WELL COMPLETION, ‘Michel Michaux Ek Nelson Benoit Vick Saint-Etienne, France Faced with the concrete skyline of an urban landscape, few people would guess that {cement faces its toughest challenge under= spround—in oil and gas wells where envi- ronmental conditions are far more severe than any encountered on the earth's surface. ‘This article outlines the chemistry of pott- land cement, the variety used 10 cement ‘casings in wells and provide zonal isolation, ‘and explains how additives facilitate cement placement and ensure stability ater setting! Rudimentary cementing of oil wells began at the tuen of the century when few wells ‘went deeper than 2,000 feet (610 meters} Cementing operations were usually per- formed by the ig crew. Today, specialist ser vice companies routinely cement wells of 20,000 feet [6,098 meters| and deeper. Cementing operations are either primary, done in the course of drilling a well, or sec: ondary or remedial, intended to remedy deficiencies in primary cementing or aller the well completion for production (eight. Recently, sophisticated computer model ing has been introduced to simulate and ‘optimize the cementing operation. Data recorded while pumping the cement are analyzed to judge whether the cement has been correcily placed. Cement evaluation logs and other casee!-hole logs can indicate the strength ofthe set cement and whether it is bonded to the casing (fr eigh?). The out- come of a cementing job, however, depends ultimately on choosing the appropriate ‘cement ancl additives to cope with particu- lar well conditions. 1 Pia erent wan delped by ne Aspin ‘hte af stone hat seb eo the lout roar he English Conse 2. Ronand Cements Ske tino Portand Cement ‘Avociton, 1955 3. "the yao of Posand Crmere and “the Se nga HaynigofPotard Cement in Len Ft Te Chemin of Coment and Concrete 3X New York-chemest Pelahing Cane, 1971 18 Cement Chemistry and Conductor casnae are comontad to prevent diling fds circulating outside the casing, causing surface ning ose al Surface casings are comentedio prevent hydrocarbons encroaching ito fresh waler zones, tGanchor Blow oul proventers and to support oop easing stg Intermediate casing stings are comented to isoiale {ormations whieh ight break dow and cause a. fe=4 fee of ercutaton nthe wel. : Gon ating fo that zones and to prevent the sloughing formations causing a drop in prosuctily. "2 [Various stapes in the primary cementing of nessy dled well. Secondary, or remedial cementing, nay be required te the wel competed to core dficionies nthe primary cementing ot log bak ey hole Oilfield Reviewae |e se er ae aoe | leet ee 2 omer | [ommaseron] or, Additives rnantcaca | & [Gainagrown || la in__ 9 10,000" FA Cement Eva tion (CET" og tom 3 wel na Mile East Carbonate meron The CET wo! fis eight liosonie raneduces dhistibute eadhally on mand. Cited Seoustic energy 1 ‘ates he casing tere iso cement Domed ae shines op a wien the mage in track Yof the fog: A good! band shows up The raw ingredients of portland cement are lime, silica, alumina and iron oxide.” Lime is obtained from calcareous rock deposits and industrial alkali waste prod= ucts, Alumina, silica and iron oxide are derived irom clays and shales and from blast furnace slag or fly-ash waste from coal-fired power stations. These materials are pulverized into fine powder, combined to obtain a given bulk oxide composition ad fel into a rotating kil, Heated as high as 1,5 °C [2,730°F], the ‘aww materials undergo a complex series of ae chemical reactions to produce the four main The top third ofthe ‘compounds that make up cement: tcale logis most back tum silicate, Ca,SiO,, [abbreviated as C,S) Jnccatng good bond dlicakcium silicate, Ca,S1O, [CS]; wicaleiurn Boning monty white aluminate, Ca,Al,0, (C,Al; and tetracalel- ‘poor bond that tum aluminoferrite, Ca,Al,Fe,Oyy [CAF] ‘ios eran will bot prevent fd cons {see "Chemical Shorthand,” below), These: four compounds, as well 3s minor amounts ‘free lime anid other oxides, leave the kiln munication, The bat tom third shows white vera steak as clinker. Afier the clinker has cooled, a thy probably core small amount of gypsum (CaSO,°2H,0) is spends oan po ‘added, and the mixture is pulverized and ‘round! to obtain finished portland cement How Cement Sets Portland cement isthe most common of the “hydraulic” cements, which set and develop { compressive strength through hydration, not by drying out, Hydeation involves chemical reactions between water and the cement ‘compounds.’ I therefore sets and hardens whether let in air or submerged in water, (Once set, it has low permeability and resists attack from water, All these attributes make portland cement ideal for completing wells ‘and maintaining isolation between zones. Volume 1 Number 1 19Mixed with water silicates C,S and C5, which constitute up to 80 percent of port- land cement, produce similar hydration products: 26,$46H > CSM, + 3CH 2C,544H > CS:th+ CH The calciumsilicate-hydrate, C\S,Hy, also called the C-S-H gel, i largely amorphous, comprises roughly 70 percent of the set cement and gives cement its strength. The calcium hydroxide, CaiOH), [CH], known asportlandite, saturates the cement slunrys ‘aqueous phase raising its pH to between 12.5 andl 13, ‘Av first, these hydration reactions proceed vigorously and a dense layer of C-S-H gel builds up arouncl each silicate particle, But the gel is relatively impermeable and it soon prevents more water teaching the surface of the anhydrous silicates, hindering further hydration, An interval of low reactivity fol lows, called the induction period. Hydration ‘eventually picks up when the permeability ff the C-5-H gel layer begins increasing, allowing more water to reach the silicate grain surfaces (befow!. (Why the gel becomes more permeable is not well under stood.) The onset of setting and early strength development is controlled by C5 because it hydrates quicker than C,S and because i's more abundant. The C,5.com= ponent affects the harclened cements final strength (above right ‘The aluminate components, particularly GA, react most strongly atthe beginning of hydration and therefore affect the theology fof the cement slurry and early strength development. Both C\A and C,AF produce the calcium-aluminate-hydrate, CAH, through intermediate metastable reactions lonly the C,A reactions are shown) é § Induction L Period nutes Fou 20 100 ett ts of peices dS 5 % Foc iitates £ quicker than€,S and Bo Bras % 40] Hydration cate of both > 20 2 fe oor Ot . 10 100 © 1000 2 2 5 b a Time, days, 2G,A4 27H > GAH, + CAMs > 2C,AH, + 15H Unlike the C hydrates are crystalline, not amorphous, and don’t form a protective layer around the aluminate grain surfaces. Consequently, hydration would normally occur rapidly ‘and has to be controlled to prevent prema- Ture stiffening of the cement, called “lash sel.” Ths is where the gypsum, added to the clinker to produce porlanc! cement, comes, Dissolved in water, gypsum releases cealciutn and sulfate ions. These react with aluminate and hydroxyl ions released by -H gel, caleium-aluminate- ydation ofthe i {ate components of Poatand cement Picton ds at se tapi thon enters 2 ‘Shon “nciction” pert fc, cause bythe fycaion rode, CSH got covers the unhycate em innis oe sieste rans and preventing tater fom reching tern Fnaly the ge! fees water ian hycaion picks up. ‘Days the aluminates forming a trisulfoaluminate hydrate [C,A"3C5"-32H1 called ettingit. The ettringite precipitates as ncedle-shaped crystals on the CA grain surfaces, hindering further hydration and creating an artificial induction period (above right ‘The hydration of portland coment as a whole can be considered a sequence of ‘overlapping reactions leading to a continu- ‘us thickening and hardening cement slutry (ight), During initial hydration, when the anhyclrous material is added to water and hydration products begin to form, the ‘coment grains remain independent and the cement slurry can be pumped. This state of affais continues for most ofthe induction period. But when hydration picks up after the induction period, the cement grains begin to link together and the slurry is not pumpable, Compressive strength develops as the hydration products become inter jgrown. The reactions speed up as tempera- ture increases. Reaction speed also depends on the rela- tive concentrations of the cement compo- nents and their particle size or fineness. For ‘example, the more C,S there is relative 10 GS the quicker a cement sels, because C5 reacts quicker than C,S. Generally, the finer the coment, the more water is required to prepare a pumpable slurry and the faster compressive strength develops, Speed is a key lactor in designing a cement operation “Another factor isthe concentration of CyA. Oilfield Review