Oil and Gas Well
Cementing
D. Steven Tipton, P.E.
April 16-17, 2013
EPA Technical Workshop on Well
Construction/Operation and Subsurface Modeling
Research Triangle Park, NC
Protecting Water is Essential
For Everyone
Cementing
Cementing is one of the most critical steps in the drilling
and completion of oil or gas wells
Well cementing technology is the application of many
scientific and engineering disciplines
Primary Cementing
Process of placing cement in the annulus between
the casing and the wellbore
Objectives:
Provide Hydraulic Seal
Create Zonal Isolation
Protect Useable Water
Provide Structural Support for Casing
Protect Casing from Corrosion
Isolate Casing Seat for Subsequent Drilling
Primary Cementing Starts with a Plan
The plan should take well from drilling through
plugging
The well plan includes:
Wellbore Environment
Well Type
Casing and Cement Program
Mud System
Type of Completion
Effective Primary Cementing
Good drilling practices and mud properties
Casing movement while cementing
Centralization of the casing
Optimal borehole pipe clearance
Use of spacers and mud flushes
Fundamentals of Cement Placement
Casing Hardware
Float Equipment
Centralizers
Wiper Plugs
Multi-stage tools
Hole conditioning and mud properties
Mud Rheology
Gel Strength
Fluid Loss
Circulation Rate
Filter cake removal
Casing movement while cementing
Rotation
Reciprocation
Use of spacers and mud flushes
Variables Affecting Zonal Isolation
GEOMECHANICS:
In-situ stresses, change in
stresses along borehole,
change in stresses in cement
and pipe
BOREHOLE:
Size, shape, uniformity
CEMENTING
PROCESS:
Displacement design,
job execution, cement
volumes, cement
material properties
CHEMISTRY:
Corrosion and chemical
resistance of casing and cement
GEOLOGY/GEOCHEMISTRY:
Formation type, structure,
formation fluid chemistry
BOREHOLE STABILITY:
Lost circulation, flows, structural
integrity and characteristics of
formations
PRESSURE AND
TEMPERATURE
CHANGES/CYCLING
Over the life of the well
MATERIAL PROPERTIES:
Cement, relationships between
pipe-cement-formation
Benefits of Pipe Rotation During Cementing
3-D Computer Modeling of Displacement of Mud by Spacer and Cement
Courtesy of
No Pipe Rotation
20 RPM Pipe Rotation
Current Well Design Deep Intermediate Casing
FORM. / CSG
TVD
50'
MD
50'
Shallow Shales
13 3/8" Shoe
CASING PROFILE HOLE SIZE
20"
17 1/2'
1,500'
6,861'
9 5/8" TOC
7,500'
Deese (GDS)
8,789'
5 1/2" TOC
10,800'
11,459'
11,838'
11,900'
Primrose (Morrow )
Springer Shale
9 5/8" Shoe
Black Marker
Springer 2 (false caney)
Springer 3 (false caney)
KOP
Caney
Woodford
EOB
MUD INFO
100% Excess
Cmt to Surf.
NOTES
Vertical
< 2
13 3/8", J-55
54.5#
1,500'
12 1/4"
Base/Heebner Shale (GDS)
CSG SPECS
7,500'
CIT 300 PSI / 30 min
11.0 PPG FIT
TOC ~1,000'
above Deese
Vertical
10,800'
11,900'
13,174'
13,743'
14,059'
14,400'
8 3/4"
14,400'
14,414'
14,731'
14,901'
15,310'
9 5/8", L-80
40#
CIT 1500 PSI / 30 min
12.5 PPG FIT
Swell packer @ 7,000'
TOC 1,000 into
9 5/8" Csg
Build: 14-16/100
23#, P-110, Blue
LOL:
4,950
TD:
TD TVD:
20,260
14,721
Newfield Mid-Continent Operations
Drilling
Mud circulated until it has the
required properties
Casing is Centralized
Casing is reciprocated rotated
during cementing
On the production casing a
swell packer is run and set
inside intermediate casing
string
Using TergoVis! Efficiency
Fluid
Newfield Mid-Continent Operations
Completions
Test annulus between the
production casing and
intermediate casing for
pressure
Annular pressure monitored
during hydraulic fracture
treatment
Production casing pressure
tested to 80% of yield before
pumping hydraulic fracture
treatment
Production casing attached to
automatic shut downs and
relief lines while pumping job
Summary
Zonal isolation for each well must be designed and constructed
with regard to its unique geological environment.
There is no single fit-for-purpose design, well construction, or
barrier verification process that is right for all wells.
The barrier system that protects usable water includes surface
casing and cement.
Verification of the barriers is typically accomplished by both
pressure testing (direct measurements of casing and shoe
cement) and by an operational evaluation (cement placement
behind pipe).
There is no direct measurement available to verify a cement
barrier behind casing at this time.
Conclusions
Casing has been cemented
in wells for more than 100
years
Cementing best practices
have been known for more
than 60 years.
Best practices have to be
used by everyone to
Protect the environment
and community
Obtain maximum value
from your wells
Questions!?!?!