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Casing Cementing

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Casing Cementing
Lecture Contents:
Lecture Objectives,
Primary Cementing,
Cement Classifications,
Cement Additives,
Casing Hardware,

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Casing Cementing
Lecture Objectives:
At the end of this lecture, YOU will be able to:
Understand the difference between primary and secondary
cementing jobs,
Identify classes of cements appropriate for different depth
range,
Explain how the properties of cement may be altered by the
use of additives,
Identify basic casing hardware and describe ways to assist
in the preparation of a cement job.
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Casing Cementing
Primary cementing is the introduction of
cementacious material into the annulus between
casing and openhole to:
Provide zonal isolation,
Support axial load of casing string and other
strings to be run later,
Provide casing protection against corrosion,
Support the borehole,
Secondary cementing or Remedial jobs:

Squeeze cementing,
Cement plug.
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Casing Cementing
Primary Cementing;

Conductor Pipe:
Large excess required,
Thru-drill pipe cementing common,
BOPs not unusually connected,
Common Cements; Accelerated
Top-Fill if necessary.

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Casing Cementing
Primary Cementing;

Thru-Drill Pipe Cementing

(Stinger Cementation);
Key Points:
Cement Contamination,
Channeling,
Displacement,
Pump until Cement is at surface.

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Casing Cementing
Primary Cementing;

Outside Cementing (Top-Fill);

Purpose:
Bring Cement to Surface.

Macaroni TBG used:

Max depth 250 - 300 ft,
High friction Pressures,
Only access via casing spool side
outlet

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Casing Cementing
Primary Cementing;

Surface Casing;
Excess of 100%,
Recommended thru-drillpipe method to save:
Cement and Rig time.

Common Cements:
Lead light slurry with high yields,
Neat tail slurries with good compressive strength,
Reduce WOC to a minimum with accelerators.
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Casing Cementing
Primary Cementing;

Intermediate/Production Casing:
Cemented to surface or into previous casing shoe,
Two stage cement jobs may be required,
Plugs, casing equipment and casing accessories are
used,
Require large cement volumes, excess of up to 50%.

Common Cements:
Typically filler slurries followed by high compressive
tail,
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Casing Cementing
Casing String Components;
Float Shoe or Guide Shoe:
It is attached to the bottom casing joint,
It serves as a guide for the casing as it is being run into the wellbore
and acts as a one way valve.

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Casing Cementing
Casing String Components;
Float Collar:
This is set about two-three joints above the casing shoe, and act
as a one way valve,
When it is used, the cement plugs land on top of it.

Ball Type

Flapper Type
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Casing Cementing
Cementing Accessories:
Cementing Basket, to minimize losses in weak zones.
Centralizer, to centre casing in bore hole to promote even
distribution of cement around casing.

Cementing Basket
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Centralizer
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Casing Cementing
Cementing Accessories;
Scratchers, to scratch off
the mud cake to improve
cement bond

Reciprocating Scratcher
Rotating Scratcher
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Casing Cementing
Cementing Hardware;

Wiper Plugs:
To Separate Fluids, (cement/chemical wash/mud)
Wiping the casing clean,
Surface indication of placement.

Top Plug (Solid)

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Bottom Plug (pump through)

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Casing Cementing
Cementing Hardware;

Surface Equipment: Cement Head.

Single Plug Cement Head

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Double Plug Cement Head

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Formation Integrity Test (FIT)

Purpose:
To investigate cement strength around the shoe
(Cement Integrity Test),
To approximate fracture gradient, (Leak Off Test),
To investigate wellbore capability to withstand
pressure below the shoe,
To collect regional information on the formation
strength for optimization of well design on future
wells.
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Formation Integrity Test (FIT)

Test Procedure:

Drill 5 to 10 ft below the last casing shoe,

Circulate to condition mud (MW in = MW out),
POOH to last casing shoe,
Connect cement unit to test surface line,
Close Pipe Rams,Start pumping at slow rate
(i.e. 1/4 BPM) (A),
While pumping, observe the pressure build-up until it
deviates (B),
Record pressure. (C),
Bleed-off and record return.
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Formation Integrity Test (FIT)

Leak-off or Cement Integrity Test procedure:

C
Pressure

C: Leak-off pressure is reached

B -C: Mud Penetrating the formation

B: Start of Leak-off
A-B: Linear Increase
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BBLS
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SECOND STAGE

Casing Cementing
Primary Cementing;

Two Stage Cementing;

Reasons to do:

STAGE COLLAR

Separation and isolation of zones,

Reduces hydrostatic,

Loss zone.

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FIRST STAGE

Can leave zone in the annulus

uncemented (cement at TD and
surface),

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FLOAT COLLAR
FLOAT SHOE

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Casing Cementing
Casing String Components;
Multiple Stage Cementer:

CLOSING
PLUG

OPENING
PLUG

Running in Position
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Cementing Position

Closed Position

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Casing Cementing
Casing String Components from bottom up;
Float shoe
guide and check valve to prevent cement back flow

3 Casing joints
to capture any contaminated cement

Float collar
second check valve
landing of bottom and top wiper plugs

DV collar or Stage Collar (optional)

Centrilizers
Scratchers
to remove mudcake and improve cement bond
to prevent / reduce cement channelling
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Primary Cementing
Primary Cementing;
Drill pipe
Wiper Plug

Liner cementation;
Run on liner hangers with Drill
pipe

Liner
Hanger

Cemented to Top Of Liner (TOL)

Drill pipe and liner wiper plug
combination used

Running
Tool
Shear
Pin

Generally small volumes

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Liner
Wiper
Plug

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Primary Cementing
Primary Cementing;
Drill pipe
Wiper Plug

Notes on Liner cementation;

Liner-lap integrity is critical wrt
isolation/sealing
(200-400 ft)

Liner
Hanger

Small clearance between borehole

and liner OD

Running
Tool
Shear
Pin

Incomplete removal of mud

Liner riding on low side of borehole

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Liner
Wiper
Plug

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Casing Cementing
Secondary Cementing; (Remedial job):
Squeeze cementing
to squeeze off water layers
to repair primary cementing jobs

NOTE: generally not effective:

risk of creating vertical fracs
fluid losses and early setting of cement, (flash set)

Cement plug
to abandon depleted zones
to abandon well
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Casing Cementing
Cement Classifications;
API identifies classes and properties for cement:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J.
The criteria used for the selection:
downhole temperatures influence setting time
slurry density in relation to drilled formations
compatibility with formation (sulfate) waters
rheological properties to displace mud
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Casing Cementing
Cement Properties:
Be impermeable to gas, if present while setting.
Develop strength quickly once it has been placed,
Develop sufficient strength in the long term,
Develop casing and formation bond strength,
Have low permeability to prevent gas and fluid migration
Maintain quality under severe temperature and pressure.

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Casing Cementing
Cement Compressive Strength is required for:
Securing and supporting the casing,
Withstanding the shock loading of drilling and
perforating,
Supporting hydraulic pressures without fracturing,
Withstanding the load of tectonic forces such as salt
zone.
Overburden
Pressure

Cement
Casing

Mobile Formation
Hydrostatic
Pressure
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Casing Cementing
Cement Compressive Strength:
Lab test proves that CS required to support casing is
normally less than 100 psi,
500 psi are required before drill-out cement,
High CS are required to withstand hydraulic pressure
during injection and production operation,
CS, typically increases with time as cement hardens,
but under temperatures over 230 0F, the CS may
decrease over a period of time, this is called
STRENGTH RETROGRESSION.
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Casing Cementing
Cement Additives;
Accelerators:
Accelerators generally work to decrease the
thickening time and build early compressive strength,
reduce WOC. (e.g. CaCl2).

Retarders:
These are chemicals used to delay cement setting
time, in order to allow enough time for proper slurry
placement, (e.g. Lignosulfonates).

Dispersants:
These help maintain a uniform distribution of
components in a slurry and result in maintaining flow
properties.
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Casing Cementing
Cement Additives;

Extenders:
They are used to decrease the density and increase the
volume, to prevent fractures. (e.g. Bentonite)

Weighting Agents:
These are chemicals used to increase the cement
slurry density, to prevent kicks. (e.g. Barite)

Lost Circulation Materials (LCM):

They help to combat fluid loss, formation damage and
to prevent losing water to prevent unwanted setting or
no setting at all.
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Casing Cementing
Demos:

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Casing Cementing
Now YOU should be able to:
Understand the difference between primary and
secondary cementing jobs,
Identify classes of cement appropriate for different
applications,
Explain how the properties of cement may be altered
by the use of additives,
Identify basic casing hardware.
Describe the cementing process
3
2

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Network of Excellence in Training

Casing Cementing

End of Lecture

COPYRIGHT 2002, NExT. All Rights Reserved