Reverse Circulation Cementing: The Complete Picture

Reverse Circulation Cementing
The Complete Picture
Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.
We will Review
1. Differences between conventional and reverse circulation cementing (RCC) 2. The main advantages of the use of RCC 3. The main objections to the use of RCC 4. Literature report applications of RCC from very shallow wells to very deep applications 5. The theory and physics governing the differences between conventional and RCC applications
Beirute Consulting, L.L.C. 2
We will Review (cont.)

6. Computer simulations of RCC jobs compared to jobs performed using conventional circulation 7. Several possible modifications to the float equipment to allow reverse circulation, and a tool design specific to RCC 8. General guidelines to design RCC jobs
What is Reverse Circulation Cementing?
During conventional cementing, pumping is done down the casing and returns are taking from the annulus. During Reverser Circulating Cementing (RCC), pumping is done down the annulus and returns are taken from the casing. RCC makes sense! It is the most direct, shortest way to do the job!
Conventional Cementing
Reverse Circulating Cementing
Introduction
Reverse Circulation Cementing is a viable alternative to conventional cementing practices, particularly in situations were weak formations may be broken down during normal cementing because of excessive pressures in the annulus. This situation is not uncommon. For example, excessive pressures in the annulus is likely in wells with narrow annuli like in slim hole applications or when long columns of cement need to be used, Reverse circulation cementing generates much lower downhole and job pressures.
Introduction (cont.)
Reverse circulation cementing was used initially almost exclusively in relatively shallow wells. However, successful applications of the technology in deep applications are being reported by the industry. In shallow applications, cementing was performed by taking returns through an inner string run inside the casing after getting the casing to bottom. The inner string stings into a tool (for example a retainer) at the bottom of the casing. The valve in the tool closes after the inner string is un-stung from the tool after the end of the cement job.
Some Potential Advantages of RCC
Much lower placement pressures across weak zones during hole conditioning and during cementing. This is the main advantage of reverse circulation. Generally lower surface pumping pressures (lower horsepower requirements) than for conventional cementing. Because of the lower placement pressures, the technique may produce good cement jobs in situations where the conventional method would fail due to lost returns, for example. The lower placement pressures allow faster placement rates when needed for better displacement, without breaking down weak formations. Much shorter cement jobs because the cement slurry is pumped down the annulus directly, instead of being pumped down the casing and up the annulus.
Some Potential Advantages of RCC (cont.)
Because of the way the jobs are pumped, not all of the cement slurry sees the high well temperatures located toward the bottom of the well. Additives can be staged Since placement times are shorter, this can lead to cheaper cement slurry designs: less additives (retarders, fluid loss, expensive gas migration materials, etc.) Lower slurry densities may be used.
Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing

Following is a list of possible concerns and/or objections to the use of reverse circulation cementing. These objections are addressed later in this presentation. As will be seen, the bulk of the concerns are unfounded, several have been resolved, and the few left can be relatively easily addressed. Clearly, RCC is not for all cementing jobs but it is applicable, with potentially very good results, in quite a bit more cases than it is being tried.
Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)
Unconventional approach. This is perhaps the main reason reverse circulation cementing is not widely used. Hopefully this presentation will help change this objection.
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Conventional float equipment cannot be used. This problem has been solved in shallow well applications by installing a retainer or other device at the bottom of the casing, in conjunction with the use of an inner string. Returns are taken during the job through the inner string. At the end of the job, the inner string is pulled from the tool to close the valve at the bottom of the casing, allowing the cement to set without having to apply pressure to the casing.

For deeper applications, running an inner string is not operationally easy, and in some cases undesirable. Therefore, a new or modified float equipment is needed to be able to use reverse circulation cementing without the application of pressure to the casing after the end of the cement job. Several ways to modify float equipment are discussed during this presentation. New tool designs for RCC are not currently available in the industry. One was designed between Amoco and Weatherford. The RCC tool will be discussed during this presentation.
During reverse circulation cementing, it is not possible to clearly tell when the job is done (since there is no top plug, there is no clear pressure increase when the plug lands on the float collar). This is a reasonable objection. In shallow well applications, it is possible to tag (die) the spacer fluid ahead of the cement slurry to help determine the fluids location at the end of the job, by observing the spacer when it gets to the surface through the inner string. Others have used viscous pills to observe a pressure increase at the surface when the pill gets to the small I.D. of the inner string.
For deeper well applications without the use of inner string, fluid volumes have to be well measured, and good open hole calipers have to be used to help prevent pumping too little or too much cement inside the casing. Think about this: drilling a little more cement inside the casing is not too big of a price to pay if the well can be cemented properly in cases where it could not have been done using the conventional approach.
Extra cement to drill inside the casing. As said before, this may not be too big of a price to pay for being able to cement the well and obtain good zonal isolation across weak zones and pay horizons. Concerns about the quality of the cement around the shoe. This is a valid concern, but again, displacing enough cement inside the casing at the end of the job allows a good job around the shoe. This is the reverse problem of getting a good liner top cement job. Concerns regarding proper hole conditioning in the reverse circulation mode. Experiments conducted in large scale models to be discussed later suggest that the efficiency of hole conditioning prior to cementing is independent of the direction of flow.

Concerns related to displacement efficiency during the cement job. Field applications of the technique suggest that good cement jobs can be obtained by reverse circulation cementing. However, large scale displacement efficiency experiments with cement slurries being pumped down the annulus have not been conducted to properly address this concern. Some guidelines are provided here based on what is known about optimization of the displacement of one fluid by another. These guidelines should maximize the efficiency of the jobs while the industry waits for the test results.
Since the casing is open to flow in the upward direction, there may be safety concerns in high pressure situations, mainly while running the casing. This may indeed be a problem in some high pressure applications. Therefore, these situations may not be good candidates for reverse circulation. For the same reasons, automatic fill-up float equipment is not always applicable in high pressure situations.
If during a reverse circulation cement job you lose circulation above the shoe, chances are you will not have a good cement job around the bottom of the casing, requiring a casing shoe squeeze job. This is possible, but considering that reverse circulation cementing generates much lower pressures in the annulus than conventional cementing, the possibility of this problem occurring is minimized. Actually using RCC may be the correct way to reduce this risk

Casing collapse considerations if bridging occurs in the annulus during the job due to sloughing clays, cuttings, etc. Again this is possible, but by the most part, unlikely. The possibility of this occurring can be minimized by properly conditioning the hole prior to the cement job, if possible, using the conventional circulation method (moving cuttings, etc. up the annulus), to fully clean the hole. Prior to the cement job, the well should again be circulated, this time in the reverse circulation mode. In all cases, the condition of the hole (problem shales, etc.) should be closely examined before deciding that reverse circulation cementing is a proper option. As for conventional cementing, in RCC application, the use of KCl in the cement slurry and/or properly designed spacer fluid ahead of the cement needs to be considered to help with troublesome formations.
Other hole stability concerns: sloughing shales, cuttings, etc. could bridge the bottom tool (or float). The possibility of this occurring can be minimized by properly conditioning the hole prior to the cement job, if possible, using the conventional circulation method (moving cuttings, etc. up the annulus), to fully clean the hole. Prior to the cement job, the well should again be circulated, this time in the reverse circulation mode.

When using an inner string, it could get cemented up in the hole if the cement starts to set before un-stinging from the tool. The inner string could also get cemented up in the inside. This is possible, but should not happen if good quality control practices are followed with the slurry design, mixing procedures, etc., and with the job execution. Inner string cementing of surface casings using the conventional method has been around for years with minimum problems. In addition, liner cementing presents similar possibilities for trouble if the drillpipe was to become cemented-up in place. However, hundreds of liner cementing operations are performed every month throughout the world without this situation materializing very frequently.
Literature Review

The first recorded usage of reverse circulation cementing is found in a paper by Marquaire and Brisac. These French investigators tried reverse cementing after conventional cementing techniques failed to give satisfactory results in the North Hassi-Messaoud field in Algeria. Conventional cementing failed in this field because of a combination of exposed high pressure zones requiring high density muds, and weak formations that tended to breakdown during the jobs, due to excessive ECDs generated when attempting to cement in turbulent flow.
Literature Review (cont.)
The following figure describes the drilling program used in the Hassi-Messaoud field. The cementing difficulties were centered around the 7 in. production casing set in the 8-3/4 in, hole. At 8,500 ft in the lower Jurassic, a high pressure, 8,500 psi CaCl2-saturated formation was encountered. To minimize severe contamination of the saltsaturated mud weighted with barite, they used a mud density of 17 to 18.5 lb/gal.
Drilling Program HassiMessaoud Field
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A clay zone about 15 ft thick was encountered at 9,500 ft. These clays were abnormally plastic and tended to extrude into the wellbore, again requiring the use of 17 to 18.5 lb/gal mud to try to keep them under control. Other methods used to control the clays including clay control additives and oil base muds had failed.
Between 10,500 ft and 11,000 ft, they encountered red sandy shales. These shales had a lower mechanical strength than the overlying sediments, and could not always support the hydrostatic head from the high density mud needed to control the high pressure zones located above. Thus, formation breakdown frequently occurred during drilling with total or partial loses of mud, requiring squeezing of the weak zones with cement.
For successful cementation of the 7 in. casing, it was required to obtain a good seal of the high pressure CaCl2 zone, and a good seal of the casing shoe. Their experience in this field indicated that to achieve this goal, they wanted to be able to pump the salt-saturated cement slurry in turbulent flow. However, when using conventional cementing, turbulent flow could not be achieved without breakdown of the weak formations due to the excessive ECDs generated during pumping. Faced with this problem, these investigators decided to try RCC with the goal of reducing the circulating pressures (equivalent ECDs) across the weak zones during cementing, to prevent breakdown, while still being able to pump the jobs in turbulent flow.

The application of reverse circulation cementing generated several difficulties that they had to overcome. The differential fill-up equipment had to be modified to allow reverse circulation. The next figure shows the changes they made to this equipment. The modified fill-up tool allowed normal use of the equipment while running the casing in the hole, but once on bottom, shearing of pins with pressure allowed removal of the bronze plug, leaving the tool fully open for reverse circulation. It is not clear from their paper what procedure they used to prevent the cement from U-tubing into the casing after the end of the job (possibly held pressure in the casing).
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From the schematic of the equipment layout given in the paper (next figure), it is assumed that they held pressure in the casing after the cement job. They also realized the problem of not being able to detect the end of the job by a pressure increase at the surface, and the need to place good quality, uncontaminated cement around the shoe without leaving excessive amounts of cement inside the casing. To overcome these concerns, they used good caliper logs to calculate the cement and displacement volumes, and they designed the excess cement slurry volume to give them about 300 ft of cement inside the casing after the job.
Equipment Layout
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Leturno et. al. described the use of RCC to cement a scab-liner in an old well to repair the leaky production string. The flush joint, 4 in., 11 lb/ft liner was run to 8,560 ft inside the 44 year old 5-1/2 in., 17 lb/ft, J-55 production string. The pipe-in-pipe annulus was successfully cemented to the surface using two slurries. They used a lead slurry at a density of 11 lb/gal, and a tail slurry, at a density of 14.8 lb/gal. (the heavy tail was pumped, according to the authors, to reduce the build-up of annular surface pressure.) The job was pumped at about 1 BPM. The authors indicated in their paper that the RCC technique resulted in much lower circulating pressures when compared to the conventional approach.

Conventional cementing would had exceeded the burst strength of the old 5-1/2 in. casing, they said. They used no float equipment, and apparently they were taking returns through the inside of the 4 in. liner during the job. The paper does not give details concerning the method used to hold the liquid cement in place in the annulus after the job (prevention of U-tubing into the liner before setting). A 41 feet rat hole was present below the 4 in. liner, above a cast iron bridge plug. After WOC, they tagged cement at 8,430 ft (about 149 ft of cement inside the casing).
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Griffith et al. also wrote about the advantages of reverse circulation cementing to reduce ECDs across weak formations to prevent fracturing. Their paper illustrates the use of this technique in cementing shallow coal bed methane wells in Trinidad CO, USA to obtain higher cement tops. The coal beds exhibit severe lost circulation characteristics. Conventional cementing of previous wells had not been successful even with the use of lightweight cements, foam cements and/or bridging materials. When the paper was written, six successful reverse circulation cementing job had been performed, achieving higher cement columns than with the conventional cementing method.
The paper by Griffin includes results of a few large scale tests performed to evaluate the effect of reverse circulation on circulatable hole (amount of hole circulating during hole conditioning prior to the cementing job). The removal of partially dehydrated-gelled (PDG) mud and filtercake studies in Griffins paper were conducted in large scale models comprising 5 in. x 6-1/2 in. annuli. The casing had an average standoff of 23%. The circulatable hole was measured during the experiments by the resistivity probe method. Their experiments suggested that the circulatable hole efficiency is independent of the direction of flow. No actual displacement studies with cement being pumped down the annulus were conducted during their investigation.

The jobs in Trinidad CO. were performed using a 2-7/8 in. inner string inside the 5-1/2 in. casing landed at about 2,000 ft. The casing was cemented in a 7-7/8 in. hole. The wells were cemented using a viscous pill ahead of the cement slurry to indicate when the cement got to the casing shoe. This approach was possible according to the paper, because most of the friction in the system was generated by the inner string. A cast iron cement retainer (CICR) was used at the bottom of the casing. Once the spacer/cement was detected at the shoe by the increase in surface pressure, the valve at the CICR was closed by un-stinging the inner string.

A few Amoco Experiences with RCC: In September 1994, Dennis High et.al. with Amoco Canada reported a very good description of a different application of reverse circulation in their area. Their situation dealt with the difficulty of establishing circulation after running casing to bottom in wells drilled with relatively high mud densities and gels, in the presence of weak zones uphole. In these cases, if fracturing of the weak upper zones took place while attempting to re-gain circulation after running the pipe to bottom, lost circulation would prevent the cement column from obtaining the desired height during the cement job.
The intermediate 8-3/4 in. hole was drilled to 2,634 m (8642 ft) with a fresh water Gel/PHPA mud with a density of 1,860 kg/m3 (15.5 lg/gal). This mud density was needed to control the sloughing Fernie shale. The casing was tapered 177.8 mm (7) by 219.1 mm (8-5/8). After running the casing, proper conventional circulation could not be established due to high mud gels generated during the static period. Discuss: is this good? While attempting to re-gain circulation, large mud loses took place, possibly near the pay zone. Finally, it was decide to attempt reverse circulation with the heavy density, gelled mud on the back side.
To be able to reverse-circulate, a 88.9 mm (3-1/2) drill string was run inside the casing to drill out the float equipment. Next, a cement retainer was run into the casing and set at 2,582 m (8474 ft). Fresh water was circulated down the drillpipe, with the pipe un-stung from the retainer. The drillpipe was then stung back into the retainer. With the heavy mud on the back side, this caused a U-tubing tendency (large pressure drop generated at the bottom in the reverse direction) for the well to flow into the drillpipe.

They also pumped on the back side to help the heavy mud flow into the drill string. After a few trials using this procedure, the well was successfully circulated in the conventional direction (mud gels were broken). The well was then successfully cemented to surface pumping down the drillpipe (conventional method). Full returns were seen during the job. After the job, it was reported that the mud loses did not go into the pay zone as initially feared. How do you know this?

Bob Ovitz reported the successful use of RCC of coal wells in the Raton Basin. This basin in located near the East corner of the Colorado-New Mexico border. In these wells, the 5-1/2 in. casing needed to be cemented to 2,400 ft across highly fractured coal beds in an 7-7/8 in. hole. The use of blocking agents (LCMs) had not been fully successful in allowing complete circulation. In addition, the use of LCMs brought concerns regarding production from those wells (production from fractured coal seams). Proper cementation of the wells was needed due to production and legal ramifications.

The wells were air-drilled to TD. After landing the casing, 2-3/8 in., 4.7 lb/ft tubing was run inside the casing and stung into the float valve at the bottom of the casing. The tubing/casing annulus was filled with water. The cement job was pump down the casing/hole annulus at rates of around 2 to 3 BPM. Cement mixing was stopped when spacer returns were observed at the surface. Since they used spacer volumes about equal to the tubing volume, when the spacer was seen at the surface, the cement was at the casing shoe. The tubing was next sting-out of the float valve and reverseout. They allow a maximum of 400 psi at the surface to reverse out to clean the tubing.

A recent (about 4 years ago) deep application of the technology: They needed an effective method to cement a casing string to 23,700 ft. The well was cased to 20,700 ft. Open hole was from 20,700 ft to 23,700 ft. Casing was tapered: 14,000 ft of 10-3/4and 9,700 ft of 7-3/4. Because of well control issues and extremely high sour gas production required that the casing be cemented to surface. Conventional cementing was ruled out because of retarder issues (cement had to be pumped down to TD at ~ 410F and back to surface) and the difficulty of wiping the tapered string. Two stage job was also ruled out due to tight clearances between casing strings restricting stage tool design.

Finally, RCC was considered. Open hole fracture gradient was 0.9 psi/ft The short placement time provided by RCC was considered a plus. In addition, the retarder loading of the cement slurry could be staged since not all the cement would be exposed to the high temperatures at the bottom of the hole. If the casing was run open-ended to allow returns to be taking from the casing, this presented a safety issue while running the casing if the well was to kick. So, a special shoe allowing the insert valve to be pumped out by dropping a ball was designed as a contingency.

By pumping the valve out of the shoe after landing the casing, the RCC procedure could be executed. Because during drilling the open hole the formation showed very little gas, the casing was run open ended with a guide shoe (reduction of surge pressures). Centralizers were used to try to centralize the casing string. The annulus was closed and the cement slurry pumped down the annulus via valves below the mandrel hanger. Returns were taken from the casing. Total job displacement was one (1) bbl of the OMB. The cement slurry density was only slightly higher than the density of the mud. This allowed manageable returns from the casing. Returns were monitored so that for every bbls pumped, a bbl of returns was taken to the pits.
The cementing operation lasted only about 3 hrs. About 3,300 sks of cement were pumped. Formation breakdown was prevented (essentially no losses). The job was planed to bring 1,500 ft of cement inside the 73/4 casing. After the cement set, cement was tagged at 2,200 ft inside the casing shoe. After drilled out, the shoe tested fine. A savings of about $100,00 was reported from reduced rig time and waiting on cement time. Running a liner was avoided.
Theory of Reverse Circulation and Reverse Cementing
It is known that use of reverse circulation can substantially reduce the annular pressures during pumping of a cement job. To understand the reasons for this, lets investigate the pressures in a well for the conventional (normal) cementing case and the reverse circulation cementing case.
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Bottom Hole Pressures
Conventional Circulation Cementing: In a conventional (normal) circulation case of a cement job in progress, the fluids are pumped down the casing and up the annulus. In this situation, the pressure at the bottom of the annulus is given by: PBCC = PHA + PFA + PSA (1)
where:
PBCC = Pressure at the bottom of the annulus in the conventional case PHA = Hydrostatic pressure in the annulus PFA = Friction pressure in the annulus PSA = Surface pressure applied to the annulus (if any)
Bottom Hole Pressures Conventional Circulation Cementing (cont).
The casing surface pressure needed to circulate in the case of conventional cementing is calculated by: PSC = PBCC - PHC + PFC where: PSC = Surface pressure in the casing at the surface PHC = Hydrostatic pressure in the casing PFC = Friction pressure in the casing Substituting (1) into (2) we get: (2)
PSC = (PHA - PHC) + (PFA + PFC) + PSA
(3)
In normal cementing operations, pressure is not applied at the surface to the annulus; thus, PSA in equations (1) and (3) is usually zero.
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Stages of Conventional Cementing: Studying equation (3), early during the cementing operation (stage A) when the heavy fluids (spacers, cement slurry) are being pumped into the casing, the term (PHA - PHC) becomes increasingly negative because the hydrostatic head in the casing is continuously growing over the hydrostatic head in the annulus. This in turn causes the casing surface pressure to decline with time during this stage of the cementing job. Eventually the casing surface pressure can become equal to zero and even negative (vacuum). However, physically this pressure cannot become less than absolute vacuum.
Therefore, once the surface casing pressure becomes negative, the well goes on free-fall, and the flow rate increases to cause the well friction pressure to go up, to maintain the surface pressure at levels above absolute vacuum Stage B.
Later on during the job, when the heavy fluids have "turned the corner" and a good portion of these fluids is in the annulus, the term (PHA - PHC) becomes increasingly positive, the well comes out of free-fall, and the casing surface pressure goes up with time until the end of the cement job (see next Figure). Stage C.
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Surface Pressure Behavior
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Bottom Hole Pressures Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont).
Reverse Circulation Cementing: In a reverse circulation situation, the fluids are pumped down the annulus and up the casing. The pressure at the bottom of the annulus is calculated in this case by: PBRC = PHC + PFC + PSC where: PBRC = Pressure at the bottom of the annulus in the reverse circulation case (4)
The required surface pressure in the annulus side is given by:

PSA = PBRC - PHA + PFA
(5)
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Substituting (4) into (5): PSA = (PFA + PFC) - (PHA - PHC) + PSC (6)
PSC in equations (4) and (6) is usually zero since normally no surface pressure is applied to the casing at the surface.
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Surface Pressures
Comparing Equations (3) and (6), it is concluded that reverse circulation in general requires lower surface pumping pressures (lower horsepower requirements) than conventional cementing: PSC = (PHA - PHC) + (PFA + PFC) + PSA (3) PSA = (PFA + PFC) - (PHA - PHC) + PSC (6) In the reverse circulation case, the term (PHA - PHC) is positive most of the time and contributes to reducing the surface pressure needed during the entire job (notice thant in Eq. (6) the term has a negative sign). In fact, looking at equation (6), it is easy to see that in general, during reverse circulation cementing, the well may tend to be on free-fall during a large portion of the job, particularly at low pump rates (low friction pressures).
Surface Pressures
Further indication that the surface pressures will tend to be lower in the RCC case can be seen by subtracting Eq. (6) from Eq.(3): PSC PSA = 2(PHA PHC) In the above equation, we set the terms PSA and PSC equal to zero. Notice that in the case that only one fluid (for exaple mud) is circulated, surface pressures in the conventional or the reverse case are the same since in this case (PHA PHC) = 0
Bottom Hole Pressures
Back to looking at the bottom hole pressures: By studying Equations (1) and (4) it is possible to conclude that in general, during pumping of cement jobs, the reverse circulation approach will yield lower annular pressures toward the bottom of the hole than the conventional circulation method. This can be further illustrated by comparing a conventional and a reverse cementing operation both being conducted with the same fluids (same density and rheology), being pumped at the same rate, at a point in time toward the end of the job, and with the interface of the fluids at the same elevation.
Bottom Hole Pressures (cont.)

With those assumptions, subtracting Equations (4) from (1): (PBCC - PBRC) = (PHA - PHC) + (PFA - PFC) (7) where, for simplicity, we have made PSA~0 for the conventional case, and PSC~0 for the reverse circulation case.
Equation (7) can be used to conclude that reverse circulation becomes even more attractive from the point of view of reducing annular placement pressures during cement jobs, when using high cement slurry densities (high PHA) and with increasing annular friction pressures like in narrow annuli (high PFA).
Bottom Hole Pressures (cont.)
Large friction pressures are likely in narrow annuli. Thus, reverse circulation is quite attractive in slimhole applications. So, from theory, we conclude that reverse circulation can allow execution of some cement jobs across weak zones located near the bottom of the hole, without breaking down those formations, while the conventional approach may not.
Pressures Up Hole
It is also important to understand the pressures across upper weak formations, or at a previous casing shoe.
Conventional Circulation Cementing Case: In this situation, the pressure in the annulus across an upper location at a distance Z from the bottom of the hole is given by: PCC Z = PHA + PFA + PSA - PHAZ - PFAZ (8)
where: PCCZ = Pressure at a distance Z from the bottom in the annulus in the conventional case PHAZ = Hydrostatic pressure in the annulus along the distance Z PFAZ = Friction pressure in the annulus along the distance Z
Pressures Up Hole (cont.)
Reverse Circulation Cementing Case: In a reverse circulation situation, the fluids are pumped down the annulus and up the casing. The pressure across an upper location at a distance Z from the bottom of the hole is given by: PRCZ = PHC + PFC + PSC - PHAZ + PFAZ (9)
where: PRCZ = Pressure at a distance Z from the bottom in the annulus in the reverse circulation case.
Again lets compare a conventional and a reverse cementing operation both being conducted with the same fluids (same density and rheology), being pumped at the same rate, at a point in time toward the end of the job, and with the interface of the fluids at the same elevation. With those assumptions we can write, subtracting Equations (9) from (8):
(PCCZ - PRCZ) = (PHA - PHC) + (PFA - PFC) - 2 x PFAZ 10)
where again for simplicity, we made PSA~0 for the conventional case, and PSC~0 for the reverse circulation case. Equation (10) suggests that it is possible for the pressure up hole for the reverse circulation mode to be higher than for the conventional mode, at large distances up hole from the bottom of the hole, if the cement slurry density is close to the muds and if the annulus is tight (high annular friction pressures). Therefore, it is possible that if weak formations are found up hole in the open hole, the reverse circulation approach may not be the best choice. Thus, pressures need to be check across all weak zones in the open hole and the previous shoe. In general, the best application for RCC is for situation were the weak zones are located close to the bottom of the hole, and the formations up hole in the open hole are competent or cased off.
Important Note
As shown above, the main use of reverse circulation is to protect weak formations in the openhole section of the well by reducing the placement pressures in the annulus versus the conventional circulation method during pumping of the cement job. PBRC = PHC + PFC + PSC (4) Although Equation (4) suggests that during reverse circulation cementing the annulus may not experience the full annular hydrostatic head, the exposed formations in the well will eventually see the full hydrostatic head generated by the density of the fluids in the annulus after the end of the cement job.
Important Note (cont.)
This can be understood by realizing that Equation (4) gives the bottomhole pressure during the cement job, from the start to the end of the pumping operation. As soon as the pumping stops, the pressure profile in the annulus increases and becomes the annular hydrostatic head by either the action of the closing of a valve at the bottom of the casing, or by application of surface pressure to the casing, needed to control the imbalance of the annulus-casing hydrostatic heads (the U-tubing effect). Therefore, for a successful application of reverse circulation cementing, the weak formations in the annulus must be able to support the full hydrostatic head of the fluids at the end of the job, even if they do not see it during the job, or they may experience breakdown after the cement job.
Important Note (cont.)
Therefore, one of the first calculations that needs to be made is the annular hydrostatic head with the full column of cement in the annulus and the displacement fluid. This hydrostatic needs to be compared to the pressure the weak zones are capable of supporting. For the RCC operation to be successful, the supporting pressures of the zones need to be higher than the calculated annular hydrostatic. If needed, adjustments to the densities of the slurry, spacer and displacement fluids need to be made at this point to try to prevent breakdown of the weak zones if they cannot support the full annular hydrostatic at the end of the job.
Simulating RCC Jobs
To be able to determine if RCC is an appropriate way to perform the cement job, a simulator capable of simulating the job in the reverse mode is needed. The simulator should be able to simulate the pressures profile along the entire annulus.
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Cem-Job Simulates RCC
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Conventional vs. RCC - Comparison of Job Simulations
Example 1: A high pressure situation (requiring heavy fluids) similar to the one described in the paper by Marquaire et al. was used for this example. Cementing of a 7 in. casing inside an 8-3/4 in. hole was simulated at a depth of 11,000 ft. The operation was studied using the conventional and the reverse circulation methods. The same job rate and the same fluids and volumes were used in both cases.
Conventional Cementing Option at TD
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Reverse Circulation Option at TD
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Both Options Together at 10,500 ft
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Conclusions from Example 1
Clearly the reverse circulation method generated the lower circulating pressures in the annulus. In addition, as can be seen, the reverse circulation job would be performed in about 60% of the time needed for the conventional job.
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Example 2: This example simulates a situation similar to the one discussed by Leturno et al. in their paper. The simulator was run to look at cementing of a 4 in. scab liner inside a 5-1/2 in. casing to 8,560 ft. The following figure shows ECDs at the bottom of the liner vs. cumulative volume pumped for the conventional and the reverse circulation cement job simulations. If we assume that the exposed formations at the bottom were barely able to support the full hydrostatic of the cement after the job, then the normal cementing job would break the zones way before the end of the job (see the figure). On the other hand, the reverse circulation job would not generate lost circulation, and the job would be completed in about half the time. Beirute Consulting, L.L.C. 78
Both Options Together at 8.560 ft
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Example 3: A case like the ones illustrated by Griffith et al. and Ovitz was simulated. The well depth was 2,400 ft, with a 5-1/2 in. casing cemented inside a 7-7/8 in. hole. An inner string (2-7/8 in., 6.4 lb/ft) was used to take the returns inside the casing. A viscous pill ahead of the cement slurry was used to see if the pill would give a good indication of the end of the job when the pill got to the inner string. The first simulation looked at cementing the well in the conventional way, by pumping the cement down the casing (no inner string). The second run simulated reverse circulation cementing, with the tubing inside the casing.
Example 3 (cont.)

The following figure compares the data from the two methods. Notice that the reverse circulation cementing approach again generated much lower pressures in the annulus. During the reverse circulation case, the pressure at the bottom of the annulus increased rapidly toward the end of the job. This was due to the viscous pill flowing inside the narrow inner string (increase in friction pressure). This bottom pressure increase caused a surface pressure jump at around the same time, suggesting that the use of a viscous pill may indeed help indicate when the cement slurry is at the bottom of the hole. Off course, care must be exercised to make sure that the pill does not generate prohibitively high bottom hole pressures.
Both Options Together at 2,400 ft
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Example 4: This example illustrates the use of reverse circulation of mud to reduce ECDs across weak formations. It is similar to the application illustrated by the engineers from Amoco Canada. An 8 in. casing is set at 8,740 ft in an 8-3/4 in. hole. Density of the mud is 15.5 lb/gal. Circulation of this well with only mud in the hole was simulated in the conventional and the reverse circulation mode. The simulations showed that the surface pressure was the same for the normal and the reverse circulation modes since there was only one fluid in the well, BUT, the bottom hole pressures were drastically different!
Example 4 (cont.)
The conventional circulation mode generated for this narrow annulus, an ECD of over 19 lb/gal at 1 BPM, while the reverse circulation approach generated only about 15.6 lb/gal! This can be explained by looking at the equations given before. PSC = (PHA - PHC) + (PFA + PFC) + PSA (3) PSA = (PFA + PFC) - (PHA - PHC) + PSC (6) For the case of PSA and PSC = 0 then: Equations (3) and (6) show that for only one fluid in the hole, the surface pressure generated by circulation should be the same regardless of the direction of flow (no hydrostatic difference between casing and annulus).
Example 4 (cont.)
On the other hand, Equations (1) and (4) show that in the conventional circulation mode, the bottom hole pressure has to overcome the high friction pressure in the narrow annulus, while in the reverse circulation mode, the bottom hole pressure sees instead the much lower, casing friction pressure. PBCC = PHA + PFA + PSA (1) PBRC = PHC + PFC + PSC (4)

Example 4B: Lets now examined another case similar to the Canadian field case (Example 4), but lets looked at the situation after they ran the inner string and tried to circulate with water in the hole. We simulated a 4 in. drill pipe inside the 8 in. casing, with the drill pipe full of water. Again we looked at the conventional and reverse circulation cases. The relevant part of the simulation is for both situation, obviously, when the annulus is full of mud (water filling the entire drill pipe). For the conventional circulation case, the ECD at the bottom of the hole is again over 19 lb/gal. For the reverse circulation case, the simulation is on free-fall, so it is difficult to tell the ECD at the bottom when the annulus is full of mud, but it is low, at a value ranging from the density of water to less than 11.6 lb/gal, which is the ECD at the bottom of the hole when the simulation finally comes out of free-fall.
Example 4B (cont.)
As illustrated by the Canadian field experiences and supported by the last two simulations, reverse circulation of mud has tremendous potential for applications in narrow annuli to reduce breakdown of weak formations when attempting to establish circulation after running casing in the hole.
Float Equipment for Use With RCC

New float equipment to use for RCC can be designed or current equipment can be modified as we already saw. Here is a valve designed by Beirute while with Amoco. Design was shared with Weatherford. A PDC drillable float equipment valve was designed that would permit the application of reverse circulation cementing in deeper wells, without having to use an inner string or holding pressure in the casing after the job. The new tool would permit circulation at any rate in the conventional and reverse circulation modes. After the reverse circulation cement job, by the action of a ball, it would allow closing of the bottom of the casing to prevent the cement slurry from U-tubing into the casing. This would facilitate having the casing in radial compression during WOC time to minimize the formation of a micro-annulus during cement curing.
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Float Equipment for Use With RCC (cont.)
The equipment would consist of two sections: an upper and a lower tool seat. The lower seat would contain the valve designed to close at the end of the reverse circulation cement job. The space between the two seats was named the ball chamber. The two seats would be located at a reasonable distance from each other, for example 20 to 40 ft.
Figure 11 gives a sketch of the upper seat, and Figure 13 a sketch of the lower seat with the valve in its open position. In these two figures, the drillable ball is shown but while circulating and cleaning the hole in the conventional mode (down the casing), or the reverse mode (down the annulus), the ball would not be dropped, and therefore, the bottom of the casing would be open to circulation in either direction. Notice in Figure 13 that since the valve is pinned in its open position, the casing could be circulated in either direction at any rate without concerns of closing the Beirute Consulting, L.L.C. 90 valve.
Upper Seat
91
Lower Seat
Design could include Auto Fill Capability
92

The only purpose of the upper seat (Figure 11) is to trap the drillable ball in the ball chamber, so that the ball will be in close proximity to the valve after the reverse circulation cement job. This is the way the ball is utilized: once the hole has been fully circulated-clean and conditioned in the conventional and/or reverse circulation mode, the ball is dropped and circulated to the upper seat (Figure 11). The ball then enters the upper seat throat and seals the flow opening. Application of a preset pressure (detectable at the surface), shears the pins holding the two shear-arms, and allows the ball to enter the ball chamber ( Figure 12). The spring-loaded shafts located on the side of the shear-arms are locked in place and prevent the arms from returning to their close position, to prevent the ball from seating on the lower opening of the upper seat flow channel of Figure 11 blocking the flow in the Beirute Consulting, L.L.C. 93 reverse mode.
Ball in the Ball Chamber
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The reason for the length of the ball chamber (20 to 40 feet) is to make sure that when shearing the shear-arm pins, the ball does not continue down with force and also shears the valve pins located in the lower seat. Once the ball is trapped in the ball chamber, circulation can only be performed in the reverse circulation mode. At this point circulation would again be established in the reverse direction, followed by the reverse circulation cementing job.

At the end of the reverse circulation cement job, the ball is near the valve since it is trapped in the ball chamber. After stopping the pumps and switching to pressurize the casing, the ball is forced, by applying a preset pressure (in addition to the hydrostatic differential) and after pumping a small volume of fluid, to shear the lower flow cylinder pins that hold the valve open. After shearing this other set of pins, releasing of the pressure in the casing causes the spring activated valve to close. The hydrostatic differential helps hold the valve close after the job (Figure 14).
Bottom Valve Closed at end of Job
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Guidelines for Reverse Circulation Cementing Job Design
The main question still remaining regarding the application of reverse circulation cementing is the level of displacement efficiency achievable during the cement jobs, when compared to conventional primary cementing. Literature documented field applications of the technique suggest that good cement jobs can be obtained by reverse circulation cementing. However, large scale displacement efficiency experiments with cement slurries being pumped down the annulus have not been conducted to properly address this concern. Thus, some guidelines for reverse circulation cementing are provided below based on what is known about optimization of the displacement of one fluid by another.
Guidelines for Reverse Circulation Cementing Job Design (cont.)
1.
Design reverse circulation cementing jobs using a simulator that can simulate RCC. Be aware of fracture pressures across all the weak formations and previous shoe, and high pore pressures across pressurized zones (wells window) to make sure you maintain well control during the job. 2. The use of good caliper logs to properly estimate the volumes of cement needed is highly recommended. 3. Remember that weak formations in the well will see the full hydrostatic of the fluids in the annulus after the reverse circulation cementing job (same as with a conventional primary cementing operations.). Make sure the weak zones can support the full annular hydrostatic after the job. As needed, design the density of the spacer, cement slurry and displacement fluid to prevent breakdown due to the hydrostatic after the job.
4. Since gravity (density differences among the fluids) tends to enhance mixing of the fluids when pumping in the reverse mode, the density differences among the mud, spacer and cement slurry should be minimized. Thus, spacer and cement slurry densities close to the density of the mud are recommended in this case whenever possible (this is different than when cementing in the conventional mode). 5. To maximize displacement efficiency, the yield point and plastic viscosity of the fluids should be higher as you move up the hole. In other words, whenever possible, you want to have a cement slurry with more consistency than the spacer fluid, and the spacer fluid with higher consistency than the muds. This is the same as with normal primary cementing. Use Pressure Drop Hierarchy. 6. Flushes (densities and viscosity similar to water) may be considered. However, there is the possibility of contaminating more of the cement slurry at the flush-slurry interface than with conventional cementing (cement channeling down into the flush due to the density and rheology differences.
7. Thick spacers (pills) ahead of the cement slurry may help detect when the job is near completion when using an inner string (pressure increase at the surface when the pill enters the inner string), but there is the possibility of contamination of the cement slurry at the cement-pill interface (cement slurry may tend to penetrate the less mobile pill during displacement due to viscosity differences.) This contamination tendency may be reduced by making the density of the pill equal or slightly higher than the density of the cement slurry. A thick cement slurry would also help in this case. 8. As with conventional cementing, spacers and flushes must be tested for compatibility with the mud and cement slurry to minimize contamination and channeling of the fluids during placement. Compatibility tests with the fluids (mud, spacer, cement slurry) must be conducted in the laboratory before deciding that a given system can be used in the reverse circulation cementing operation.
9. Whenever possible, clean the hole by pumping in the conventional (normal) mode after getting the casing to bottom, to clear the hole of cuttings, etc., before pumping in the reverse circulation mode. This will minimize the chances of plugging the valves used at the bottom of the casing during reverse circulation. Off course, if the idea is to minimize pressures across weak zones while breaking circulation, pumping in the conventional direction would defeat this purpose. However, as indicated by the Canadian experience, after getting the well circulating in the reverse mode, it may be possible to establish circulation in the conventional direction to complete the cleaning of the hole in the normal way. 10. Prior to the reverse circulation cement job, pump in the reverse circulation direction and condition the hole to remove as much as possible of the PDG mud and filtercake in the open hole annulus.
11. It is desirable to pump the jobs as fast as possible, within the window allowed by the wells fracture gradient across the weakest zones. Since as seen, reverse circulation cementing generates much lower friction pressures in the annulus, faster rates than with the conventional cementing method are easily achievable during reverse circulation cementing. Use Erodibility technology. 12. Other proven, good cementing practices such as centralization of the casing, pipe movement, etc. should also be used with reverse circulation cementing. 13. Remember that during reverse circulation cementing, wells may often tend to go on vacuum or free-fall, as seen under the Theory of Reverse Circulation. During free-fall, the fluids move at rates that are different from the surface pump rates.
14. When using an inner string, consider using a spacer volume close to the capacity of the inner tubing, to help you detect when the cement gets to the bottom of the casing. The cement slurry is at about the bottom in this case, when the spacer is seen at the surface (tagging of the spacer with dies is suggested in this application.) Leave several bbls of cement in the casing to assure a good job around the shoe. 15. Plan to leave about 500+ ft of cement inside the pipe to make sure good cement is placed around the shoe. This volume may be reduced later if experience indicates that too much hard cement is being drilled-out after the job.
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Reverse Circulation Cementing: The Complete Picture

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Reverse Circulation Cementing: The Complete Picture

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Reverse Circulation Cementing

The Complete Picture

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

We will Review (cont.)

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

What is Reverse Circulation Cementing?

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

Reverse Circulating Cementing

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

Some Potential Advantages of RCC

Some Potential Advantages of RCC (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse Circulation Cementing (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Drilling Program HassiMessaoud Field

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

Literature Review (cont.)

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Literature Review (cont.)

Theory of Reverse Circulation and Reverse Cementing

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

Bottom Hole Pressures

Bottom Hole Pressures Conventional Circulation Cementing (cont).

PSC = (PHA - PHC) + (PFA + PFC) + PSA

Bottom Hole Pressures Conventional Circulation Cementing (cont).

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.

Bottom Hole Pressures Conventional Circulation Cementing (cont).

Bottom Hole Pressures Conventional Circulation Cementing (cont).

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C.