very hard to release as the J-release slots are
very hard to locate in these types of wells. Another problem is the accidental releasing while
pulling out of the hole. One good feature of this tool is the operator can reset the spear in the
packer without pulling out of the hole. Another type was developed incorporating a releasing nut
which is activated by holding tension against the packer and rotating the string to the right
allowing the spear to be released from the packer. The drawback to this type of spear is it has to
be pulled to the surface, disassembled, and reset to engage the packer again.

Another common problem is the type of milling configurations used over the years. Milling
shoes at one time was the only method used. The shoes were dressed with tungsten carbide on
the face and inside diameter. The drawback being, only a certain amount of cutting matrix could
be applied to this type of shoe. Quite often, several shoes were required to mill over a one
packer. A special type of milling head (packer mill) which can mill a complete packer has been
designed and used over the last few years.

In this section, general information concerning guidelines for efficient milling, the milling shoe,
and milling head will be discussed.

B. General Guidelines for Efficient Milling

1. Mud conditioning for milling. Steel cuttings removal is the name of the game
when milling. Here are a few suggestions on using mud and improving its
effectiveness.

a. A minimum annular velocity of 120 feet/minute is recommended.

b. Don’t use oil base mud for milling operations if there is any alternative.
 c. Turbulent flow is the best pumping rate because cuttings are tossed around
and never get a chance to “Bird Nest” in the wrong place, such as just
above the drill collars. But few pumps have the capacity to produce
turbulent flow.

d. In the absence of big pump capability, here are some possibilities for fluid
carrying capacity improvements:

1) If the well permits, add weighting material such as barite.

2) Increase the yield point of the mud with a moderate increase in
viscosity. Try 60-70 cps for a start.

2. Getting rid of cuttings at the right rate. After mud conditioning, optimum
annular velocity, viscosity and mud yield are taken into consideration as
mentioned previously, the following suggestions may help to get the cuttings out
as fast as they are milled:

a. Inspect subs or other auxiliary tools to make sure they are full bore.
Restrictions can cause fluid volume problems hampering cuttings removal.
(If the use of hydraulically actuated tools are planned, this volume loss can
be serious)

b. On small jobs, if high enough annular velocity for efficient cuttings

removal can’t be obtained, use junk subs.

c. If cuttings are not being removed as they are being milled, use bailers or
junk snatchers periodically to remove them.

d. Reverse circulation with open ended pipe is a good way to remove

cuttings accumulations.

e. When milling anything tubular such as washpipe, liner, or casing, cuttings

can accumulate inside the fish. When cuttings removal is not optimum,
and particularly on long jobs, it is a good idea to periodically clean out to
bottom inside the fish with a junk mill or with reverse circulation as
mentioned previously in part (d.).

3. How to read cuttings.

a. Ideal cuttings are about 1/32” thick and up to 3” long.

b. Hair-like cuttings with low penetration rates mean weight on mill should
be increased.

c. Fish-scale-like cuttings when pilot milling or section milling (common

when milling H-40 grade pipe) tells you that the penetration rate can be
improved by decreasing the weight and increasing the rotary table speed.
 d. Expect cuttings finer than other grades of pipe when milling “P” grade
pipe or material. It’s normal.

4. General tips on weight and speeds.

a. As a general rule, better milling results with rotary table speeds of 100
rpm an up. Exceptions include taper mills and washover shoes which
usually operate most efficiently at about 75 rpm and sometimes less if
high torque is encountered.

b. Never start a mill on the fish. Start rotating with the mill about 1 foot
above the fish. With a rotary speed of about 100 rpm (less for taper mills,
washover shoes, and other torque-producing mills), lower onto the fish.
Adjust the speed and vary the weight to improve penetration rate.

c. For best penetration rate, maintain a constant weight. Do not allow the
tool to drill off. Do not feed weight by allowing the draw works drum to
turn in large increments. The drum should creep.

d. The wear pattern on the mill will tell a lot about the performance of the
mill in the hole. If the blades have a “hook” wear pattern, milling is
progressing satisfactorily. If the blades tapered, it usually means too much
weight was used which flared the top of the fish.

5. Some factors that affect milling rates.

a. Milling rates are determined by many factors including the type and
stability of the fish, the weight on the mill and the speed at which it is run,
and the hardness of the cement when milling casing.

b. Generally, the stability of well-cemented casing permits milling at high

speeds and high weights resulting in high milling rates. Uncemented
casing and fish in uncemented casings should be milled at moderate
speeds and lighter weights.

c. If the casing or fish is severely corroded or “rotten”, run the mill at light
weight but at a relatively high speed. This will help prevent tearing,
ripping, or splintering of the fish.

6. What to do about rubber in the hole.

a. Rubber in association with a fish can cause trouble during milling

operations. If rubber is reducing milling rates, try cutting down on pump
pressure or even shutting off the pump altogether for short intervals and
spudding the mill frequently to help the mill get some bites on the rubber.

b. If rubber really has penetration stopped, the mill may have to be pulled
and the rubber cleaned out of the fish with a bit.
 7. To use or not to use jars. Before running jars, the following should be
considered:

a. The weight cannot be accurately controlled and spudding cannot be

properly carried out.

b. In some cases, the jars restrict the fluid flow so that cuttings are not
properly removed.

c. Type of packer retriever spear used. If a straight pull to release packer

spear is used, hydraulic oil jars (or any up jars) may shear the packer spear
prematurely.

8. Stabilizing the mill.

a. A mill that is allowed to wobble does a poor job. Sufficient drill collars
and stabilizers should be used to let the mill run free and true.

b. Normally, a stabilizer is run one or two collars above the mill.

c. As a rule, the diameter of the stabilizer should not exceed the blade OD of
the mill.

9. What to do about rough operation.

a. Any mill works best when it runs smoothly. To stop bouncing or rough
running, lower the table speed to about 50 rpm and reduce weight to about
3,000 lbs. Run for an hour or two, gradually increasing weight. If the mill
runs smoothly and penetration rate is good, continue at this speed. If the
penetration rate is low, increase speed. If the mill starts to run rough
again, back off on the speed until the mill runs smoothly again and hold
that speed.

b. When milling casing, a rough running or bouncing mill-particularly a pilot

mill or a section mill-often indicates that the casing is not well cemented
and is wobbing. Try reducing table speed to overcome this condition.

C. General Guidelines for Packer Milling Using a Milling Shoe.

1. Mill shoe dress.

a. Mill shoe should be dressed with 3/16” Tungsten Carbide (size 1/8” –
3/16”).

b. Bottom end of mill shoe should have four flow course slots. These slots
should be ½” wide and 1” in length.
 c. Mill shoe should be dressed heavily with Tungsten Carbide on bottom
face, in flow course slots, and on the inside from the tip of the mill up at
least 3”.

d. Mill shoe should be smooth on the outside diameter – no Tungsten

Carbide on the mill shoe OD.

e. Leave four flow courses approximately ½” wide through the Tungsten

Carbide on the inside of the mill shoe. This allows better fluid flow to
flow course slots on bottom end of the shoe.

2. Mill shoe dimension.

a. The optimum sized mill shoe should have an OD of approximately 0.063”

to 0.125” under casing drift ID dimension.

b. The optimum wall thickness of the Tungsten Carbide dressed portion of

the mill shoe is 0.50” to 0.625” for 5 ½” through 7 5/8” packers and
0.625” to 0.75” wall thickness for 9 5/8” packers.

NOTE: For smaller OD packers and for large bore packers in some
sizes, it is not always possible to hold to these wall
thickness dimensions.

c. Design mill shoe ID to be at least 0.063” to 0.125” larger than packer

mandrel OD.

d. Length dimension from bottom tip of mill shoe to bottom of drive bushing
(top sub) should allow at least 24” in excess of maximum mill distance.

CAUTION: A packer retriever mandrel (spear) should not be run in

conjunction with the mill on every job. A mill-out
extension sub (packer plucker) must be installed below the
packer or seal bore extension in order to use a retriever
mandrel in conjunction with the mill. Extreme well depth,
hole deviation, and side-tracks are factors which can make
it difficult to accurately control the amount of weight being
applied to the mill. These factors can hamper the release of
the retriever mandrel.

REMEMBER: There is no assurance that the first mill shoe will complete
the milling job or that mill debris will allow a retriever
mandrel to be released.
3. Make up the packer retriever assembly. (Refer to attached Figure)

The assembly consists of: packer spear, lock extension, drive bushing, lock
bushing, milling shoe, (boot type junk basket optional).

a. Screw pin end of boot type junk basket (optional) into box end of bit sub
and work string. (Tighten same)

b. Screw pin end of packer drive bushing into box end of junk basket.
(Tighten same)

c. Screw pin end of lock extension into box end of drive bushing. (Tighten
same)

d. Slide box end of lock bushing over lock extension and screw box end of
lock bushing onto pin end of drive bushing. (Tighten same)

e. Check measurements and be sure lock extension is long enough to go

through bore of packer. If not, add appropriate amount of flush
extensions. (Tighten same) (Tighten set screws)

f. Slide box end of milling shoe over lock extension, screw box end of
milling shoe onto pin end of lock bushing. (Tighten same)

g. Check grapple to be sure it is the correct size to catch bore of packer, slide
grapple over mandrel of packer spear.

h. Screw pin end of packer spear into box end of lock extension. (Tighten
same) (Tighten set screws)

i. Bottom hole assembly should include sufficient drill collars to concentrate

run weight on mill shoe.

4. Jars

a. If no packer retriever spear or if a right hand release retriever spear is

used, normally a set of hydraulic oil jars (up jars) and bumper subs (down
jars) are used.

b. Hydraulic oil jars (up jars) should not be used if the packer retriever spear
releases by straight upward pull. Bumper subs (down jars) may be used if
desired.
c. Typically, jars are placed between the first (lowest) drill collar and
crossover sub.

5. Pump rate.

a. Normally 1 ½ to 2 barrels per minute is optimum.

 b. If pump rate is excessive, the mill is hydraulically pumped off the fish
making it hard to maintain desired amount of weight on the mill.

NOTE: The low pump rate, which helps optimize the actual mill rate,
generally will not carry out all of the milling debris when
circulating with low viscosity water. At mid point of mill distance
and in particular at the end of the mill distance, it is suggested to
pick up off fish and increase pump rate to clear hole of debris. A
high viscosity gel slug of 10 to 15 barrels, when available, would
be beneficial.

6. Weight on mill.

a. Do not apply excess weight to mill shoe. This will not increase the mill
rate – only decrease the mill life.

b. Optimum weight is approximately 2,000 to 5,000 pounds.

c. Minimum weight to mill extends the mill life and reduces the tendency to
grab and turn the part being milled.

7. Torque and rotary speed.

a. Torque is more important and a better guideline factor than reading weight
applied to the mill.

b. Try to keep torque during milling between 300 and 400 ft/lbs. This
provides better cutting action and mill shoe life.

c. Rotary speed should be 30 to 40 rpm – optimum, and 50 to 75 rpm

maximum.

NOTE: Torque will generally increase as mill shoe reaches the packer
elements. When this occurs, cut back on mill weight and slightly increase pump
rate. Often, it is necessary to pick up off the fish several times in order to clear
rubber from around the mill shoe.

8. Typical procedure. (Rotational J-release packer retriever spear)

a. Lower the assembly into the hole as normal. Before tagging the packer,
record all string weights, (slack off, pick up, and rotating). Tag the packer
 and allow the packer retriever spear to pass through the packer. As the
retriever passes through the packer, the cage is free to ride up on the
mandrel while the lugs are in the bottom of its internal keyways, and the
friction wickers and lifting shoulder are free to collapse to permit passage.
After the friction wickers pass through, the cage will fall onto the tapered
cone of the mandrel which expands the lifting shoulder. The mandrel lugs
are then near the top of the internal keyways. Now raise the fishing
strings slowly and carefully until it takes weight. This ensures that the
retriever will engage the packer seat.

b. Lower the fishing string until the mill shoe contacts the top of the packer.
Pick up 6” to 10”, start circulation and right-hand rotation and lower the
mill assembly slowly onto the top of the packer until optimum weight and
torque have been reached. Be sure to monitor weight, torque, and rate as
milling continues. Packer parts may start to spin. If this happens, very
little damage to mill shoe occurs. Continue rotation will wear these parts
out. When the packer begins to slide down the hole, stop rotation. Raise
the fishing string to engage it with the lifting shoulder and then pull the
assembly and the fish out of the hole.

c. If for any reason, it is desirable to release the retriever from the packer,
observe the following procedure:

1) Elevate the fishing string until weight is indicated.

2) Lower the fishing string about three inches.
3) Rotate about 900 to the RIGHT.
4) Slowly elevate the string to withdraw the retriever from the packer.

When the fishing string is lowered three inches, the friction wickers drag
on the packer ID causing the mandrel lugs to ride down the keyways into
the J-slots. As this occurs, the cage slides off the mandrel tapered cone.
The friction wickers remain in the packer and still provide slight drag
enough to hold the cage stationary while the 900 right-hand turn is applied
which moves the lugs out of the keyways and into the J-slots. When the
string is raised, the lugs engage the top of the J-slots leaving the lifting
shoulder free to collapse and be removed from the packer.

d. After releasing from the packer and it is desirable to reset the retriever into
the packer, observe following procedure:

1) Lower the fishing string until the retriever passes through the
packer bore.
2) Elevate the fishing string until weight is indicated demonstrating
that the retriever in the catch position and is engaging the packer.
3) Milling may continue or if milling is completed, the assembly and
fish may be pulled out of the hole.
D. General Guidelines for Packer Milling Using a Milling Head.

This design of milling tool is recommended for packers which have large O.D. top subs.
Normally, these are permanent packers which have a seal bore in the top sub.

1. Mill head dress.

a. Mill head blades should be dressed with 3/16” Tungsten Carbide (Size
1/8” – 3/16”).

b. Should have four water courses or ports depending upon design type used.

c. Four blades design.

2. Mill head dimension.

a. The mill head should normally have a dressed O.D. of 0.063” to 0.125”
under casing drift I.D. dimension.

3. Make up the packer retriever assembly. (Refer to Attached Figure)

The assembly consists of: packer spear, lock extension, lock bushing, milling
head, drive bushing, (boot type junk basket optional). When a milling head is
used, the lock bushing and milling shoe are omitted.

a. Screw pin end of boot type junk basket (optional) into the box end of the
bit sub and work string. (Tighten same)

b. Screw pin end of packer drive bushing into the box end of the junk basket.
(Tighten same)

c. Screw pin end of milling head into box end of the drive bushing. (Tighten
same)

d. Screw lock extension onto the bottom of the milling head. (Tighten same)

e. Check measurements and be sure lock extension is long enough to go

through bore of packer. If not, add appropriate amount of flush
extensions. (Tighten same) (Tighten set screws)

f. Check grapple to be sure it is the correct size to catch bore of packer, slide
grapple over mandrel of packer spear.

g. Screw pin end of packer spear into box end of lock extension. (Tighten
same) (Tighten set screws)
 h. Bottom hole assembly should include sufficient drill collars to concentrate
run weight on mill head.

4. Jars

a. If no packer retriever spear or if a right hand release retriever spear is

used, normally a set of hydraulic oil jars (up jars) and bumper subs (down
jars) are used.

b. Hydraulic oil jars (up jars) should not be used if the packer retriever spear
releases by straight upward pull. Bumper subs (down jars) may be used if
desired.
c. Typically, jars are placed between the first (lowest) drill collar and
crossover sub.

5. Pump rate.

a. Pump rate should be such that circulation pressure is 750 psi to 1,500 psi.

b. If pump rate is excessive, the mill is hydraulically pumped off the fish
making it hard to maintain desired amount of weight on the mill.

NOTE: The low pump rate, which helps optimize the actual mill rate,
generally will not carry out all of the milling debris when circulating with low
viscosity water. At mid point of mill distance and in particular at the end of the
mill distance, it is suggested to pick up off fish and increase pump rate to clear
hole of debris. A high viscosity gel slug to 10 to 15 barrels, when available,
would be beneficial.

6. Weight on mill.

a. Do not apply excess weight to mill head. This will not increase the mill
rate – only decrease the mill life.

b. Optimum weight is approximately 5,000 to 10,000 pounds.

c. Minimum weight to mill extends the mill life and reduces the tendency to
grab and turn the part being milled.

7. Torque and rotary speed.

a. Torque is most important and a better guideline factor than reading weight
applied to the mill.

b. The “mill head” type of milling tool assembly will normally run with less
torque than the “mill shoe” type in highly deviated wells.
 c. “Mill head” design does not require the use of washpipe thread
connections like required with the “mill shoe” design.

d. Rotary speed should be between 80 rpm and 130 rpm depending on

torque, etc.

8. Typical procedure. (Rotational J-release packer retriever spear)

a. Lower the assembly into the hole as normal. Before tagging the packer,
record all string weights, (slack off, pick up, and rotating). Tag the packer
and allow the packer retriever spear to pass through the packer. As the
retriever passes through the packer, the cage is free to ride up on the
mandrel while the lugs are in the bottom of its internal keyways, and the
friction wickers and lifting shoulder are free to collapse to permit passage.
After the friction wickers pass through, the cage will fall onto the tapered
cone of the mandrel which expands the lifting shoulder. The mandrel lugs
are then near the top of the internal keyways. Now raise the fishing string
slowly and carefully until it takes weight. This ensures that the retriever
will engage the packer seat.

b. Lower the fishing string until the mill head contacts the top of the packer.
Pick up 6” to 10”, start circulation and right-hand rotation and lower the
mill assembly slowly onto the top of the packer until optimum weight and
torque have been reached. Be sure to monitor weight, torque, and rates as
milling continues. Packer parts may start to spin. If this happens, very
little damage to mill head occurs. Continued rotation will wear these parts
out. Once the lower slips on the packer are milled away, the packer will
go down the hole. At this point, cease rotation and continue slacking off.
If the packer hangs up, continue milling until it is free again. Pump a slug
(may be optional) and trip out of the hole slowly. This will usually occur
at casing couplings. If this happens, work the packer up and down several
times through the couplings until it is free.

c. If for any reason, it is desirable to release the retriever from the packer,
observe the following procedure:

1) Elevate the fishing string until weight is indicated.

2) Lower the fishing string about three inches.
3) Rotate about 900 to the RIGHT.
4) Slowly elevate the string to withdraw the retriever from the packer.

When the fishing string is lowered three inches, the friction wickers drag
on the packer ID causing the mandrel lugs to ride down the keyways into
the J-slots. As this occurs, the cage slides off the mandrel tapered cone.
The friction wickers remain in the packer and still provide slight drag
enough to hold the cage stationary while the 900 right-hand turn is applied
which moves the lugs out of the keyways and into the J-slots. When the
 string is raised, the lugs engage the top of the J-slots leaving the lifting
shoulder free to collapse and be removed from the packer.

d. After releasing from the packer and it is desirable to reset the retriever into
the packer, observe the following procedure:

1) Lower the fishing string until the retriever passes through the
packer bore.
2) Elevate the fishing string until weight is indicated demonstrating
that the retriever in the catch position and is engaging the packer.
3) Milling may continue or if milling is completed, the assembly and
fish may be pulled out of the hole.
 Packer Milling Assembly

PACKER
2 DRIVE
BUSHING
1 BOOT JUNK
BASKET

OPTIONAL PACKER
MILLING HEAD AND 2
LOCK BUSHING

3
3 LOCK
BUSHING

RETRIEVER
6 SPEAR
GRAPPLE
PACKER
5 LOCK TYPE
EXTENSION
5

OPTIONAL FLUSH 6
EXTENSION

PACKER 7
4 MILLING
SHOE

7 PACKER ASSEMBLY
RETRIEVER