Blog

Wireline History: We All Have a Story

The oil and gas industry would not function if not for wireline and e-line products.

When digging and once a wellbore is dug and casings are in place, it’s these tools that have the utmost important task when finding and extracting oil.

Wireline tools are used for many reasons in oil and gas exploration services. 

In the beginnings of a project, they are used to bring materials and equipment successfully into and out of the borehole. As a wellbore is being drilled, wireline tools, like a slickline, carry down necessary equipment needed to continue the drilling process and control the flow of oil once production begins.

They are also used to collect important data for the people above ground. The data from an e-line shows the chemical and physical properties underground and helps them determine what’s next to bring them closer to their ultimate goal: oil. 

But how did we get here? Who had the idea and the energy to create and build something that would dive kilometers underground?

 

Striking Oil

Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger are credited with being the first to use wireline logging, a term they called “electrical resistivity well logging.”

The first recorded trial of wireline logging was September 5, 1927 into a 500-meter-deep wellbore in Pechelbronn in the Alsace region of France.

If you were to say this realization of what they could do with wireline tools was revolutionary, you would be correct.

Prior to wireline products, engineers relied on pieces of the Earth to come up from the borehole. They would physically study its components. That would determine if you were to continue drilling and where.

As you can imagine, this was not without error and often led to time wasted.

With the new technology at hand, engineers were now able to see what was down the wellbore with more accuracy. 

News spread quickly throughout the oil and gas industry. Wireline and e-line products were now not merely a cool, new way to get information and maneuver in the wellbore, but an absolute necessity for all businesses.

 

Digging Deep

As the idea and its success grew, so too did the demand for these tools.

Currently, an engineer has numerous options when it comes to where they get their wireline tools. What keeps anyone coming back is quality.

One wireline company in Lafayette, LA devoted to quality is Electric Line Technologies (ElTech).

ElTech offers many tools for drilling and keep a substantial amount of inventory. When someone comes in for a tool, they can provide what is needed quickly.

In addition to your standard tools, ElTech is also able to create custom wireline tools used for oil and gas production.

Times have changed since 1927, but one thing does remain.

Solid, quality and dependable wireline tools are the bread and butter of the oil and gas industry. You just have to find the right knife.

For more information on products offered by ElTech, click here.

Loading...