Overview
ISO 17078-4:2010 - "Petroleum and natural gas industries - Drilling and production equipment - Part 4: Practices for side-pocket mandrels and related equipment" is an informative guidance document intended to help users, purchasers, suppliers and manufacturers with the specification, selection, installation and use of side-pocket mandrels, flow-control devices, and associated latches and installation tools. It complements the other parts of ISO 17078 that address product-design and manufacturing requirements by focusing on practical documentation, testing, calibration, reconditioning and operational practices.
Key topics and requirements
The standard provides practical material (not prescriptive manufacturing specifications) including:
- Specification and selection guidance for side-pocket mandrels, flow-control devices and latches.
- Testing and calibration recommendations to ensure functional performance in drilling and production environments.
- Reconditioning and maintenance practices to extend service life and maintain reliability.
- Installation and run/receive procedures for side-pocket equipment and installation tools.
- Templates and datasheets for consistent communication between purchaser and supplier - included electronic inserts such as:
- Table G.1–G.3: user/purchaser functional specification templates (mandrels, flow-control devices, running/pulling/kick-over tools and latches)
- Table H.1–H.3: supplier/manufacturer product data sheet templates
- Advice on creating functional specifications, product data sheets and inspection/acceptance criteria.
Practical applications
ISO 17078-4 is useful for a wide range of operational and procurement activities in the oil & gas sector:
- Preparing tender documents and functional specifications for side-pocket mandrels and flow-control devices.
- Developing factory acceptance test (FAT) and field acceptance test (FAT) checklists for testing and calibration.
- Creating standardized product data sheets and supplier documentation to streamline procurement and quality assurance.
- Informing maintenance and reconditioning programs to support well integrity and flow-control reliability.
- Training for operations, completion and maintenance teams on installation and safe handling of side-pocket equipment.
Who should use this standard
- Drilling and production engineers
- Procurement and purchasing specialists in petroleum and natural gas industries
- Tool designers, suppliers and manufacturers of side-pocket mandrels, latches and installation tools
- Maintenance, inspection and asset integrity teams
- Quality and compliance personnel preparing specifications and acceptance criteria
Related standards
- Other parts of ISO 17078 (product-design and manufacturing requirements) should be used in conjunction with Part 4 to obtain complete technical and production requirements for side-pocket mandrels and related drilling and production equipment.
Keywords: ISO 17078-4, side-pocket mandrel, flow-control device, drilling and production equipment, latches, installation tools, specification, testing, calibration, reconditioning, oil and gas.