Hard and fast

the cement challenge

Achieving full isolation between producing
zones has always been a major challenge
for cement technologists. In some areas of
the Middle East this is particularly difficult
to achieve in tophole sections. In every
well, the optimization of cement slurry to
take account of the difficulties presented
by formations, borehole conditions and
wellbore fluids, and to produce a set
cement with the necessary mechanical
properties is a complex business.
Here, Jo Schultz and Andrew James
outline the problems that face cementing
engineers in the field and explain how
attention to particle size and distribution
has resulted in a range of highperformance cements.

he successful isolation of drilledthrough formations is extremely

important in preventing the migration of
gas and fluid and limiting their
environmental impact. It has been
estimated that around 70% of all gas
wells have some kind of zonal-isolation
problem. A good, primary cement job
could have prevented most of these
situations and the subsequent remedial
work. There has always been a conflict
for conventional oilfield cements
between optimizing slurry properties for
mixing and placement and the resulting
mechanical properties of set cement
necessary for long-term zonal isolation.
In the Middle East, zonal isolation has
been difficult to achieve in tophole
sections. This is due to a low fracture
(rock failure) pressure gradient and the
existence of highly expansive and
fractured, vugular or cavernous dolomite
formations such as the Wassila, Simsima,
Shuiaba or Umm El Radhuma sequences.
On many occasions, standard, lightweight
cement systems have failed to provide
the necessary zonal isolation because of
the complex demands placed on the
slurry. Even with the sealants and special
casing tools that have been developed for
complex situations such as these, the
entire casingformation annulus is
seldom fully isolated.
In another Middle Eastern scenario, a
promising oil source in South Oman is
providing challenges to successful, highdensity cementing operations in deep
wells with high bottomhole pressures
and a very narrow margin between
formation, pore and fracture pressures.
New technology, which focuses on the
size and distribution of particles in the
cement, has produced a lightweight
slurry system with reduced water
content that gives the set cement an
inherent high compressive strength,
along with low porosity and permeability.
This increases the systems durability by,
for example, reducing the ability of fluids
to penetrate through the casing, which,
in turn, arrests the onset of corrosion.
The same principles have been applied in
producing a range of high-density, highperformance slurries (HDHPS).

Figure 6.1:
CemCADE dynamic
pressure simulation
software for the
design and
evaluation of
cement jobs

Number 2, 2001

72

Middle East Reservoir Review

Figure 6.2: USI*

Ultra Sonic Imager
images showing
early casing
corrosion

Traditional cementing
Well cementing was introduced by
Portland Cement in 1901. This was seen
as the most readily available, economical
and simple means of filling the annulus
between pipe and formation. Fluid
density was adjusted to suit the
hydrostatic pressure involved by
changing the amount of water added
during mixing.
Cement was pumped down to the
lowest point in the well, then back up the
casingformation annulus. A common
problem was contamination of the cement
by the drilling fluid that it was displacing.
Chemicals in the drilling fluid affected
both the setting rate and the mechanical
properties of cement. To overcome this,
another fluid compatible with both the
drilling fluid and the cement was pumped
ahead of the cement. This fluid also
helped to clean the casing and the
formation prior to cementing.

Optimizing these and all the other

operational variables, such as correct
pressure maintenance, was a major
challenge. Software such as CemCADE*
cementing design and evaluation
software (Figure 6.1) was developed for
this purpose and is constantly being
updated to keep pace with new
cementing challenges and changing
slurry technologies. The main
considerations are:
Proper pressure control in the well at
all times. The total pressure exerted
by moving fluid on the formation is
maintained between the pore pressure
and the fracture pressure of the
drilled-through formations. If this
pressure becomes too low, fluid can
flow between zones and could cause a
blowout. If it becomes too high, fluid
will be lost to the formation

FMI images FMS porosity Hist. 0.5 Log eff.por. 0 0

MD, ft
100
(pu)
0 0.5 FMI por. 0
GR
(0-100 GAP)
Cylindrical view
(dynamic images)

Dips 90

6782

Secondary porosity
due to large cavities
and open fractures
Cavity
in connection
with fractures

Secondary
porosity

6784

Open fractures

6786

Large, open cavity causes very

high porosity computation

Open fractures

100% mud losses are

encountered below 6770 ft.
In this interval, open
fractures, cavities, and
solution-enhanced
features are observed

Figure 6.3: FMI images

from the horizontal well
show variations in rock
appearance along the
well. Porosity analysis
from the images
computes very high
porosity across the
vugs, large, open,
solution-enlarged
cavities, and fractures.
Huge mud losses were
encountered over this
interval

6788

6792

Secondary
porosity

6794

Secondary porosity
due to vugs and fractures

Dips of open
fractures

Horizontal well
6796

Simulation of spacer and cement

placement at well conditions to ensure
optimum displacement of the mud
The design of preflushes to reduce
risks of channeling (channels of
unremoved drilling mud), which can
lead to the production of formation
fluids, gas migration to surface,
decreasing production rates, early
casing corrosion (Figure 6.2), and

microannulus (hence loss of zonal

isolation). Loss of zonal isolation results
in loss of control between one zone and
another (also known as underground
blowout). Risks are minimized by
optimizing flow regime selection,
annular flow rate, preflush contact times
and volumes and fluid designs.

Middle East Reservoir Review

Number 2, 2001

The use of additives to control the

frictional pressures caused by fluid.
These pressures will also increase
along with viscosity, elapsed time,
temperature, loss of fluid to the
formation, or combinations of these
factors. As a result they can cause
bridging in the annulus (due to
premature cement setting) with
disastrous results

73

Cementing in lowpressure reservoirs

Number 2, 2001

74

In low-pressure reservoirs, the challenge

is always to find an acceptable balance
between the liquid slurry properties
necessary to place the slurry
successfully and the set cement
properties once the slurry is in place.
Often in low-pressure reservoir
cementing, problems with well balance
between pore and fracture pressures
arise even before the cementing
operations begin. Extreme levels of water
loss from the drilling fluid, or even the
complete loss of the drilling fluid to
the formation can occur. Current
technologies cannot predict and manage
these situations during drilling. Proper
recognition and treatment of pressure
changes can dramatically minimize their
impact on primary cementing operations
and can save operators between $100,000
and $1,000,000 on the cost of a well.
FMI* Fullbore Formation MicroImager
data can help field managers to
understand the extent of the vugs and
fractures (Figures 6.3 and 6.4) and the
mechanism of losses, and possibly help
them to combat these losses with
efficient solutions. Drilling fluid losses
cause operational delays. Drillpipe must
be removed to allow changes to pipe
geometry for expensive and timeconsuming circulation loss treatment.
InstanSEAL* is a newly developed
loss circulation treatment that can be
pumped through the drill bit without
interruption to the normal drilling
operation. It has recently helped several
companies to reduce the severity of
drilling fluid losses (Figure 6.5) to a
manageable level, and allowed the
continuation of the drilling operation.
The injection of a single fluid pumped
through the bottomhole assembly
(BHA) directly in front of the loss zone
and sheared at the bit nozzles, rapidly
generates a high-viscosity gel. This
gelling mechanism ensures accurate
placement of the treatment at the loss
zones, and has a higher success ratio
than treatments that require downhole
temperature or fluid interaction.
Reaction time for the change of the fluid
(from a few seconds to an hour) is
controlled by adjusting the activator
concentration to match the planned

Middle East Reservoir Review

MD, ft
GR
(0100 GAPI)

FMI dynamic images

FMI porosity histogram 0.5 Log effective porosity 0

FMI porosity
0
(pu)
0 0.5
50

Vertical
scale
1/100
4570

4580

4590

4600

Secondary porosity
4610

High FMI porosity due to vugs, large

cavities and solution-enhanced fractures

4620

4630

Vertical
scale
1/100
4594

4596
Solution-enhanced cavity

Figure 6.4: FMI images from the vertical well showing an abrupt change in
porosity type in the interval 45754620 ft. Huge mud losses were encountered
in this interval due to a well-connected system of vugs and solution-enhanced,
open cavities as shown by the images. Very high porosity is computed for such
features due to their open nature.

fluid pump rates. After placement, the

gel is stable for several weeks under
downhole conditions, and provides
enough time to drill and complete the
section. The BHA can be pulled through
the set gel. However, in cases where the

asset team are trying to avoid damage to

a producing zone, the gel can be broken
with a weak acid.
Another method used to prevent
losses during cementing uses special
ported tools, known as stage collars, in

the casing string that allow the

cementing of casing to be done in
several stages. As a result of this phased
cementing, the lower formations are
never exposed to the full weight of the
cement. The ports of the stage collars
are closed after the cement has been
pumped. The more sophisticated stage
collars have inflatable seals or packers
just below the opening ports. These
isolate the pressure of the annular fluid
above the ports completely from the
weak lower formations.
Unfortunately, even with such
elaborate devices, successful isolation of
the casingformation annulus is rarely, if
ever, complete. To eliminate the stage
collar and perform the cement job in
a single stage would require very
low-density slurries to reduce the
hydrostatic pressure of the fluid column
and prevent lost circulation or formation
breakdown. Also, the ultralightweight
slurry must not only perform during the
placement stage but also after the
cement has set. It must isolate the
casing from formation fluids and prevent
the movement of fluids from one
formation type to another.
This has been made possible by the
introduction of a reduced-water,

lightweight slurry system based on

CemCRETE* concrete-based oilwell
cementing technology. This new system
gives high compressive strength along
with very low porosity and permeability of
the set cement for longer durability and
reduced casing corrosion.

Traditional cementing:
low-density, low-strength
The traditional optimum water-tocement ratio is 44% (unaltered Portland
API class G cement mixed at a density of
15.8 lbm/gal). This has moderate
viscosity and acceptable levels of
separation of free water from the slurry
when settling. The set cement has a
permeability to gas of about 0.1 md. Its
compressive strength is more than
sufficient, and, under normal
circumstances, it is used as the anchor
or tail-in slurry for casing strings.
The following are some of the options for
reducing the cement density:
Adding more water. Adding too much
water upsets the settling properties of
the slurry and therefore collodial clays
or polymers are needed to maintain
stability. In addition, the set

properties of the cement are affected.

Compressive strength decreases with
increasing liquid-to-solid ratio, and
the porosity and permeability of the
set cement increase. Any reduceddensity system needing less water will
have clear operational advantages
Lightweight additives. The cement
content of the dry powder is partly
replaced with a lightweight aggregate
such as diatomaceous earth, fly ash or
hollow aluminosilicate or glass
spheres. With this method, the
stability of the system decreases
rapidly below the 11.5lbm/gal mark as
the lightweight material becomes the
major component of the powder blend
Foaming with gas. Gases such as
nitrogen or compressed air are used
to generate foam with the normaldensity cement slurry. The
permeability remains relatively low
until a ratio of gas-to-cement slurry
greater than 35% is reached. Above
this ratio (referred to as foam
quality), the permeability increases
rapidly and the compressive strength
falls. A 62% foamed cement exhibits
interconnected bubbles contributing
to high porosity and early corrosion
attack (Figure 6.6).

1000
Before
After

Losses , bbl/hr

800

600

400

200

0
Well 1

Well 2

Well 3

Figure 6.5: These case histories show that drilling fluid losses
decrease dramatically after an InstanSEAL pill is pumped downhole

Well 4
CG62P70

x80

100 microns

Figure 6.6: 35% foam-quality cement (top)

62% foam-quality cement (bottom)
Number 2, 2001
Middle East Reservoir Review

75

Packed particles equal

performance plus
Recent advances in cementing technology
have focused on the way particles fit
together and the principle of solids
fraction, as used in the construction
industry. These are the key factors in
optimizing set cement performance. The
fraction of a volume of a blend that is
actually occupied by solids (i.e., particles)
is known as the packing volume fraction
(PVF). When all the particles are identical
spheres in a perfect, hexagonal, closest
configuration, the PVF is 0.74. Randomly
packed spheres, however, exhibit a PVF of
0.64 due to the decreased efficiency of
packing. A powder containing various
sizes of particles will have a higher PVF
since the smaller particles fill the voids
between the larger ones.
This concept has been used by
Schlumberger in the oil field to develop
the CemCRETE technology for
designing new high-performance
cement slurries. In this technology, a dry
blend is designed that has the specific
gravity to create a slurry of the required
weight. At the same time optimum
particle size distribution is used to
maximize the PVF up to 0.87.
The low-density application of this
technology, the LiteCRETE* slurry
system, has demonstrated properties
superior to any other technology for

Drilling 12 1/4-in. hole

lightweight cement design. The highperformance, low-density LiteCRETE

mixture contains cement and a number
of particulates with narrow ranges of
particle diameter (Figure 6.7). To
achieve the desired specific gravity for
the dry blend, oilwell cement, silica flour
(for bottomhole static temperatures
exceeding 230F) and correctly sized,
lightweight particles are used in
optimum ratios.
The high-performance, lightweight
cements of the CemCRETE family
display remarkable slurry and set
properties. The development of early
compressive strength is very fast, as
indicated by the relatively short time
elapsed between 50 psi and 500 psi of all
CemCRETE-based slurries. As a result,
waiting on cement time during drilling
operations is considerably reduced. The

24-hr compressive strengths are also

very high compared with other
lightweight, conventional cement
systems. The latest developments allow
slurries to match the densities of drilling
fluids. A 8.0-lbm/gal slurry with a waterto-solid ratio of 42% will develop a 24-hr
compressive strength of 1300 psi,
whereas a 8.9-lbm/gal slurry reaches a
compressive strength of 2733 psi
in 24 hr.
An additional benefit of the highsolids fraction of CemCRETE
technology, is the permeability of the set
cement when compared to a
conventional 15.8-lbm/gal system.
LiteCRETE, even at 11 lbm/gal, displays
permeabilities 10 times lower than
conventional set cement and effective
porosity is around 22%, compared to
34% for the conventional neat system.

Figure 6.7:
LiteCRETE particles
fill maximum pore
space

Two-stage cement
conventional slurry

One-stage cement
lightweight slurry

Figure 6.8: Previous

and most recent
technology for
cementing 9 5/8-in.
casing string interval

Lightweight
11 ppg
(82 pcf)

Mud weight
10.5ppg
(79 pcf)
10.5 ppg
(79 pcf)

13 3/8 -in. casing

at 5880ft

Number 2, 2001

76

Hyd. press.
At zone 'A'
= 0.55psi/ft
At zone 'C'
= 0.55psi/ft

Middle East Reservoir Review

Hyd. press.
At zone 'A'
= 0.62 psi/ft
At zone 'C'
= 0.65 psi/ft

12.7 ppg

15.8 ppg
16.7 ppg

Hyd. press.
At zone 'A'
= 0.56 psi/ft
At zone 'C'
= 0.58 psi/ft

15.8 ppg
16.7 ppg

8200

8100

Min.
Amplitude
Max.
0.3000
External External 0.0800 Min. of 0.2500
Transit time (sliding gate) Tension
3.1091
Min. of radius radius 0.0040 thickness 2.0000
(TENS)
(TTSL)
CBL amplitude (CBL)
VDL variable density
0.0800 (THMN) 4.0000
4.0000
average
average
amplitude
(lbf)
0
(mV)
100
400
(US)
200
(VDL)
Raw Bonded Cement map with
200
(US)
1200 (AWMN) (ERAV) (ERAV) Internal (in.)
0 1000
impedance
acoustic
radii
0 (DB) 75 5 (in.) 4 4 (in.) 5 minus 0.1 0.6 imped.
CCL CBL amplitude (sliding gate)
classification
Gamma ray (GR)
(CCLU)
(CBSL)
(Al_MICRO_
(AIBK)
ave.
DEBONDING_
(----)
(IRBK)
0
(GAPI)
70 (----) 0
(mV)
100
IMAGE)
(----)
-20 20
(----)
400

Transit time (TT)

(US)

200

Cement medium particles

Figure 6.9: A typical USIT/VDL log

Answers for Abu Dhabi

Coarse particles

Fine particles

Figure 6.10: Coarse, medium and fine

particle distribution in HDHPS blend matrix

Number 2, 2001

Cementing 95/8-in. casing in land wells in

Abu Dhabi presents unique challenges.
High hydrostatic pressure is required to
control the shale sections, and there is a
high pressure contrast between different
reservoir units. Under these conditions,
considerable losses into depleted aquifer
zones have been experienced. Losses
during cementation, poor performance of
the stage collar tool and poor mechanical
properties of the set cement resulted in
unsatisfactory primary cementing. These
challenges had previously been addressed
by cementing in two stages. A comparison
between the previous and the most recent
technology is shown in Figure 6.8.
In more than 50 successful cases for
this customer, improved casing
protection and mechanical properties
have been achieved with LiteCRETE
systems. A 95/8-in. casing is set just
above the reservoir, a few feet below
Nahr Umr shales at 80008500 ft and at
85009000 ft to cover the Shuiaba
reservoir pay zone. In special cases,
LiteCRETE is also used for loss
circulation plugs during drilling. A
typical USI tool/variable density log is
shown in Figure 6.9.

Middle East Reservoir Review

77

HDHPS blends are more stable during

transportation than conventional
Comments: HDHPS at 19.5 ppg and 90C
hematite blends, and less susceptible to
20
5000
177
segregation of the various particles.
Testing has shown that the major
18
4500
159.3
advantages of HDHPS are:
16
4000
141.6
High-density slurry designs (up to
14
3500
123.9
24 lbm/gal) are possible with
12
3000
controllable and adjustable rheology
106.2

More field-tolerant, less sensitive to

10
2500
88.5
possible density fluctuations and
8
2000
70.8
more stable
6
1500
53.1
Density adjustment of 0.5 lbm/gal is
possible using the same blend. This
4
1000
35.4
provides system flexibility for of last2
500
17.7
minute changes in mud weight.
0
0
0
0:00 1:45 3:30 5:15 7:00 8:45 10:30 12:15 14:00 15:45 17:30 19:15 21:00 More tolerant to mud contamination
Time (HH:MM)
Higher early compressive strength
development
Figure 6.11: Compressive strength development for HDHPS
Uniform and faster setting over a
slurry measured at 90C
range of temperatures prevents well
instability and kicks
These systems are applied at one of
This gives a low Bingham-yield-point
Higher final compressive strength
two surface densities: 10.0 l b m / g a l
slurry that is easily placed. The lower
Lower bulk shrinkage
(75 pcf) and 10.5 l b m / g a l (79 pcf).
water content reduces sedimentation,
Lower permeability and porosity
The downhole density increases due to
the superior mechanical properties
compaction of the lightweight particles
develop more quickly and waiting on
South Oman case study
under the weight of wellbore fluids,
cement time is significantly reduced
In the southern Oman oil fields, operators
resulting in 10.5 l b m / g a l (79 pcf) and
(see Figure 6.11).
are exploring the production potential of
11.2 l b m / g a l (84 pcf) respectively.
HDHPS does not need specialized
oil and gas from high-pressure carbonate
equipment or personnel and the slurries
stringers embedded in salt. The
are more tolerant to mixing errors or
cementing operations face a range of
density variations. The dry blends may be
High-density, highchallenges, including depths of
mixed
with
fresh,
sea
or
salt
water.
performance slurries
3,5004,800 m, temperatures of 95125C
Optimized suspensions can include
High-density, high-performance
and bottomhole pressures of 13,000 psi.
conventional defoamers, accelerators,
(HDHPS) technology optimizes slurry
The high densities required of the
dispersants, retarders, fluid loss and
placement performance and ensures a
cement slurries were achieved initially
control additives, and latex additives to
high-quality set cement. It allows
using hematite as the weighting agent.
control gas migration.
slurries with densities up to 24 lbm/gal
3
(2900 kg/m ) to be used to cement
400
critical casing strings in wells with high
Conventional plugs,
pressure gradients.
wells 13
WOC time, hr
350
Using particle size distribution (PSD)
Actual TOC below
optimization, particles of at least three
300
theoretical TOC
different sizes are selected (Figure 6.10).
Adjusting the PSD allows engineers to
250
introduce more solids per unit volume
than would be possible with a
200
HDHPS plugs,
conventional cement slurry. The
wells 47
150
compressive strength of the set cement
is increased, and the porosity and
100
permeability are lowered due to the
higher PVF that is achieved, regardless
50
of the slurry density. HDHPS technology
usually requires lower concentrations of
0
1
2
3
3
4
4
5
6
6
7
7
most chemical additives than
conventional technology.
Well
As with low-density applications, the
Figure 6.12: Graphical comparison of conventional slurry and HDHPS in
smaller particles in the blend act like
terms of waiting on cement time and cement contamination for plugs
ball bearings in providing extra lubricity.
Time, hr

Temperature, C

Compressive strength, psi

Transit time, sec/in.

UCA initial: 50 at 4:37

UCA strength 1500 at 5:20
UCA strength 4280 at 20:04

Number 2, 2001

78

Middle East Reservoir Review

In addition to transportation and

handling problems, placement and setcement mechanical properties were
below expectations. This led to a number
of problems, including loss of
homogeneity in the blend during
transportation caused by the hematite
separating from the blend. A well kicked
14 hr after cementing, causing the loss of
four days in controlling the well. In
addition, engineers had to deal with a
build-up of annulus pressure. This was
possibly due to microannulus caused by
bulk shrinkage after cement setting, or to
improper mud displacement. Downhole
contamination led to increased setting
time and four plugs had to be repeated
after setting lower than planned.

Table 1: Comparison of properties of HDHPS and conventional slurry for liner applications
Properties

Conventional slurry

HDHPS slurry

Density, lbm/gal

19.5

19.5

PV, cP

126

110

TY, lb/100ft2

20

8.5

14/125

9/65

Gels 1min/10min
Fluid loss API cm3/30 min

204

64

2698

After 18hr 29 min

After 5hr 44 mins

8-hr compressive strength, psi

Initial set 50 psi
24-hr compressive strength, psi

1750

3700

Stability of set cement (BP settling test) 0.30lbm/gal top to bottom

24-hr compressive strength, psi
Bulk shrinkage

0.15lbm/gal top to bottom

1750

3700

1.5% after 24hr

0% after 24hr

High risk

Very low risk

Low

High

Separation of heavy particles from

blend during transport
Tolerance to density variation
Table 2: HDHPS jobs done to date in South Oman

Intrasalt stringers set

challenges

Job date

BHCT, C

Well name

Job type

Depth, m

HDHPS density, lbm/gal

1 Feb 98

38

Yard trial

HDHPS

No

19.5

20 May 98

90

Well-1

Plug

4300

21.6

In conventional, high-density cement

slurries, chemical additives, the amounts
and types of solid, water volume,
temperature and pressure all affect
performance. Although chemical
additives are helpful up to a point,
cement performance at high densities is
largely a function of density.
Density can be increased by reducing
the water content of the blend or by
adding weighting materials. Both options
have their drawbacks. Water reduction
beyond a certain level causes the slurry
to become unpumpable or unmixable.
Adding weighting materials such as
barite, hematite or ilmenite begins to
cause problems with segregation and
separation. The cementing operations
face a range of challenges.
HDHPS technology was seen as the
way forward for addressing the major
challenges that engineers face in liner
and plug cementing for these wells:
Enhanced isolation requirement. 100%
zonal isolation is essential for testing
and for separate production from
adjacent stringers
Placement pressure restrictions. The
pressure window between the
formation pore and fracture pressures
is small. This results in a small density
differential between the salt-saturated
mud system, the spacer and the
cement slurry. The cement-slurry
rheology must be low enough for
successful placement and, at the same
time, sufficient to suspend the
weighting agents

22 May 98

90

Well-1

Plug

4100

21.6

25 May 98

80

Well-1

7-in. liner

3850

19.5

20 Sep 98

90

Well-2

Plug

4713

22.1

23 Sep 98

85

Well-2

Plug

3533

22.1

15 Jan 99

90

Well-3

7-in. liner

4520

19.1

24 Jan 99

90

Well-3

4-in. liner

4674

19.1

28 Apr 99

90

Well-4

7-in. liner

4418

19.5

Table 3: Comparing results of HDHPS and conventional slurry in terms of waiting on cement
time and cement contamination for plugs
Wells

Cement type, hr WOC time, hr Actual top of cement vs planned

below tested depth, m

Good cement

Well-1

Conventional

45

Well-2

Conventional

101

206

No

Well-3

Conventional

40

120

Yes

Well-3

Conventional

120

344

No

Well-4

Conventional

79

84

No

Well-4

Conventional

71

105

Yes

Well-5

Conventional

54

130

No

Well-6

HDHPS

40

124

Yes

Well-6

HDHPS

37

135

Yes

Well-7

HDHPS

34

106

Yes

Well-7

HDHPS

26

50

Yes

330

Yes

Number 2, 2001

Physical and chemical robustness. The

salt-saturated mud necessarily used
affects the cement slurry and the setcement properties. In the past, this
has resulted in a large column of
contaminated slurry, making it
necessary to repeat some plugs. Other
problems arose due to microannulus
caused by bulk shrinkage on setting
that compromised zonal isolation.

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79

Casing collar
from (CCL) to T1
-19

Casing collar locator (CCL)

(----)

Transit time (sliding gate) (TTSL)

(US)
400
200
Transit time (TT)
400
200
(US)
Gamma ray (GR)
0

(GAPI)

Tension
Fluid-compensated CBL amplitude Min.
Amplitude
Max.
(TENS)
(CBLF)
(lbf)
Variable density (VDL)
4000
1200
100
50 200
(MW)
(US)
2000 0
3950

Figure 6.13: Cement

bond log (CBL) for
reservoir section
showing excellent
bond

4000

4050

4100

4150

4200

4250

Application for Oman

Number 2, 2001

80

Before HDHPS was introduced in Oman,

comprehensive tests were conducted at
several research centers in Oman and
overseas. The tests confirmed that
HDHPS would surpass the critical
performance requirements for wells in
southern Oman. In addition to exceeding
the performance of conventional cements
in 8- and 24-hour compressive strength,
stability and shrinkage tests, HDHPS
cement offered superior optimization of
slurry rheology and density (Table 1).
A trial in early 1998 demonstrated that
the HDHPS blend would not segregate
during transport but would remain
mixable after transport and easily meet the
relevant design criteria for rheology,
compressive strength and fluid loss.
Compressive strength development for
HDHPS and conventional slurry was
Middle East Reservoir Review

measured at various temperatures. Figure

6.12 shows the performance at 90C.
The first HDHPS cementing operation
in Oman was performed in the second
quarter of 1998. Cement plugs were set
at 4,100 m (13,451 ft) and 4,300 m
(14,108 ft) with 21.5 lbm/gal slurry. A
7-in. liner was set at 3,850 m (12,631 ft)
with 19.5-lbm/gal slurry. There was a
fault around total depth, and mud losses
were encountered. The operator
decided to set cement plugs across the
fault and then cement the liner using
HDHPS for both operations.
To date, eight HDHPS jobs have been
performed for this operator, including
four liner cementing jobs and four plug
jobs (Table 2).
The average waiting on cement (WOC)
time for conventional cement before it
could be tagged was at least 72 hr. The
average WOC for an HDHPS system was

34 hr. HDHPS slurries were found to be

less susceptible to contamination with
mud. Table 3 and Figure 6.12 show the
comparison between HDHPS and
conventional slurries on WOC times and
actual top of cement (TOC) tagged as
compared to the planned TOC. The top
of the HDHPS plugs tagged is closer to
the theoretical top than that of
conventional cement plugs. HDHPS
rheology can be optimized relatively
easily, which allows for more efficient
displacement of drilling fluids.
Uniformity of the blend was not
reduced by transportation to the rig site.
Mixing was smooth and without
problems. Figures 6.13 and 6.14 show the
CBL/VDL and CET log respectively for
the cement jobs on the most recent wells.
Excellent bonding was achieved over the
full cemented section.

ARF8
Between REF8 and FFLG8
ARF7
Between REF7 and FFLG7
ARF6
Between REF6 and FFLG6
ARF5
Between REF5 and FFLG5

Figure 6.14: CET log

for a recent well

0
0

Gamma ray (GR)

(GAPI)
Eccentering (ECCE)

AR_CSMN
from CSMN to
RHT2
CSMN (CSMX)
5000 (psi)
0
CSMN (CSMN)
5000 (psi)
0

CCLU (CCLU)
(----)
-0.95
0.05
Relative bearing (RB)
360
(Deg.)

(MM)

100
Tension
(lbf)
10 4000
2000 0
3950

WW (WW)
(----)

ARF4
Between REF4 and FFLG4
ARF3
Between REF3 and FFLG3
ARF2
Between REF2 and FFLG2
ARF1
Between REF1 and FFLG1

4000

4050

4100

4150

4200

4250

HDHPS is worth its weight

Number 2, 2001

HDHPS has eliminated a large number of

the difficulties experienced previously in
South Oman.
Compressive strength is developed
much more rapidly. This saves rig time
by allowing drilling operations to
resume sooner. Faster build-up of
mechanical properties also reduces
the risk of fluid influx from the
formation during setting
The reliability of the technology
decreases the need for remedial block
squeezes or repetition of plugs
Lower porosity and permeability of set
cements using this technology will
increase the safe life of the wells by
providing isolation of aquifers from
hydrocarbon zones and also safer
abandonment of well

Low-permeability cements are more

resistant to corrosive brines and there
is less bulk shrinkage as the cement
sets, resulting in superior isolation
through time.
According to the operators, the
success of the HDHPS technology used
so far in the eight jobs in South Oman
has ensured that it will be the preferred
system for critical cementation in all
future high-pressure wells to be drilled
in the region.

Middle East Reservoir Review

81