What Is Workover?
A workover is a major intervention operation performed on an existing oil or gas well after initial completion. Workovers are conducted to restore production in declining or failed wells, repair downhole equipment (such as ESPs or rod pumps), change producing zones, address mechanical issues like casing leaks, or convert wells from production to injection or disposal. Workovers require a workover rig or coiled tubing unit and typically cost $100,000 to $500,000+ depending on complexity and depth.
What Operations Are Performed During a Workover?
- Pulling and replacing failed artificial lift equipment (ESPs, rod pumps)
- Re-perforating or adding perforation intervals to access new zones
- Repairing casing leaks with casing patches
- Sand cleanout and wellbore cleanout
- Acidizing or fracturing to stimulate production in existing wells
- Plugging depleted zones and recompleting in new formations
- Converting producing wells to injection or disposal wells
How AI Improves Workover Decision-Making
Deciding when and how to work over a well involves analyzing production decline data, failure history, offset well performance, and cost-benefit projections. Collide's root cause analysis workflow helps operators diagnose well failures faster — identifying whether an ESP failure was caused by sand, gas, electrical issues, or corrosion — so the workover can address the actual root cause rather than just replacing equipment.