Description
Operate wireline perforating systems to create casing perforations in oil and gas wells. Assemble, run, and fire perforating guns; handle, store, transport, and account for explosives; and maintain equipment and regulatory safety compliance.
- • Communicate job status and hazards using radios or field phones; participate in JSAs and toolbox talks.
- • Review well programs and perforation intervals to determine gun size, shot density, phasing, and explosive types.
- • Inspect wellsite and pressure-control equipment to ensure compliance with safety and regulatory requirements.
- • Assemble perforating guns; load shaped charges, boosters, and detonators per specifications.
- • Install waterproof seals, port plugs, and protective hardware; torque and verify gun integrity.
- • Connect firing heads, addressable switches, and lead wires; test electrical continuity and resistance.
- • Pressure-test gun strings and surface pressure-control equipment to required ratings.
- • Rig up wireline unit, lubricator, and pressure-control stack; verify red zone boundaries and exclusion areas.
- • Coordinate with rig crew via radio to clear the well floor and control zones before arming guns.
- • Correlate depth using gamma ray and casing collar locator tools to position guns at target intervals.
- • Lower perforating guns into the well using hoist or wireline; monitor depth and tension on instrument panels.
- • Fire perforating guns from surface panels according to sequence and safety procedures.
- • Confirm detonation via surface readouts, acoustic confirmation, or pressure responses.
- • Retrieve gun strings; verify shot counts; handle misfires and hung guns using approved protocols.
- • Disassemble and redress guns; clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports and tool joints.
- • Move, log, and store explosives and loaded guns in approved magazines and transport containers.
- • Maintain explosives inventories and initiate orders to sustain stock levels.
- • Keep detailed explosives and gun records to meet company, DOT, ATF, and local regulations.
- • Perform pre-job and post-job equipment inspections; repair or service wireline, electrical, and pressure-control components.
- • Cut and prepare detonating cord, leads, and pigtails as required by the gun design.
- • Connect primers to detonating cord or detonators; secure and route lines to prevent damage.
- • Set and verify arming delays or selective-fire sequences per job design.
- • Assist in designing shot patterns, phasing, and intervals to meet completion objectives.
- • Document formations, well conditions, and perforation results during operations.
- • Operate pumps or purge systems to circulate debris or flush lubricators and toolstrings.
- • Operate cranes or signal crane operators to move lubricators, guns, and pressure-control equipment.
- • Drive and operate explosive service trucks to mobilize equipment and materials to location.
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Energy & Natural Resources
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Last reviewed: Jan 2026
