Well Drilling

Casing Design

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 Casing Design

‹ Why Run Casing?

‹ Types of Casing Strings
‹ Classification of Casing
‹ Wellheads
‹ Burst, Collapse and Tension
‹ Example
‹ Effect of Axial Tension on Collapse Strength
‹ Example
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 Casing Design

What is casing? Casing

Why run casing? Cement

1. To prevent the hole from caving in

2. Onshore - to prevent contamination of
fresh water sands
3. To prevent water migration to
producing formation
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 Casing Design - Why run casing, cont’d

4. To confine production to the wellbore

5. To control pressures during drilling
6. To provide an acceptable environment for
subsurface equipment in producing wells
7. To enhance the probability of drilling to total
depth (TD)
e.g., you need 14 ppg to control a lower zone,
but an upper zone will fracture at 12 lb/gal.
What do you do?
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 Types of Strings of Casing

Diameter Example
1. Drive pipe or structural pile 16”-60” 30”
{Gulf Coast and offshore only}
150’-300’ below mudline.

2. Conductor string. 100’ - 1,600’ 16”-48” 20”

(BML)

3. Surface pipe. 2,000’ - 4,000’ 8 5/8”-20” 13 3/8”

(BML)

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 Types of Strings of Casing

Diameter Example

4. Intermediate String 7 5/8”-13 3/8” 9 5/8”

5. Production String (Csg.) 4 1/2”-9 5/8” 7”

6. Liner(s)

7. Tubing String(s)

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 Example Hole and String Sizes (in)
Hole Size Pipe Size
36” Structural casing 30”
26” Conductor string 20”

17 1/2 Surface pipe 13 3/8

12 1/4 IntermediateString 9 5/8

8 3/4 Production Liner 7

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 Example Hole and String Sizes (in)
Hole Size Pipe Size
36” Structural casing 30”
26” Conductor string 20”

17 1/2 Surface pipe 13 3/8

12 1/4 IntermediateString 9 5/8

8 3/4 Production Liner 7

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Example Hole and String Sizes (in)
Structural casing Mudline
Conductor string
250’

1,000’

4,000’
Surface pipe
IntermediateString
Production Liner

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 Functions of Casing
Individually
‹Drive pipe ‹Conductor pipe
‹Provides a means of ‹Same as Drive pipe
nippling up diverters ‹Supports the weight
‹Provides a mud of subsequent casing
return path strings
‹Prevents erosion of ‹Isolates very weak
ground below rig formations

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 Functions of Casing
Individually
‹Surface casing ‹Intermediate or
‹Provides a means of protective casing
nippling up BOP ‹Usually set in the
‹Provides a casing first abnormally
seat strong enough pressured zone
to safely close in a ‹Provides isolation of
well after a kick. potentially
‹Provides protection troublesome zones
of fresh water sands ‹Provides integrity to
‹Provides wellbore withstand the high
stabilization mud weights
necessary to reach
TD or next csg seat
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 Functions of Casing Individually
‹Production casing ‹Liners
‹Provides zonal ‹Drilling liners
isolation (prevents ‹Same as
migration of water to Intermediate or
protective casing
producing zones,
isolates different ‹Production liners
production zones) ‹Same as production
casing
‹Confines production
‹Tieback liners
to wellbore
‹Tie back drilling or
‹Provides the production liner to the
environment to install surface. Converts
subsurface liner to full string of
completion casing
equipment
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 Classification of CSG.

1. Outside diameter of pipe (e.g. 9 5/8”)

2. Wall thickness (e.g. 1/2”)

3. Grade of material (e.g. N-80)

4. Type to threads and couplings (e.g. API LCSG)

5. Length of each joint (RANGE) (e.g. Range 3)

6. Nominal weight (Avg. wt/ft incl. Wt. Coupling)
(e.g. 47 lb/ft)
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σ
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 Length of Casing Joints

RANGE 1 16-25 ft

RANGE 2 25-34 ft

RANGE 3 > 34 ft.

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 Casing Threads and Couplings

API round threads - short { CSG }

API round thread - long { LCSG }
Buttress { BCSG }
Extreme line { XCSG }
Other …

See Halliburton Book...

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Casing Design - Collapse

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Casing Design - Tension

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 Casing Design - Burst
(from internal pressure)

4 Internal Yield Pressure for pipe

4 Internal Yield Pressure for couplings
4 Internal pressure leak resistance

p Internal p
Pressure

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 Burst
‹Design for maximum pressure on the
inside of the casing. API design
recommendations call for the worst
case scenario, which is the casing is
empty, and no external pressure. The
pressure to design for is the estimated
formation pressure at TD for production
casing, or estimated formation pressure
at the next casing depth.
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 Collapse
‹API design recommendations call for
worst case, where there is no pressure
inside the casing, and we design for the
maximum mud weight at the casing
depth. We also allow for the reduction
of the collapse rating from the weight of
the casing hanging below the depth of
interest.

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 Tension
‹API recommendations call for worst
case, where there is no buoyancy
effect. Design is based on the weight of
the entire casing string.

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 API Design Factors (typical)

Required Design

10,000 psi Collapse 1.125 11,250 psi

100,000 lbf Tension 1.8 180,000 lbf

10,000 psi Burst 1.1 11,000 psi

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Abnormal

Normal Pore Pressure Abnormal Pore Pressure

0.433 - 0.465 psi/ft gp > normal
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Design from bottom
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Press. Gauge
Wing Valve X-mas Tree
Choke Box

Master
Valves
Wellhead
• Hang Csg. Strings
• Provide Seals
• Control Production
from Well

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Wellhead

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Wellhead

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 Casing Design

Tension Tension
Depth
Burst

Collapse

Collapse
STRESS
Burst:
Burst Assume full reservoir pressure all along the wellbore.
Collapse: Hydrostatic pressure increases with depth
Tension: Tensile stress due to weight of string is highest at top

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 Casing Design

Unless otherwise specified in a particular

problem, we shall also assume the following:

Worst Possible Conditions

1. For Collapse design, assume that the
casing is empty on the inside (p = 0 psig)

2. For Burst design, assume no “backup”

fluid on the outside of the casing (p = 0 psig)

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 Casing Design
Worst Possible Conditions, cont’d
3. For Tension design,
assume no buoyancy effect
4. For Collapse design,
assume no buoyancy effect
The casing string must be designed to stand up to the
expected conditions in burst, collapse and tension.
Above conditions are quite conservative. They are also
simplified for easier understanding of the basic concepts.
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