Kareem Hassan Ahmed Elfarash

Hossam Hamdy Abd Eltwab

2
Ahmed Gamal Ahmed Mohamed
1
Mohamed Adel Elsemary
3

SEC 3
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Secondary
Cementing

Plug-Back Cementing

Squeeze Cementing

It prevents damaging fluids from

entering a producing formation.
High-pressure from a squeeze job
performed above the pay zone
may force cement or wellbore
fluids into a pay zone, causing
damage and loss of production.

 It isolates an upper zone by forming a

new bottom for the well from which
formation tests can be run. The plug
eliminates the chances of sticking
your pipe below the testing assembly.
It can be used to block off a problem
area. For example, a permanent
cement plug can be placed above a
depleted zone without affecting the
producing zones above the plug.

Circulation loss generally occurs in

porous or fractured formations,
because drilling fluids or cement
slurries flow into the fractures.
A cement plug is sometimes set
during drilling or cementing
operations to stop lost circulation.

A cement plug helps combat this

problem since before the plugs
cement sets, it drifts into the cavities
to block them off.

 At times, you do not or cannot perform

vertical drilling. Perhaps an object is
blocking the path downwards (for example,
a broken string of pipe), the hole is
deviated, or you want to drill toward a
target which is off to the side of the hole.
Before directional drilling can be performed,
you need a seat or a bridge on which to set
the tool. A cement plug can be used for this
purpose.

MECHANISM
Directional drilling or whipstocking is
done by setting the plug, and then
rotating the bit off the plug in another
direction.
The cement plug is called a
whipstock when used in this way.

A whipstock plug provides a

way to:
get around non-retrievable objects
correct excessive vertical deviations
of the hole
drill a relief well

When a dry or depleted well is

abandoned, a portion of the casing that
was left uncemented may be pulled from
the hole.
This leaves freshwater zones
unprotected. In addition, highpressure
zones may be uncovered.
This allows fluid to migrate to the surface,
and causes unfavorable surface
conditions.

cement plugs are usually set:

across and above potential oil and
gas producing zones
above and below freshwater zones
above and below the bottom of any
casing left in the hole
at ground level .

Squeeze cementing is the process

of forcing a cement slurry through
perforations in the casing to a
desired location to provide a seal
across an undesired gap.

A series of decisions must be

made to determine :
If a problem exists
The magnitude of the problem
If squeeze cementing will correct
it
The risk factors present
If economics will support it.

During placement water is driven

from the slurry into a permeable
formation to form a cement filtercake which hardens to form a seal.

 It is a common misconception that

the cement actually penetrates the
pores of the rock.
As cement slurries have a mean
particle size of 20-50 microns, it
would require a formation with a
permeability of between 2-100 darcies
for the cement grains to penetrate
the formation.

The need for squeeze cementing can

arise for a variety of reasons during
the drilling and production phases.
Some of the most common reasons are as
following:
The repair of a faulty or inadequate primary
cement job
To shut-off the flow of unwanted water or gas
The isolation of a zone prior to perforating for
production
To abandon a non-productive or depleted zone
To repair casing leaks.

The slurry is supjected to differential

pressure that allows the slurry to
cover the defective zone by the
process of the liquid base filtering into
the formation
Thus squeeze cementing is divided into:

LOW PRESSURE SQUEEZE

HIGH PRESSURE SQUEEZE

1-LOW PRESSURE SQUEEZE

Cement slurry is forced through the
perforations at pressures below the
formation fracture pressure.
The aim of this operation is to fill
perforation cavities and interconnected
voids with dehydrated cement.
The volume of cement is small since no
slurry is actually pumped into the formation.

2-HIGH PRESSURE SQUEEZE

In some instances a low pressure
squeeze will not accomplish the
objective of the job due to:
Channels behind the casing may not be
directly connected with the perforations
Small cracks or microannuli may permit
the flow of gas but not of a cement
slurry
The impossibility of displacing plugging
fluids

Mechanism

Placement of the cement slurry

behind the casing is accomplished
by breaking down formations at, or
close to, the perforations. Fluids
ahead of the slurry are displaced
into the fractures, allowing cement
to fill the desired spaces.

3-HESITATION SQUEEZE
Sometimes pumping is continuous but more
commonly it is on a stop and start basis
A small volume of slurry is pumped in and the
corresponding pressure increase is noted
Pumping is halted for a specific time and the
pressure drop caused by the slurry is noted
The cycle is repeated
In this way pumping is easier and there is
more time for cement cake to develope

This process is done using:

Drill pipes alone

Drill pipes with squeeze packer
Drill pipe with cement retainer
Retrievable or permanent bridge plug

DRILLABLE CEMENT RETAINER

Bridge plug

 The main objective of using a packer is to

isolate the casing and wellhead while high
pressure is applied downhole.
The advantage of the retrievable packer is
the fact that it can be set and released
many times.
Retrievable squeeze packers can be either
compression set or tension set.

 Squeeze packers have a by-pass

valve to allow circulation of fluids
while running in and pulling out of
the hole and also when the packer
has been set
Drillable or retrievable bridge plugs
can be set to isolate the casing
below the zone to be treated.

DRILLABLE CEMENT RETAINER

Cement retainers are drillable packers
provided with a two-way valve that
prevents flow in either or both directions.
Drillable cement retainers run on wireline
are used instead of packers to prevent
backflow when no dehydration of cement is
expected, or when high negative
differential pressures may disturb the
cement cake.

When cementing multiple zones the

cement retailer isolates the lower
perforations and subsequent zone
squeezing can be carried out without
having to wait for the cement to set .
These retainers are also used for well
abandonment purposes .

BRADENHEAD PLACEMENT
METHOD
This squeeze technique is the simplest of
the squeeze techniques and does not use a
packer.
It is to be only practised with the Low
Pressure Squeeze Technique.
Open ended tubing is run to the desired
depth, the slurry is placed using the
balanced plug method and the string raised
above the plug.
The rams are closed and squeeze pressure
applied

References
Well completion and
servicing
Cementing 1