By Rony P.

Nugraha, PhD
CEMENTING 101 Candidate || CEO GEOENERGIS
Friday, 22nd January 2021
 CEMENTING INTRODUCTION

Cementing is the most important non-drilling function in drilling

activities because it determines the life of the well.
Main Functions:
• Bonding the casing to the formation
• Providing support for the casing
• Preventing the movement of the formation fluids behind the casing
Additional Functions:
• Protecting the casing from corrosion
• Sealing off troublesome zones

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 SINGLE STAGE CEMENTING
Top plug Cement Head
• Basic cementing method
Bottom plug
• The most used method in drilling
Casing
• Long pumping times
• High pump pressures
Centralisers
• Can’t be repeated
Float collar

(Halliburton, 2017) Float shoe

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SINGLE STAGE CEMENTING

(Halliburton, 2017)

1 2 3 4 5

Source: Modified from EBTKE, 2020; Purba et al, 2020

 THRU-DRILL PIPE CEMENTING (STAB-IN)

• Less cement contamination

Drill pipe • Less chanelling

• Small displacement volume
Centralisers
• Pump until cement at surface
• Can be repeated
• Less job time
Stinger

Stab-in
float shoe

(Drillingcourse.com, 2016)
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 OUTSIDE CEMENTING (TOP JOB)

Macaroni • Usually used for remedy

tubing
• Maximum depth ~300 ft
• Used macaroni tubing
Casing
• High friction pressures
• Non-standard connections

Float shoe

(Drillingcourse.com, 2016)
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 API CEMENT CLASS

• Cement class G & H is used in

more than 80% oil and gas
companies in US for well
cementing.
• Cement class G is commonly
used (95%) for well cementing
around the world (SPE, 2009).

(API, 2005)

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Cement Class G & H Application

(Baker Hughes, 1995)

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 CEMENT PROPERTIES

• Viscosity
Cement slurry is a non Newtonian fluid and shear thinning which
means the slurry will get thinner as the shear rate increase. The
common range viscosity of cement is 40 – 75 funnel seconds. A low
viscosity cement will has better displacement at higher flow rate and a
high viscosity cement will has better displacement at low flow rate.

• Density Marsh funnel

The function of cement density is to control formation pressure. In
high pressure formation, the density of cement can be raised by
adding weighting material like Barite and Hematite. On the other
hand, the cement density can be decreased by adding extender like
pozzolan and bentonite to prevent the cement loss into weak
formations.

Mud Balance
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CEMENT PROPERTIES

• Thickening Time
The duration that a cement slurry remains in a fluid state and is
capable of being pumped. Thickening time is assessed under
downhole conditions using a pressurized consistometer that plots
the viscosity of a slurry over time under the anticipated temperature
and pressure conditions. The end of the thickening time is
considered to be 50 or 70 Bc for most applications.
CEMENT PROPERTIES

• Slurry Yield
The volume of cement mixture created per
sack of initial cement. The yield can vary
significantly depending upon the additives.
As an illustration slurry yields can be as little
as 0.90 ft3 per sack for densified cement to
4.70 ft3 per sack for a pozzolan, cement and
bentonite mix.
CEMENT PROPERTIES

• Fluid Loss
This cement property (API fluid loss) test is
conducted at 100 psi differential through a 325
mesh screen. The recommended API fluid loss
for a typical casing job is 100 ml to no control.
Bentonite or high molecular weight polymers
are added to the cement to reduce the fluid loss

Filter press for muds, Cement testing equipment, Controls

CEMENT PROPERTIES

• Free Water
Free water is caused by the separation of the mix water
and cement solids. Surely, all neat cement will have some
free water which can contribute to annular gas flows. For
example, in deviated and horizontal wells the separated
mix water will migrate to the high side of the hole and
cause a channel. Thus, the specification should be zero
settling and zero free water.
Recommended free water content for most vertical casing
jobs is less than one percent. Addition of fluid loss
additives or 0.1% to 0.2% bentonite will reduce the free
water content to near zero.
CEMENT PROPERTIES

• Compressive Strength
After pumping the cement slurry and place it in the annulus, drilling operations should not be started till the cement reaches an appropriate
level of compressive strength. When cement sets, it develops a compressive strength over time which is considered as a function of time,
temperature, and pressure.
Neat cements will attain the highest compressive strengths. Thus, neat cement is placed across the producing formations and behind the shoe
joint. For most oil field applications, a cement compressive strength property of 500 psi is sufficient. Filler cements are designed to have
compressive strength of 500 psi with less densities and higher yields to reduce the cost. Usually, the compressive strength will be near the
maximum within 72 hours.
Extenders and more mix water will decrease the ultimate compressive strength. At high temperatures oil & gas wells, cement can suffer from
strength retrogression which is a loss in compressive strength property with time. It is also has been reported that above 230°F there is a
pronounced decrease in compressive strength and increase in permeability of many commonly used cementing materials.
 CEMENT ADDITIVES

• Accelerators
Accelerate the hydration of chemical compound of cement which shortens the thickening
time, increase the early strength of cement, and saves time on the drilling rig (short WOC).
Usually needed for shallow and low temperature zone.
Common accelerators are calcium chloride (CaCl2) - up to 4%, sodium chloride (NaCl) – 5%,
potassium chloride (KCl), and sea water.

• Density control
Density of neat cement is usually too high for formation strength. Thus, it is desirable to
lower slurry density by adding low SG solids and increasing the water/cement ratio. The
common low SG solids are Bentonite, Pozzolan, Gilsonite and Kolite.
In case of high formation pressure, additives that are used to raise the slurry density are
Hematite (Fe2O3), Barite (BaSO4), and sand.

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CEMENT ADDITIVES

• Retarders
Neat cement slurries set quickly at a BHT greater than 110oF. A retarder
is an additive used to increase the thickening time of cements and to
extend the pumping time of cements. It is necessary for deeper wells
or in high temperature environment. The common retarders are
CMHEC (Carboxymethyl Hydroxyethyl Cellulose) – effective to temp. up
to 450oF, Calcium Lignosulfonate – in low concentration, NaCl – at high
concentration and Borax.
CEMENT ADDITIVES

• Fluid loss reducers

This additives are used to avoid cement dehydration and premature
setting. Organic polymers are the most common fluid loss additive.

• Dispersants/Friction reducers
High slurry viscosity will increase the annular frictional which lead to
high pump pressure and potentially crack the formation. Dispersants
used to lower the yield point of the slurry and the typical friction
reducers are organic acids, lignosulfonate, alkyl aryl sulfonate,
polyphosphate, and salt.
 BASIC CEMENTING CALCULATION
• Density, unit in lb/gal or ppg
Weight of a unit volume of any material. For instance, the weight of a gallon of water is 8.33 lb, so the density of water is 8.33 lb/gal.
• Specific gravity (SG), dimesionless unit
The weight of a volume substance divided by the weight of the same volume substance taken as a standard (water 8.33 lb/gal).
SG = density of substance / density of standard substance
• Slurry yield, unit ft3/sk
The yield is the volume of cement mixture created per sack of initial cement. Convert the yield from gal to ft3 by dividing the volume
value by 7.48052.
1 ft3 = 7.48052 gal
• Absolute volume, unit gal/lb
The actual volume occupied by the material (the bulk volume includes the open spaces between the cement particles). For example,
one sack (94 lbs) of cement has a bulk volume of 1 ft3, but if all the open spaces between the particles were removed, the absolute
volume would be 0.478 ft3.
𝑔𝑎𝑙ൗ 1
𝐴𝑉 𝑙𝑏 = 𝑙𝑏
8.33 𝑥 𝑆𝐺 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑔𝑎𝑙

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 EXAMPLE

1. Calculate the specific gravity of a 10 ppg NaCl brine.

2. Calculate the absolute volume (gal/lb) and the density of slurry below:
A. 10 lbs of water and 4 lb of sand
B. ½ sack of cement (94lbs/sk), ½ sack of fly ash (74 lbs/sk) and 37.5 lbs of water
3. Calculate the water required (gal/sk) and slurry yield (ft3/sk) for cement
class G with 2% Gel at 15 ppg

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PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CEMENT ADDITIVES

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 ANSWER

1. Calculate the specific gravity of a 10 ppg NaCl brine.

SG brine = 10 ppg/ 8.33 ppg = 1.2

2. Calculate the absolute volume (gal/lb) and the density of slurry below:
A. 10 lbs of water and 4 lb of sand
Material Weight (lb) AV (gal/lb) Vol (gal)
Water 10 x 0.120048 = 1.20048
Sand 4 x 0.0456456 = 0.182583
Total 14 1.383063

Slurry density = 14/1.383063 = 10.12 ppg

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ANSWER (NO 2B)

2. Calculate the absolute volume (gal/lb) and the density of slurry below:
B. ½ sack of cement (94lbs/sk), ½ sack of fly ash (74 lbs/sk) and 37.5 lbs of water
Material Weight (lb) AV (gal/lb) Vol (gal)
Cement 47 x 0.0382319 = 1.796897
Fly ash 37 x 0.0488 = 1.8056
Water 37.5 x 0.120048 = 4.501801
Total 121.5 8.104298

Slurry density = 121.5/8.104298 = 15 ppg

ANSWER (NO 3)

3. Calculate the water required (gal/sk) and slurry yield (ft3/sk) for cement class
G with 2% Gel at 15 ppg
Material Weight (lb) AV (gal/lb) Vol (gal)
Cement 94 x 0.0382319 = 3.593794
Bentonite 1.2 x 0.0453011 = 0.054361
Water Z x 0.120048 = 0.12Z

Total 95.2 + Z 3.648155+0.12Z

95.2+Z = 15(3.648155+0.12Z) → 1.8Z – Z = 95.2 – 54.722325 → Z = 50.6 lbs

Water required = 50.6 lbs x 0.12 = 6.072 gal/sk
Slurry yield = (3.648155 gal/sk + 6.072 gal/sk)/7.48052 = 1.3 ft3/sk
 QUESTION
Well information Cementing program:
• Lead slurry (annulus between two casing):
• 60% Class G with 40% fly ash and 2% CaCl2 at 13.5
ppg
• Tail slurry (annulus between formation and casing:
• Class G (25% excess) neat with 2% Gel and 2%
13-3/8” (ID 12.615 in) at
CaCl2 at 15.8 ppg
1700 ft
Calculate:
• Total sack of cement
• Total sack of CaCl2
12-1/4” OH until(ID 8.921 • Total sack of Bentonite
in 5000 ft • Total volume of water required (bbls)

9-5/8” (ID 8.921 in) at

5000 ft

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 Thank You
Any Question?
@rony.prianto.nugraha

Rony P. Nugraha

rony@geoenergis.com

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