For purposes of preparing a well for the production of oil or gas, at least one perforating gun may be deployed into the well via a deployment mechanism, such as a wireline or a coiled tubing string. The shaped charges of the perforating gun(s) are fired when the gun(s) are appropriately positioned to perforate a casing of the well and form perforating tunnels into the surrounding formation. Additional operations may be performed in the well to increase the well's permeability, such as well stimulation operations and operations that involve hydraulic fracturing. All of these operations typically are multiple stage operations, which means that the operation involves isolating a particular zone, or stage, of the well, performing the operation and then proceeding to the next stage. Typically, a multiple stage operation involves several runs, or trips, into the well.
Each trip into a well involves considerable cost and time. Therefore, the overall cost and time associated with a multiple stage operation typically is a direct function of the number of trips into the well used to complete the operation.