SPE 100816
Primary Cementing in Permafrost Conditions—A Process
Dean Radojevic, Halliburton; Yelena Shafeyeva, Tyumenniigiprogas
Copyright 2006, Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2006 SPE Russian Oil and Gas Technical
Conference and Exhibition held in Moscow, Russia, 3–6 October 2006.
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Abstract
By coupling dedication and commitment with the correct
application of proven technology, primary cementing in
permafrost conditions can produce long-lasting zonal isolation
in the wellbore. Obtaining effective hydraulic sealing between
cement and casing and cement to formation the operator may
thus avoid unnecessary repairs, well shut-in and lost
production.
Establishing good communication with the
Tyumenniigiprogas Technical Instituee and operators well
ahead of designing the job helps to identify all relevant factors
influencing the potential outcome of the cementing operation
and overall well turnout.
Ten wells were cemented in the Novo Zapolnarnaya field
(Russian Arctic region) using the newly proposed blends; they
all were successfully put on production without indication of
crossflows. Slurry design considerations and operational
placement suggestions are given to help reduce the chance of
primary cementing failure over the producing lifecycle of the
well.
Introduction
One of the most important operations performed on a new well
is the primary cementing job. Its aim is to produce and obtain
a hydraulic seal of cement to casing and cement to formation
thus eliminating the potential formation of fluid channels and
crossflows across various permeable zones. Failure to do so
can result in unwanted, expensive workovers that can
ultimately lead to lost production.
Primary cementing in cold environment conditions and
permanently frozen zones (permafrost) becomes even more of
an issue and requires special attention, alignment of priorities,
application of proven technologies, and foremost, excellent
cooperation among all parties involved in the design and
placement of the cementing job.
This paper presents an overview of the team effort
exhibited while pre-planning, designing, and executing the
primary cementing work on 10 wells in the Zapolyarnoe gas
condensate field (Russian Arctic) in late 2004.
Discussion
In the Zapolyarnoe field, wells are drilled with 295.3-mm and
215.9-mm boreholes. They are subsequently completed with
245-mm conductor casing set at approx 550 m and a slightly
deviated (45°) production 168-mm casing set at 1500 m
measured depth (MD) (1340 m TVD) thus allowing the
production of gas from the Senamon formation (Fig.1).
Traditionally, wells in the area would be drilled and cased,
then would be perforated and put on production. The wells
would quite often exhibit crossflows and unwanted gas
perculation several months later, thus proving that proper
zonal isolation had not been achieved.
Well construction (including ultimately the cement
hydraulic seal) can be greatly affected by the presence of
numerous downhole challenges. Some of the most significant
challenges identified for this specific area are:
• Presence of permafrost zone from surface to 450 m.
The permafrost section is reported to vary from
unconsolidated sands and gravels with ice lenses to
some areas of ice-free consolidated rock. A broad
definition of permafrost is defined as the formation
from surface to a certain depth where the temperature
is 0°C or below.1 Without the application of specialty
additives conventional cement systems can freeze and
prohibit the development of adequate compressive
strength; that would make them unsuitable to serve
their purpose. Throughout this interval the most
common problem is the possibility of borehole
sloughing and caving-in as a result of thawing of the
permanent ice during drilling operations. As a
secondary effect, original boreholes are also greatly
enlarged and washed out, especially in the 0-150 m
depth range, thus requiring placement of far greater
volumes of cement slurry to provide the necessary
formation isolation.
• Bottomhole static temperature (BHST) at the shoe of
the 245-mm casing is as low as –5°C, thus greatly
impacting the compressive strength development of
2 SPE 100816
the cement slurry. Bottomhole circulating
temperature (BHCT) was estimated to be 0°C.
• Presence of weak zones with formation fracture
gradient as low as 16.4 KPa/m from 550 – 700 m
depth, thus presenting a potential for lost circulation
during drilling and cementing operations.
• Presence of active aquifers in the interval from 600 –
800 m.
• Gas migration potential during the initial setting of
the cement slurry for the production casing.
All above factors work synergistically together and they
are producing a complex environment for performing
cementing operations; therefore, to help develop a properly
engineered job design, several meetings among involved
parties were conducted well ahead of time with the aim to
address challenges, working parameters, and necessary
requirements for achieving the ultimate goal of long-lasting
wellbore isolation. This investigative approach was of utmost
significance; especially since the service company personnel
had limited expertise of the work area and associated
downhole conditions.
Slurry design is affected by many factors, including brand
and kind of cement, well depth, temperature, drilling fluid
parameters, desired pumping time, slurry density, fluid-loss
control, and strength development. An attempt was made to
develop a cementing system that could be used for both casing
strings with minimal modifications thus standardizing the
delivery process while minimizing the impact caused by
logistics involved with working in a remote area.
While preliminarily developing the cement blend a special
emphasis was made on using a combination of additives that
would act synergistically together to produce slurries that
would adequately respond to the many challenges already
present in these wells, while keeping the procedure as simple
as possible because of the adverse Arctic working conditions.
After analyzing the actual design of the cements used it
was observed that most all slurries contained a fairly high
percentage of a gypsum cement blend (40% BWOC) which
was used primarily to decrease the thickening time, increase
viscosity and initiate early strength development. Although it
is a logical additive of choice to be used in permafrost
conditions to help deal with the low temperature issue, we
agreed in our discussions with the technical institute to deviate
slightly from this rule and to use a significantly lower amount
of gypsum in the design of the lead slurries coming in contact
with the permafrost zones.
In our discussions we were of the opinion that a high
content of gypsum could potentially cause the set cement to be
brittle; therefore, making it prone to cracking due to a lack of
flexibility once the wells are put into production and are
exposed to various pressure and temperature cycles. We
wanted also to eliminate the eventual potential of gypsum
dissolution from the cement composition over time during the
producing cycle of the well which can be caused as a result of
the presence of subsurface active acquifers located below the
permafrost zone.
Once the direction to proceed with the slurry design was
agreed, simulation modeling was conducted using proprietary
software to evaluate and optimize the densities of all
components to be pumped during the cement job. Every
attempt was made to keep the cement densities as high as
possible, thus positively contributing to the development of
compressive strength but because of the presence of weak
formations with low fracture gradients it was decided to pump
the spacer and slurries respectively with the following
densities:
• Weighted spacer specially designed to go easily into
turbulent flow (WSTF), mixed at 1350 kg/m.3 The
WSTF may be used in aqueous or non-aqueous
fluids.
• 245-mm casing: 1470 kg/m3 for the lead and 1890
kg/m3 for the tail slurry.
• 168 mm casing: 1470 kg/m3 for the lead and 1800
kg/m3 for the tail slurry.
While the engineering team was working on job modeling
and finalizing the work requirements, the laboratory team was
preparing for testing slurries at low temperatures. In that
respect, one high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT)
consistometer was retrofitted with a cooling unit, thus
allowing testing at –5°C. At the same time, the atmospheric
consistometer was modified and a refrigerator was installed in
the lab to allow the cubes to be tested after they had been
resting in a cool environment. All materials and additives were
tested and QA/QC evaluated when received.
Russian-made PST-1-50 (comparable to API Class “C”)
high, early-strength cement for low-temperature applications
was the product of choice for engineering and designing all
slurries.
After extensive testing was performed we were able to
obtain slurries for the 245-mm casing designed with as little as
10% gypsum by weight of cement (BWOC) in lead slurries
and respectively with only 1% gypsum (BWOC) mixed in the
tail cement.
To compensate for the reduced amount of gypsum it was
proposed and agreed to use sodium chloride (NaCl) up to 10%
by weight of water (BWOW) in the mixing water. The idea
behind this addition was to reduce the freezing point of the
slurry and water (Fig. 2) while at the same time accelerating
the setting of cement and increasing its final strength. This
approach imposed somewhat a logistical challenge since large
volumes of sodium chloride would require pre-mixing in the
mixing water tank. This difficulty was communicated to the
customer and it was ultimately resolved by the drilling
contractor who supplied a centrifugal pump, thus allowing the
recirculation of the mixing water in the water tank until the
sodium chloride was completely dissolved. This operation was
undertaken a few hours before the cementing operation and
was performed by the drilling and cementing crews working
together thus minimizing the need to wait a long time before
starting the cementing operation itself.
Large washouts were expected, especially throughout the
permafrost zone (during the cementing of the 245-mm casing
in particular). To provide efficient mud displacement, the
proposed spacer system was designed to achieve a 500-m
separation between mud and the cement. This was achieved
by pumping 6.4 m3 of water containing a water-wetting
SPE100816
surfactant and followed by 4.77 m3 of weighted WSTF mixed
at 1350 kg/m3. To prevent the freezing of water as well as to
simplify the logistics sodium chloride (10% BWOW) was also
added in the mixing water and was therefore part of the WSTF
system itself.
To obtain a lead slurry with relatively low densities for the
245-mm casing strings the combination of Gilsonite and
Bentonite was used. The main purpose of using such a recipe
was to alleviate the anticipated problem associated with
potential lost circulation while producing a slurry with a low
density at the same time. Gilsonite, being an asphaltite, is a
hydrocarbon in a granular form with its particle sizes ranging
from 4 to 100-mesh. It not only lowers the slurry weight, but
also acts as an effective bridging agent that helps fight
potential lost circulation. Bentonite, on the other hand, was
added to the slurry as an extender and for the purpose of
increasing slurry viscosity, thus reducing free water, helping
prevent settling of cement and separation of the Gilsonite in
the slurry.
Slurries for the 168-mm production casing were based on
the same designing concept as the slurries developed for the
245-mm casing strings but with the addition of specialty
additives required whenever designing blends for production
casings. Since determined temperatures were BHST = 27°C
and respectively BHCT = 22°C the amount of gypsum in the
lead slurry was further reduced to only 8% (BWOC). To
enhance initial strength development and develop gel strength,
a thixotropic additive was included in both the lead and tail
slurries. Slurries were designed at 1470 kg/m3 for the lead and
1800 kg/m3 for the tail. Added to the tail slurry design also
were dispersing, fluid-loss and gas-migration additives, thus
producing a low fluid-loss slurry of 58cc/30 min and reaching
compressive strength values of 8.5 MPa in 24 hours and 13.2
MPa in 48 hours. Since the production 168-mm casings were
deviated, all slurries designed were tested for free water under
a 45° angle and had to pass the mark of having zero free water
after 2 hours.
During the testing phase of all slurries, API standardized
procedures2 and recommendations developed for the testing of
cement through permafrost layers were followed as closely as
possible and within laboratory logistical possibilities. Cement
and additives were refrigerated overnight before testing and
ice-cold water was used in the preparation of samples.
Conditioning of samples was performed in the atmospheric
consistometer that was located outside the laboratory building
thus exposing it to the simulation of cold environment.
Selected cementing compositions were pumped for 1.5 hours
on an atmospheric consistometer before pouring into cube
molds for curing. Poured samples were kept in the refrigerator
and were ultimately tested for compressive strength
development at 4°C within 24 and 48 hours, respectively. For
lack of appropriate temperature control the API-recommended
testing at –7°C was omitted.
Since traditionally no caliper logs are available in the area
the recommended slurry volume excesses were based
predominantly on past area experience. In accordance and in
conjunction with the Technical Institute it was decided to plan
the jobs with excess volumes as given in Table 1.
Returns of cement to surface were observed and generally
varied between 3 and 7 m3. Noteworthy is that every time the
3
overall drilling operation took less time to reach the final
casing point the noticed volume of returned cement to surface
was significantly greater.
Pipe centralization was also given due attention and as a
result a pipe standoff of 70% was recommended and
implemented in the field. A combination of bowspring and
rigid centralizers for production casings was used to achieve
the desired pipe standoff, thus resulting in a more equal
distribution of forces exerted by the cement slurry as it flowed
up the annulus while minimizing the potential of the slurry
following the path of least resistance.
On a model well 550 m deep, the distribution of
centralizers for the 245-mm casing and their respective
placement can be summarized as given in Table 2.
Subsequently on a model well 1465 m deep, the
distribution of centralizers for the 168 mm production casing
and their respective placement can be summarized as given in
Table 3.
Because boreholes were greatly enlarged (especially for
the 245-mm casings) and since turbulent flow could not be
achieved, it was recommended to pump the displacement at
low rates thus keeping the movement of fluids in the annulus
in the plug-flowing regime. Once there was pressure
indication after the top plug was caught the displacement rate
was lowered to 0.7 – 0.5 m3/min. We were convinced that this
pumping approach would provide a better and more consistant
removal of gelled mud from a greatly enlarged annulus.
Production casing strings were displaced at maximum rates
of 1.1-1.2 m3/min because there was a pressure limitation to be
considered to avoid breaking down the weak formations
situated between 550 and 700 m. Figs. 3 and 4 are charts of
actual jobs performed on 245- and 168-mm casings
respectively.
Conclusions
• Ten 245-mm conductor and ten 168-mm production
casing strings were successfully cemented during the
evaluation campaign that took place in late 2004 in
Zapolyarnoe gas condensate field (Russian Arctic).
• All 10 wells were successfully brought to production
and for the evolved time period have not
demonstrated crossflows nor have they required
workover operations thus proving that the formations
isolation is adequate.
• Pre-planning and extensive dialogue with all involved
parties (Technical Institute, customer and service
provider) was of utmost importance in having this
project kicked off in the right direction; especially
since this was a new work area for the service
provider with limited past job data.
• Extensive laboratory work was performed in
obtaining the desired cement slurries parameters and
characteristics. API Standarization Committee
recommendations were implemented while testing the
slurries. This required laboratory equipment
modifications and adaptations for testing in cold
environments.
• The amount of gypsum loadings in various cement
compositions (BWOC) was significantly reduced
4 SPE 100816

(from 40 % initially down to 10 % and 8 %
respectively) thus producing a more ductile cement
capable of better withstanding the production
pressure and temperature cycles.
• Despite a lower amount of gypsum used, the
acceleration of slurries was achieved by using 10%
sodium chloride (BWOW) for mixing water. This
also helped reduce the freezing point of water and
prevent the freezing of the slurry while settling.
Although managing large quantities of NaCl in the
field was not the easiest task, a centrifugal pump was
used to help dissolve the salt in the mixing water.
• A combination of Gilsonite and Bentonite was used
to produce a low-density lead slurry while at the same
time preventing potential losses into the weak zones.
On the production 168-mm strings, potential losses
were prevented by simulating the jobs ahead of time
and lowering the displacement rates to stay below
formation fracture pressures.
References
1. Blount, E.M. and Prueger, N.J.: “The Development of a Well
Completion System for Deep Permafrost” paper SPE 3251
presented at the SPE Southwest Alaska Section Regional
Meeting, 5-7 May, 1971.
2. “Cement Blends can be tested for Arctic Environments,”
Petroleum Engineer, (February, 1977) 22.

Table 1—Excess cement volumes

Casing Size (mm) Theoretical Designed
Volume (m3) Volume (m3)
and approx.
excess (%)
245-mm Lead Slurry 8.3 37 (350)
245-mm Tail Slurry 4.4 17.3 (350)
168-mm Lead Slurry 13.2 19.4 (50)
168-mm Tail Slurry 7.5 11.1 (50)

Table 2—Centralizer distribution

Bow Type 245/295 mm Interval (m) Placement Quantity
(centr/pipe)
245 mm Bow Type At the shoe 1
245 mm Bow Type 550-450 1/1 9
245 mm Bow Type 450-surface 1/2 20

Table 3—Centralizer placement

Interval (m) Placement (centr/pipe) Quantity
168-mm Bow Type At the shoe 1
168-mm Bow Type 1465 – 992 1/1 43
168-mm Bow Type 992 – 550 1/2 19
168-mm Bow Type 550 – 110 1/5 8
168-Rigid Type 110 - surface 1/2 5
SPE100816 5

Fig. 1—Well design and parameters.

Fig. 2—Salt concentration vs. freezing temperature.

6 SPE 100816

Fig. 3—Job chart of cement job in 245-mm casing.

Fig. 4—Job chart of cement job in 168-mm casing.