Casing Design - Juan Tovar

MSc Drilling & Well Engineering
Well Design, Drilling & Completions

Casing Design
©Univation
Casing Design
CONTENTS
Introduction
Seat selection
Temperature profiles
Casing design (collapse, burst, tensile, tri-axial
Solids expandables
©Univation
Casing Design
INTRODUCTION...
Casing performs the following important functions:
• It ensures a safe and protected path through the hole
• It prevents contamination of fresh water horizons and isolates troublesome

formations
• It isolates the producing horizons and keeps out undesired fluids. It

confines produced fluid to the well bore.
• It supports well-head equipment.
• It provides a means of anchoring the well control equipment during drilling
• It isolates hole-profile changes.
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Casing Design
The three key concerns in casing design are:
Safety
Because the failure of one single casing joint can lead to loss of life.
Control
Because the failure of one single casing joint can lead to the total loss of a well.
Cost
Because casing costs alone may represent about one quarter to one third of the
total cost of a deep, high-pressure well.
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Casing Design
SEAT SELECTION
Pore &
Fracture press
criteria
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Casing Design
TEMPERATURE PROFILES
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Casing Design
TEMPERATURE PROFILES(Cont’d)
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Casing Design
TYPES OF CASINGS
The name given to this type of casing string indicates the type of drilling operation
in which it is used
• Stove pipe - Onshore drilling.

• Marine conductor - Offshore drilling with surface BOPs.
• Foundation pile - Offshore drilling with subsea BOPs (requires
marine riser to guide tools into the hole).
The purposes of stove pipe, marine conductor or foundation pile casing are:
• Protect incompetent surface soils from erosion by drilling fluid
• To guide the drill string and subsequent casing into the hole.
• To install a full mud circulation system where the formation is sufficiently stable.
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Casing Design
CONDUCTOR STRING...
The purposes of conductor casing are:
• To prevent poorly-consolidated formations from sloughing into the hole

• To provide a full mud circulation system
• To protect fresh water sands from possible contamination by the drilling mud
• To provide protection against shallow hydrocarbons
• To allow for the attachment of BOP's or diverters.
Compressional loads are the most critical design parameters for conductor
casing because the conductor casing must support the weight of all subsequent
casing strings and the well head and tubing.
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Casing Design
CONDUCTOR STRING TYPES
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Casing Design
SURFACE STRING...
The functions of the surface string are as follows:
• To provide full blow-out protection during deeper drilling

• To isolate troublesome formations, like loss zones, shallow hydrocarbons, or
water sands
• To isolate the build-up sections of deviated wells.
Selection / setting
• Occasionally well head and subsequent casing strings are hung off the
surface string instead of the conductor string
• The surface string is usually cemented up to the shoe of the conductor string
and in some cases to the surface
• Surface casing is used on all wells of appreciable depth. It is sometimes

required by law to protect fresh-water supplies.
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Casing Design
INTERMEDIATE STRING...
The functions of the intermediate string are as follows:
• To ensure adequate blow-out protection for drilling deeper than the surface
string caters for
• To isolate deep-hole profile changes or troublesome formations if they are

present.
Selection / setting
• It is essential when there is a chance of encountering an over-pressurised

formation or when there is a chance of severe losses in the open-hole section.
• The string is nearly always set in the transition zone above or below significant
over-pressures, and in any potential cap rock below a severe loss zone.
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Casing Design
PRODUCTION STRING
The functions of the production string are as follows:
• To isolate the productive intervals.

• To facilitate proper reservoir control
• To prevent the influx of undesired fluids.
Selection / setting
• The size of the production casing is based the method selected for completion
and production
• The production string is set above, part-way through or completely through the
lower-most pay zone.
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Casing Design
LINERS...
The functions of drilling liners are as follows:
• In case of rig or well-head limitations on tensional loads (for example where

the rig capacity is not great enough for a deep, heavy string) .
• To minimise the length of reduced diameter hole and possible adverse effects
on drill string hydraulics and subsequent well-production rates.
The purposes of production liners are as follows:
• To achieve a production casing at low cost

• To minimise the length of reduced diameter flow conduit and the consequent
adverse effect upon well potential.
• To achieve reduced tensional loads, in deep wells, where there are rig or well-
• head limitations on tensional loads.
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Casing Design
LINERS(Cont’d)
Selection / setting
• Liners are hung inside the previous casing shoe, the distance inside must be
long enough for a good seal of cement. It can be as much as 150 m ( 500 ft)
• Liners are usually cemented over their entire length to ensure a seal with the
previous casing string
• Can be used for sealing off troublesome zones avoiding contamination of the
drilling fluid, stuck pipe, excessive hole enlargement, fishing hazards and
expensive mud losses.
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Casing Design
FINAL CASING SELECTION...
• The final selection of casing (i.e. the weight and grade) is based on an
assessment of the loadings to which a casing may be subjected.
• A complete stress analysis is normally carried out using software tools
• Stress analysis can be carried out using current loading rules, this is mostly
done in areas where conditions are well known (I.e. development projects,
shallow…)
• In order to allow for factors not directly evaluated or improperly presented, the
API performance data is usually down-rated by a design factor before
comparison with these notional maximum loadings.
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Casing Design
FINAL CASING SELECTION(Cont’d)
There are four primary factors to be considered in the final selection of casing:
• COLLAPSE DESIGN
• BURST DESIGN
• TENSION DESIGN
• TRI-AXIAL DESIGN
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Casing Design
TYPES OF LOADING
From the design point of view we have:
• INSTALLATION LOADS
Running of the casing
During cementing
During pressure testing the casing
• LIFE SERVICE LOADS

Production(Gas lift)
Injection
Stimulation
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Casing Design
COLLAPSE...
Collapse is pipe failure as it is being subjected to a pressure differential such that

a high pressure on the outside is not balanced by an adequate pressure on the
inside and can be caused by any of the following:
• Reduction in internal fluid pressure

• Increase in external fluid pressure
• Load imposed by movement of formation rock
Design criteria
• Determine the collapse loads that the casing must withstand during its
installation and during its service life
• Assume that the casing is completely evacuated inside and that the external
pressure on the casing is that due to a column of mud with density equal to
that in which casing is to be run.
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Casing Design
COLLAPSE FAILURE MODES (OD/t)
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Casing Design
• Select casing to withstand pressure using API minimum performance properties
• Internal load = zero, i.e. zero gauge pressure and DF = 1.0
• External load = P x L
where
L = depth.
P = mud density.
• Use lighter casing and lower grades where possible
• It may be possible to select a lighter casing down to the depth where its collapse
load is equal to its collapse strength
• Beyond that depth a heavier or higher grade casing would be selected
• The second type of casing may also have a depth limit and so the process is
continued down to the setting depth.
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Casing Design
COLLAPSE LOADING CONDITIONS – SERVICE LIFE
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Casing Design
BURST…
Burst is pipe failure due to it being subjected to a pressure differential such that a
high pressure on the inside is not balanced by an adequate pressure on the
outside.
Critical areas for burst loading are:
• At the top of the intermediate string where there is no external fluid pressure
back-up to offset an increase in internal pressure
• At the casing shoe where fractures of the formation can lead to wash outs or an
internal blow-out.
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Casing Design
Design criteria
• Assume that the casing is completely filled with gas and that the gas pressure at
the casing shoe is equal to the formation breakdown pressure (FBP).
• Calculate the pressure inside the casing at surface. (This will be FBP minus the
static pressure of the gas column.)
• Calculate the external fluid pressure on the outside of the casing. (This will be
due to a column of mud with a mud gradient the same as that in which the casing
is to be run.)
• Calculate the difference between external and internal loadings. (This represents
the possible burst loads over the length of casing.)
• Select the casing to withstand differential pressure using API minimum

performance properties and DF = 1.1.
©Univation
Casing Design
TENSION…
The total tensional load at any time is due to the sum of four forces. These are as
follows:
1. The own weight of the casing

2. Buoyancy
3. The bending force (Fb).
• Either a. the drag force (Fdt) due to deviation and hole conditions or b. the
shock load (FD), whichever is the greater.
• The effect of 1, 2 and 3 is called the static load, i.e. the load when the casing is
hanging motionless
• The effect of all four forces is called the installation loads, and includes the
additional forces that are experienced by the casing when it is being moved.
©Univation
Casing Design
Design Criteria
The nature and calculation of each of these four forces is as follows:
Own Weight
At the top of the casing, the force in the casing is equal to the weight of the
casing below. Consider a string of casing of length L suspended in air. At some
point x below the top of the casing, the force in the casing in air (Fwa) is given
by the term:
Fwa at x = A.Ps.g.(L - x)
Where
A = cross-sectional area of the string

Ps = steel density
g = gravitational constant (9.81 m/s2)(32.17ft/s2)
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Casing Design
Design Criteria(Cont’d)
Buoyancy
The buoyant force equals the weight of mud displaced by the casing steel. The
buoyant force Fbu is given by the expression
Fbu = A·Pm·g·L
In general, the force on the casing in mud is given by the expression
Fwm = Fwa - Fbu where Fwm = A·Ps·g·(L - x) - A·Pm·g·L or
Fwm = A·Ps·g·L·(1 - Pm/Ps) - A·Ps.g·x
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Casing Design
Buoyancy
Where
(1 - Pm/Ps) buoyancy factor, Kb,

A·Ps = wn the nominal casing weight
wn·L·g = Fwa (total weight in air).
So at any depth x, the equation may be written more specifically
at depth x = Fwa·Rb - Fwa above x
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Casing Design
Bending Force (Fb)
Bending of the pipe through any curved portion of the hole will induce bending
stresses in the pipe walls. The effective tension due to bending is given by
Fb = + 22·58 x f·do·wn N Fb = + 63 x f·do·wn lbs
Where
do outside diameter (mm or inch)

f dogleg severity (deg/10 m or '/100 ft)
wn nominal unit weight (N/m or lbs/ft).
Bending forces should be calculated using the maximum dogleg severity. If it is

not known, the following limits should be assumed:
In "vertical" holes 0.66deg/10 m (2deg/100 ft) In
build-up and tangent sections 1.64deg/10 m (5deg/100 ft)
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Casing Design
Bending Force (Fb)
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Casing Design
Drag Force (Fdt) And The Shock Load (Fd)
Drag forces are estimated as a function of hole conditions and the mechanical
configuration of the hole. Drag forces when pulling or picking up can be
calculated using the equation:
Fdt = WBt x {( eµcº - 1 ) x cos º + eµcº x µt x sin º } + FdH
Where
Fdt drag force (N or lbs)

WBt buoyant weight of the tangent section (N or lbs)
µc coefficient of friction in the curved section of hole
µt coefficient of friction in the tangent section of hole
º angle of hole deviation with respect to the vertical (radians)
FdH drag arising from hole conditions (N or lbs).
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Casing Design
WBt = Zt.wn – (PM/Ps) .wn

cos º
Where
Zt vertical length of tangent section (m or ft)

wn nominal unit weight (N/m or lbs/ft).
• Fdg cannot be calculated. It can only be estimated using drilling experience in

an area where a certain drag is consistently encountered when pulling pipe
through a certain section.
• In the absence of any specific data on this term assume Fdg = 0.
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Casing Design
Shock loads occur when the pipe is loaded suddenly. For example, it occurs
when:
• The spider accidentally closes.

• The slips are "kicked in" on moving pipe, - the pipe hits a bridge.
• The pipe jumps suddenly off a ledge.
When any of these events occur the shock load (FD) should be estimated as
FD = 9600 x wn N (SI units) or FD = 3200 x wn lbs (API units)
Where wn = nominal unit weight of casing (N/m or lbs/ft) .
Note : The constant in the formula takes account of an assumed average running
speed of 13 seconds per joint.
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Casing Design
TRI-AXIAL ANALYSIS
Axial
Radial
Tangential
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Casing Design
TRI-AXIAL ANALYSIS
Uses Hencky-Von Mises Theory
sVME = {0.5 x [(sa - st)2 + (st - sr)2 + (sr - sa)2 ]}1/2
For
Pore pressures > 12000 psi

Temperatures > 250 F
H S service
Simultaneous axial compression and burst loading
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Casing Design
SOLIDS EXPANDABLES
• Repair existing casing strings
• Suitable for cladding
• Operationally simple
• Suitable for zonal isolation (LC or swelling shales)
• Reduced mechanical properties after expansion
©Univation
Casing Design
SOLIDS EXPANDABLES - Expansion
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Casing Design - Juan Tovar

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MSc Drilling & Well Engineering

Well Design, Drilling & Completions

Casing design (collapse, burst, tensile, tri-axial

Casing performs the following important functions:

• It ensures a safe and protected path through the hole

• It prevents contamination of fresh water horizons and isolates troublesome

• It isolates the producing horizons and keeps out undesired fluids. It

• It supports well-head equipment.

• It provides a means of anchoring the well control equipment during drilling

• It isolates hole-profile changes.

The three key concerns in casing design are:

• Stove pipe - Onshore drilling.

• Protect incompetent surface soils from erosion by drilling fluid

The purposes of conductor casing are:

• To prevent poorly-consolidated formations from sloughing into the hole

CONDUCTOR STRING TYPES

The functions of the surface string are as follows:

• To provide full blow-out protection during deeper drilling

• Surface casing is used on all wells of appreciable depth. It is sometimes

The functions of the intermediate string are as follows:

• To isolate deep-hole profile changes or troublesome formations if they are

• It is essential when there is a chance of encountering an over-pressurised

The functions of the production string are as follows:

• To isolate the productive intervals.

The functions of drilling liners are as follows:

• In case of rig or well-head limitations on tensional loads (for example where

The purposes of production liners are as follows:

• To achieve a production casing at low cost

FINAL CASING SELECTION...

• A complete stress analysis is normally carried out using software tools

FINAL CASING SELECTION(Cont’d)

From the design point of view we have:

• LIFE SERVICE LOADS

Collapse is pipe failure as it is being subjected to a pressure differential such that

• Reduction in internal fluid pressure

COLLAPSE FAILURE MODES (OD/t)

• Select casing to withstand pressure using API minimum performance properties

• Internal load = zero, i.e. zero gauge pressure and DF = 1.0

• Use lighter casing and lower grades where possible

• Beyond that depth a heavier or higher grade casing would be selected

COLLAPSE LOADING CONDITIONS – SERVICE LIFE

Critical areas for burst loading are:

• Select the casing to withstand differential pressure using API minimum

1. The own weight of the casing

The nature and calculation of each of these four forces is as follows:

A = cross-sectional area of the string

In general, the force on the casing in mud is given by the expression

Fwm = Fwa - Fbu where Fwm = A·Ps·g·(L - x) - A·Pm·g·L or

Fwm = A·Ps·g·L·(1 - Pm/Ps) - A·Ps.g·x

(1 - Pm/Ps) buoyancy factor, Kb,

So at any depth x, the equation may be written more specifically

at depth x = Fwa·Rb - Fwa above x

Bending Force (Fb)

Fb = + 22·58 x f·do·wn N Fb = + 63 x f·do·wn lbs

do outside diameter (mm or inch)

Bending forces should be calculated using the maximum dogleg severity. If it is

Bending Force (Fb)

Drag Force (Fdt) And The Shock Load (Fd)

Fdt = WBt x {( eµcº - 1 ) x cos º + eµcº x µt x sin º } + FdH

Fdt drag force (N or lbs)

Drag Force (Fdt) And The Shock Load (Fd)

WBt = Zt.wn – (PM/Ps) .wn

Zt vertical length of tangent section (m or ft)

• Fdg cannot be calculated. It can only be estimated using drilling experience in