Protracted suboptimal investment levels means that the production performance of is often not optimized. Functional improvement can be achieved with rigless techniques or low-risk rig intervention. Common operations involve chemical treatment to remove perforation/formation damage and wellbore clean-out to eliminate any obstructions to flow such as debris and sand.

Production from active wells can further be improved though workover operations. Conventional workovers consist primarily of opening up (perforating) new layers or improving wellbore conditions to facilitate flow (e.g. fishing operations). Heavy workovers have an extended scope which includes more complex operations such as milling and sidetracking.