SAUDI ARAMCO WORKOVER MANUAL

Drilling Technical Department September 2013

CHAPTER 2 WORKOVER PRACTICES

SECTION B CASING
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CASING

1.0 CASING DESIGN FACTORS Back

2.0 CASING INSPECTION

2.1 Gas, Deep & Exploration Wells
2.2 Development Wells (Oil Producer and/or Injector)

3.0 SAUDI ARAMCO CASING AND TUBING DATA

SAUDI ARAMCO WORKOVER MANUAL
Drilling Technical Department September 2013

CHAPTER 2 WORKOVER PRACTICES

SECTION B CASING
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CASING
1.0 CASING DESIGN FACTORS

• Tension: Each joint of casing will be in tension from weight of casing below it.
The tension will increase from bottom to the top.

• Burst: Casings must be able to withstand internal pressure. Internal pressure will
come from downhole formation pressures, hydrostatic pressures and pressures
test. If gas enters into the well bore, migrate to surface with the well shut in,
develop high pressure that will be added to the hydrostatic pressure. This can
create extremely high pressure and it must be considered for production casing
design.

• Collapse: The opposite of internal pressure is where the pressure outside of the
casing is higher than the pressure from the fluids inside the casing. Cemented
casing is much harder to collapse (requires much higher pressure) than
uncemented casing.
- Salt formations act like hydraulic fluid and can induce very high
collapsible pressures on a string of casing. Two factors are important:
a) Casing has to be very strong (thick wall or high strength steel)
b) Complete cement sheath around casing across salt formation

• Driving forces: Conductor casings are sometimes hammered in place to allow the
well to be spudded with a closed circulating system. Conductor pipe is thick-
walled, the connections must be selected to be suitable to transmit the heavy
shock loads of driving.

• Buckling: Is stability failure of a long casing string. It is only a potential problem

when a long string of casing is uncemented in a vertical well and when the
temperature or internal pressure will increase significantly after the cement has
hardened. If the casing is cemented 100% then it won’t buckle.

• Temperature: Steel loss strength as a temperature increase. In high deep, hot

well, loss of strength can be significant: e.g., at 200ºC, steel will have lost 19% of
its strength. This has to be considered when designing casing string for high
temperature wells.

• Combined axial and internal forces or biaxial effect: If a steel tube is in tension, it
has an increased resistance to burst and a decreased resistance to collapse. If a
steel tube is in compression it has decreased resistance to burst and increased
resistance to collapse. API tables include information on biaxial effects.
• Corrosion: Due to H₂S or CO₂. If H₂S, CO₂ or water are all present, then
corrosion resistance design will study to determine the most cost effective

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SAUDI ARAMCO WORKOVER MANUAL
Drilling Technical Department September 2013

CHAPTER 2 WORKOVER PRACTICES

SECTION B CASING
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

solution. H₂S is a particular problem for designing casings. The problem gets
worse with higher strength steels at lower temperature, on top of casing strings.

• Connections: Most failure of casing occurs at the connection. In a curve section

of wellbore, high tension combined with bending and internal forces, places great
strength requirements on the connection threads.

Exact values of loading are difficult to predict throughout the life of the well. For
example, if mud of 75 pcf is on the outside of the casing during the running of the
casing, this value cannot be expected to remain constant for the entire life of the
well. The mud will become deteriorated with time and will reduce this value to
perhaps a saltwater value of 64 pcf. Therefore, calculations of burst values
assuming a column of mud at 75 pcf are not realistic throughout the life of the well.
If the initial casing design is marginal, then over a period of time a tubing leak may
result in casing burst.

Since casing design is not an exact technique and because of the uncertainties in
determining the actual loading as well as the deterioration of the casing itself due
to corrosion and wear, a safety factor is used to allow for such uncertainties in the
casing design and to ensure that the rated performance of the casing is always
greater than any expected loading. In other words the casing strength is always
down rated by a chosen design factor value.

The minimum casing design factors for Saudi Aramco are as follows:

Collapse: 1.125
Tension: 1.6
Burst: 1.1

The design factor is the ratio of the rated casing strength/resistance to the
magnitude of the applied force/pressure.

Notes:
• The biaxial effect to tension on casing collapse should be calculated in
addition to using these design factors.
• The biaxial effect of tension on casing burst is not required as this is an
additional safety factor.
• The minimum design factor for tension assumes buoyancy and applies to
the weakest point (pipe body or joint strength).
• Other assumptions (such as the extent of casing evacuation, H 2 S service
and maximum SICP) will vary with the well type and casing string.

2.0 CASING INSPECTION

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SAUDI ARAMCO WORKOVER MANUAL
Drilling Technical Department September 2013

CHAPTER 2 WORKOVER PRACTICES

SECTION B CASING
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.1 GAS, Deep & Exploration Wells

The 36”, 30” and 24” casing will be externally coated with FBE (fusion
bonded epoxy). The 18⅝” casing will be externally coated FBE from the shoe
to the DV. The 13⅜” casing will be externally coated FBE from 8500’ to the
upper DV.

The rig crew should inspect all casing and tubing after shipment as follows:

• Clean and visually inspect all threads. Use casing dope for
thread compound.
• Run API full length drift.
• Visually inspect for overall damage.

The contracted inspection company should inspect all casing and tubing (13-
3/8” and smaller) before shipment to the rig as follows:

• Clean and inspect all threads.

• Run API full length drift.
• Visually inspect for overall damage.
• Electromagnetic inspection (4 functions); Longitudinal, Traverse,
Wall Thickness, Grade Verification

2.2 Development Wells (Oil Producer and/or Injector)

Prior to running the 13⅜” casing and subsequent strings, insure that the
following has been conducted.

• Run full-length API drift.

• Clean and visually inspect threads.
• Visually inspect tubes for damage.
• Use casing dope for thread compound.

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SAUDI ARAMCO WORKOVER MANUAL
Drilling Technical Department September 2013

CHAPTER 2 WORKOVER PRACTICES

SECTION B CASING
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.0 SAUDI ARAMCO CASING AND TUBING DATA

Refer to Chapter 11 Appendix 6.0 for casing and tubing data

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