Swab rig

Workover & Intervention

A swab rig is a lightweight truck-mounted unit equipped with a winch and cable, used primarily to remove fluids from the wellbore to initiate production. By running a 'swab cup' assembly down the tubing and pulling it up, the rig creates suction that lifts the liquid column out of the well.

Swabbing is often performed on newly completed wells that are full of heavy completion fluid or on older wells that have 'loaded up' with water. Reducing the hydrostatic head in the wellbore allows the formation pressure to push hydrocarbons into the well and resume flow.