Cementingoperations

Cementisusedtoholdcasinginplaceandtopreventfluidmigrationbetweensubsurfaceformations.Cementingoperationscanbedividedintotwobroadcategories:primarycementing
andremedialcementing.

Contents
1Primarycementing
1.1Zonalisolation
2Remedialcementing
3Cementplacementprocedures
4Wellparameters
4.1Depth
4.2Wellboregeometry
4.3Temperature
4.4Formationpressures
4.5Formationcharacteristics
5References
6NoteworthypapersinOnePetro
7Onlinemultimedia
8Externallinks
9Seealso

Primarycementing
Theobjectiveofprimarycementingistoprovidezonalisolation.Cementingistheprocessofmixingaslurryofcement,cementadditivesandwaterandpumpingitdownthroughcasingto
criticalpointsintheannulusaroundthecasingorintheopenholebelowthecasingstring.Thetwoprincipalfunctionsofthecementingprocessare:
Torestrictfluidmovementbetweentheformations
Tobondandsupportthecasing
Ifthisisachievedeffectively,otherrequirementsimposedduringthelifeofthewellwillbemet,including:
Economic
Liability
Safety
Governmentregulations

Zonalisolation
Zonalisolationisnotdirectlyrelatedtoproductionhowever,thisnecessarytaskmustbeperformedeffectivelytoallowproductionorstimulationoperationstobeconducted.Thesuccess
ofawelldependsonthisprimaryoperation.Inadditiontoisolatingoil,gas,andwaterproducingzones,cementalsoaidsin
Protectingthecasingfromcorrosion
Preventingblowoutsbyquicklyformingaseal
Protectingthecasingfromshockloadsindeeperdrilling
Sealingoffzonesoflostcirculation(/Lost_circulation)orthiefzones

Remedialcementing
Remedialcementing(/Remedial_cementing)isusuallydonetocorrectproblemsassociatedwiththeprimarycementjob.Themostsuccessfulandeconomicalapproachtoremedial
cementingistoavoiditbythoroughlyplanning,designing,andexecutingalldrilling,primarycementing,andcompletionoperations.Theneedforremedialcementingtorestoreawells
operationindicatesthatprimaryoperationalplanningandexecutionwereineffective,resultingincostlyrepairoperations.Remedialcementingoperationsconsistoftwobroadcategories:
Squeezecementing(/Remedial_cementing#Squeeze_cementing)
Plugcementing(/Remedial_cementing#Plug_cementing)

Cementplacementprocedures
Ingeneral,therearefivestepsrequiredtoobtainsuccessfulcementplacementandmeettheobjectivespreviouslyoutlined.
1. Analyzethewellparametersdefinetheneedsofthewell,andthendesignplacementtechniquesandfluidstomeettheneedsforthelifeofthewell.Fluidproperties,fluid
mechanics,andchemistryinfluencethedesignusedforawell.
2. Calculatefluid(slurry)compositionandperformlaboratorytestsonthefluidsdesignedinStep1toseethattheymeettheneeds.
3. UsenecessaryhardwaretoimplementthedesigninStep1calculatevolumeoffluids(slurry)tobepumpedandblend,mix,andpumpfluidsintotheannulus.
4. MonitorthetreatmentinrealtimecomparewithStep1andmakechangesasnecessary.
5. EvaluatetheresultscomparewiththedesigninStep1andmakechangesasnecessaryforfuturejobs.

Wellparameters
Alongwithsupportingthecasinginthewellbore,thecementisdesignedtoisolatezones,meaningthatitkeepseachofthepenetratedzonesandtheirfluidsfromcommunicatingwithother
zones.Tokeepthezonesisolated,itiscriticaltoconsiderthewellboreanditspropertieswhendesigningacementjob.

Depth
Thedepthofthewellaffectsthecementslurrydesignbecauseitinfluencesthefollowingfactors:
AmountofwellborefluidsinvolvedVolumeofwellborefluidsFrictionpressuresHydrostaticpressuresTemperature

Wellboredepthalsocontrolsholesizeandcasingsize.Extremelydeepwellshavetheirowndistinctdesignchallengesbecauseof:
Hightemperatures
Highpressures
Corrosivefluids

Wellboregeometry
Thegeometryofthewellboreisimportantindeterminingtheamountofcementrequiredforthecementingoperation.Holedimensionscanbemeasuredusingavarietyofmethods,
including:
Acousticcalipers
Electriclogcalipers
Fluidcalipers
Openholegeometrycanindicateadverse(undesirable)conditionssuchaswashouts.Wellboregeometry(/Hole_geometry)andcasingdimensionsdeterminetheannularvolumeandthe
amountoffluidnecessary.
Theholeshapealsodeterminestheclearancebetweenthecasingandthewellbore.Thisannularspaceinfluencestheeffectivenessofdrillingfluiddisplacement.Aminimumannularspace
of0.75to1.5in.(holediameter2to3in.greaterthancasingdiameter)isrecommended.Annularclearancesthataresmallerrestricttheflowcharacteristicsandgenerallymakeitmore
difficulttodisplacefluids.
Anotheraspectofholegeometryisthedeviationangle.Thedeviationangleinfluencesthetrueverticaldepthandtemperatures.Highlydeviatedwellborescanbechallengingbecausethe
casingisnotaslikelytobecenteredinthewellbore,andfluiddisplacementbecomesdifficult.
Problemscreatedbygeometryvariationscanbeovercomebyaddingcentralizerstothecasing.Centralizershelptocenterthecasingwithinthehole,leavingequalannularspacearoundthe
casing.

Temperature
Thetemperaturesofthewellborearecriticalinthedesignofacementjob.Therearebasicallythreedifferenttemperaturestoconsider:
Bottomholecirculatingtemperature(BHCT)
Bottomholestatictemperature(BHST)
Temperaturedifferential(temperaturedifferencebetweenthetopandbottomofcementplacement)
TheBHCTisthetemperaturetowhichthecementwillbeexposedasitcirculatespastthebottomofthecasing.TheBHCTcontrolsthetimethatittakesforthecementtosetup(thickening
time).BHCTcanbemeasuredusingtemperatureprobesthatarecirculatedwiththedrillingfluid.Ifactualwellboretemperaturecannotbedetermined,theBHCTcanbeestimatedusing
thetemperatureschedulesofAmericanPetroleumInst.(API)RP10B.1TheBHSTconsidersamotionlessconditionwherenofluidsarecirculatingandcoolingthewellbore.BHSTplaysa
vitalroleinthestrengthdevelopmentofthecuredcement.
Thetemperaturedifferentialbecomesasignificantfactorwhenthecementisplacedoveralargeintervalandtherearesignificanttemperaturedifferencesbetweenthetopandbottom
cementlocations.Becauseofthedifferenttemperatures,commonly,twodifferentcementslurriesmaybedesignedtobetteraccommodatethedifferenceintemperatures.
Thebottomholecirculatingtemperatureaffectsthefollowing:
Slurrythickeningtime
Rheology
Fluidloss
Stability(settling)
Settime
BHSTaffectscompressivestrengthdevelopmentandcementintegrityforthelifeofthewell.Knowingtheactualtemperaturethatthecementwillencounterduringplacementallows
operatorstooptimizetheslurrydesign.Thetendencytooverestimatetheamountofmaterialsrequiredtokeepthecementinafluidstateforpumpingandtheamountofpumpingtime
requiredforajoboftenresultsinunnecessarycostandwellcontrolproblems.Mostcementjobsarecompletedinlessthan90minutes.
Tooptimizecostanddisplacementefficiency,theguidelinesdiscussednextarerecommended.
Designthejobonthebasisofactualwellborecirculatingtemperatures.
Adownholetemperaturesubrecordercanbeusedtomeasurethecirculatingtemperatureofthewell.Asubrecorderisamemoryrecorderdevicethatcaneitherbeloweredby
wirelineordroppedintothedrillpipeandmeasuresthetemperaturedownholeduringthecirculatingoperationbeforecementing.Thememoryrecorderisthenretrievedfrom
thedrillpipeandtheBHCTismeasured.Thisallowsforaccuratedeterminationofthedownholetemperature.
Ifdeterminingtheactualwellborecirculatingtemperatureisnotpossible,useAPIRP10BtoestimatetheBHCT. [1]
Donotpadtheactualdownholetemperaturesmeasured,anddonotexceedtheamountofdispersants,retarders,etc.recommendedforthetemperatureofthewellbore.When
determiningtheamountofretarderrequiredforaspecificapplication,considertherateatwhichtheslurrywillbeheated.

Formationpressures
Whenawellisdrilled,thenaturalstateoftheformationsisdisrupted.Thewellborecreatesadisturbancewhereonlytheformationsandtheirnaturalforcesexistedbefore.Duringthe
planningstagesofacementjob,certaininformationmustbeknownabouttheformation's:
Porepressure(/Subsurface_stress_and_pore_pressure#Pore_pressure)
Fracturepressure
Rockcharacteristics(/Stress_impact_on_rock_properties)
Generally,thesefactorswillbedeterminedduringdrilling.Thedensityofthedrillingfluidsinaproperlybalanceddrillingoperationcanbeagoodindicationofthelimitationsofthe
wellbore.
Tomaintaintheintegrityofthewellbore,thehydrostaticpressureexertedbythecement,drillingfluid,etc.mustnotexceedthefracturepressureoftheweakestformation.Thefracture
pressureistheuppersafepressurelimitationoftheformationbeforetheformationbreaksdown(thepressurenecessarytoextendtheformationsfractures).Thehydrostaticpressuresofthe
fluidsinthewellbore,alongwiththefrictionpressurescreatedbythefluidsmovement,cannotexceedthefracturepressure,ortheformationwillbreakdown.Iftheformationdoesbreak
down,theformationisnolongercontrolled,andlostcirculationresults.Lostcirculation,orfluidloss,mustbecontrolledforsuccessfulprimarycementing.Pressuresexperiencedinthe
wellborealsoaffectthestrengthdevelopmentofthecement.

Formationcharacteristics

Thecompositionofformationscanpresentcompatibilityproblems.Shaleformationsaresensitivetofreshwaterandcansloughoffifspecialprecautionsarenottaken,suchasincreasing
thesalinityofthewater.Otherformationandchemistryconsiderations,suchasswellingclaysandhighpHfluids,shouldbetakenintoconsideration.Someformationsmayalsocontain
elementssuchas:
Flowingfluids
Highpressurefluids
Corrosivegases
Othercomplexfeaturesthatrequirespecialattention

References
1. APIRP10B,RecommendedPracticeforTestingWellCements,22ndedition.1997.Washington,DC:API.

NoteworthypapersinOnePetro
Onlinemultimedia
Stiles,David.2012.ChallengeswithCementEvaluationWhatWeKnowandWhatWeDont.http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/spe/session.php?id=9053
(http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/spe/session.php?id=9053)

Externallinks
Seealso
Primarycementingplacementdesign(/Primary_cementing_placement_design)
Contacttimeincementing(/Contact_time_in_cementing)
Remedialcementing(/Remedial_cementing)
PEH:Cementing(/PEH%3ACementing)
Category(/Special%3ACategories): 1.13Casingandcementing(/Category%3A1.13_Casing_and_cementing)

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