PLUG SETTING RECOMMENDATIONS

a) Cement Volume: investigations into plug failures have shown that pumping sufficient slurry volume is one of the most critical factors. If the open hole size is not known then the following plug volume is recommended: - HOC + 50% excess over gauge (to account for washouts in open hole). - Plus 10 bbls of slurry to compensate for mud contamination. If plug is not being set on a firm base, spot a viscous pill or a reactive viscous pill (of the same length as the cement plug) below the proposed plug to act as a base. Bentonite (25-50 lb./bbl.) should be used to viscosify the pill to the highest manageable viscosity (10 sec gel >50 lb./100 ft2). Drill pipe and stinger / tubing should be drifted for accurate displacement. Best practices; especially for HPHT wells, include using a latch-down indicator sub (ball catcher) to achieve accurate displacement. "Wash" the entire plug placement interval when RIH with work string. Reciprocate and/or rotate (15 RPM) work string between connections whilst circulating at maximum annular velocity (240 - 400 ft/min dependent on well conditions). Continue this process for each stand from the top to the bottom of the plug interval. Minimize any shutdowns, to keep the mud in a fluidized condition. This will help maximize mud removal efficiency when placing cement. Plug height should be limited to 500 ft., since the extra time taken to pull slowly out of the plug increases the risk of cementing-in the cementing assembly. Use 2-7/8 (preferable) stinger / tubing on the end of the DP to minimize stripping the plug when POOH. The recommended length is 1.5 x plug length, (700-800 ft DP in) Use a side-port diverter tool - this will change the flow direction from downwards to outwards thus minimizing any intermixing and optimizing hole cleaning. If none available, one can be made by cutting off the tool joint and blanking off the end of the bottom tubing joint on the stinger. Cut 8 x 1" diameter holes radially in the bottom two feet of this joint. DO NOT USE MULE SHOE WITH NARROW SLOTS Pump minimum of 35 bbls of spacer ahead of the plug and required volume behind to balance and separate the mud from the cement. For a setting a horizontal plug keep the spacer weight almost equal to the cement weight. Pump Spacer, Cement and displacement at maximum possible rates with the cement unit, however to do over displace - slow rate down to 1 - 2 bpm at 5 - 10 bbls before end of calculated displacement. Rotate DP whilst pumping cement and displacement - DO NOT reciprocate. After plug is placed POOH slowly (30 - 50 ft/min) until 500 - 1000 ft above the cement and break connections carefully to avoid stripping plug. In highly deviated holes DO NOT under displace, there is little or no hydrostatic difference, carefully pump out of the plug, use 1.5 X the stinger closed end displacement per stand. Avoid any delays as usually the slurry is designed with a short pump time. Do not circulate on top of plug. POOH a minimum of 500 ft above top plug and break circulation slowly so as to minimize disturbance of plug. . Waiting on cement should be at least the time for the plug to reach 1000 psi. or 3000 psi. for a Kickoff plug. Unless laboratory results indicate otherwise the expected WOC is a minimum of 10 - 12 hours. Best results have been obtained by a mandatory 24 hr WOC before disturbing the plug.

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