7133EXQ

Drilling Engineering
Cementing
Dr Enobong Bassey
Cementing - Outline

 Oilwell Cements
 Properties
 Additives
 Primary Cementing
 Squeeze Cementing
 Evaluation
Cementing

• Cementing is the process of mixing a slurry of

cement and water, and pumping it down
through casing to critical points in the annulus
around the casing or in the open hole below the
casing string.
• Rather than simply being the last step during
drilling operations, it is economically more
beneficial to view cementing as the first step in
completion operations.
 Cementing

• Casing is cemented
in the annulus,
either in just the
lower part or
sometimes in the
complete annulus.

• The cement sheath

forms an extremely
strong, nearly
impermeable seal
from a thin slurry.
(SPE 64733)
Cementing - General Purposes

 Zone isolation and segregation

 Corrosion control
 Formation stability and pipe strength improvement
Cementing - General Functions

Cementing operations may be undertaken to:

 Seal the annulus after a casing string has been run to
prevent fluid migration in the annulus
 Seal a lost circulation zone
 Support casing strings and protect casing from corrosive
fluids
 Set a plug in an existing well from which to push off with
directional tools
 Plug a well (or a portion of a well) so that it may be
abandoned
Cement Components &
Characteristics
Portland cement has four principal components:
Compound
Alite or Tricalcium Silicate
(3CaO.SiO2 or C3S; about 70%)
Belite or Dicalcium Silicate
(2CaO.SiO2 or C2S; ≤ 20%)
Tricalcium Aluminate
(3CaO.AI2O3 or C3A)
Tetracalcium Aluminoferrite
(4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3 or C4AF)
Characteristics
(i) Major Component and produces most of the strength
(ii) Responsible for early strength development.
i) Hydrates slowly.
ii) Promotes small gradual grain in strength over an
extended period of time.
(i) Promotes rapid hydration
(ii) Affects the initial setting and thickening time of the
cement.
(iii) Makes the cement susceptible to sulfate attack.
(i) Promotes low – heat hydration.
Manufacture of Portland Cement
Classification of Cements

 American Petroleum Institute (API) Classification

 Non API Classification
API Classes (A, B, C)

 Class A
• Depth: surface – 6,000 ft (1,830 m)
• No special properties

 Class B
• Depth: surface – 6,000 ft (1,830 m)
• Moderate to high sulphate resistance

 Class C
• Depth: surface – 6,000 ft (1,830 m)
• High early strength because it has high C3S
API Classes (D, E, F)

Known as retarded cements; and more expensive than

other types.
 Class D
• Depth: 6,000 ft – 10,000 ft (1,830 m – 3,050 m)
• High pressure and temperature

 Class E
• Depth: 10,000 ft – 14,000 ft (3,050 m – 4,270 m)
• High pressure and temperature

 Class F
• Depth: 10,000 ft – 16,000 ft
• Extremely high pressure and temperature
API Classes (G, H, J)

Classes G and H are more compatible with most additives.

 Class G
• Depth: surface – 8,000 ft (2,440 m), as a basic cement
• Moderate and high sulphate resistance
• Moderately high pressure and temperature

 Class H
• Depth: surface – 8,000 ft (2,440 m) as a basic cement
• Can be used with accelerators and retarders for other specifications
(depth and temperature)

 Class J
• Depth: 12,000 – 16,000 ft (3,660 m – 4,880 m)
• Extremely high pressure and temperature
• Can be used with accelerators and retarders for other specifications
(depth and temperature)
Non API Classification

 Pozmix Cement
• Portland Cement mix with Pozzolan (volcanic ash) and 2%
bentonite
• Lightweight, thus usually used for shallow well

 Gypsum
• Portland Cement mix with gypsum
• High early strength

 Diesel Oil
• Cement Classes (A, B, G, H) mix with diesel oil and a
surfactant
• Unlimited setting time
• Used to seal off the water production zone
Oil Well Cement

Class G:

 Portland Class G (API rating) oil well

cement forms the base of almost all oil
well cements.
Properties of Cement

 Compressive strength
• Waiting on cement (WOC)
• A good compressive strength to support the casing is
considered to be 500 psi; 2,000 psi is considered the
minimum for cement that will be perforated.

 Thickening time (pumpability): 2-3 hours

• Well temperature
• Mixing
• Pumping
• Displacement
• Additives
Properties of Cement

 Density (slurry densities vary between 11-18.5ppg)

• Typical API Class G cement mixtures by weight (to
mix 1 (US) gal of slurry):
Properties of Cement

 Density ranges for various types of cement slurries:

Properties of Cement

 Water loss
• Squeeze jobs need low water loss

 Corrosion resistance
• Formation water contain corrosive elements such
as (e.g., sodium sulphate) that may cause cement
deterioration

 Permeability
• Usually permeability of cement is less than 0.1 mD
 Properties of Cement

Rheology of concrete indicate that it is reasonable to approximate the concrete

flow behaviour using a Bingham model. Shear yield stress (y-axis intercept), τo,
indirectly measures inter-particle friction, while the viscosity µ (slope of the line)
depends on the rheology of the paste and the volume fraction of aggregates.

𝜏 = 𝜏0 + 𝜇. 𝛾

Bingham model Other rheological models

Properties of Cement
 Cement slurry rheology affect downhole pressures while pumping cement
around the casing and up the annulus.
 It will also affect mud displacement, mixability, pumpability, and free fall of
the slurry down the casing.
 Cement slurry rheology is very complex and depends on factors, such as the
following:
• Ratio of solids (cement powder, bentonite, etc.) to water.
• Sizes and shapes of the solids present in the slurry.
• How much energy was used to mix the slurry (affects the distribution of particles
and the speed of chemical reactions).
• Flow regime (laminar, turbulent, transitional).
• Time— the cement rheology continuously changes as chemical reactions take
place.
• Temperature and pressure — the rheology changes as the cement moves down
the well.
Slurry Design: Additives

Additives are used to modify the properties of Portland cement

slurries to meet the requirements of a particular application in
oilfield well-cementing.
E.g.,
 Accelerators
• Reduce WOC time
• CaCl2
• NaCl
• Sea water

 Retarders
• Increase thickening time
• Calcium lignosulphonate
• Saturated salt solution
Slurry Design: Additives

 Light weight additives (or extenders): Materials

used to reduce the weight of the slurry.
• Bentonite
• Pozzolan

 Heavy weight additives: Materials used to

increase the weight of the slurry.
• Barite (barium sulphate)
• Iron ore (hematite)
Slurry Design: Additives

 Fluid loss
• Organic polymers
• Carboxy methyl hydroxy ethyl cellulose (CMHEC)

 Friction Reducers (Reducing viscosity of the slurry)

• Polymers
• Salt
• Calcium lingnosulphonate

 Mud Contaminates
• Diesel oil
• NaOH
 Cementing
Additives & Benefits
 Equipment

 Cement pumping units

usually are powered by
either internal-combustion
engines or electric motors.

(© 2010 Schlumberger)
Equipment

 Surface Equipment
• Mixing and pumping
• Cement head

 Down-hole (or Subsurface) Equipment

• Guide shoe ( at the bottom of the first joint casing)
• Float collar ( 1 or 2 joints above the guide shoe)
• Centralisers (improve displacement)
• Scratchers (remove mud cake)
Surface and Subsurface Equipment
 Cement Head
 Cement head is a device fitted
to the top joint of a casing
string to hold a cement plug
before it is pumped down the
casing.
 In most operations, a bottom
plug is launched before the
spacer or cement slurry.
 The top plug is released from
the cement head after the
spacer fluid.

© 2009 Weir SPM (V.1 01/09)

Cement Plugs
 Centraliser
 Improve displacement

 Prevent different sticking

 One immediately above shoe

 One every joint on the bottom 3 joints

 One every joint in the production zone

 One every three joints elsewhere

 Float Collar

 A component installed near the

bottom of the casing string on
which cement plugs land
during the primary cementing
operation.
 It typically consists of a short
length of casing fitted with a
check valve.
Cement Mixing
Sequence
 Dry components (i.e.,
cement powder and dry
additives) are mixed at a
bulk plant and then
transported to the
wellsite.
 Liquid components (i.e.,
water and liquid
additives) are mixed at
the wellsite.
 Types of mixing:
 Jet mixing
 Reciprocal mixing
 Batch Mixing
(Oilfield Review April 1991)
Cement Mixing: Jet Mixing
Mixing Pressure: Between 150 psi and 500 psi

(Oilfield Review April 1991)

 Cement Mixing: Jet Mixer
 The mixer consists of a funnel shaped hopper, a mixing bowl, a
water supply line and an outlet for the slurry.
 As the mixwater is pumped across the lower end of the hopper
a venturi effect is created and cement powder is drawn down
into the flow of mixwater and a slurry is created.

 The slurry flows into a slurry

tub where its density is
measured.
 Cement Mixing:
Reciprocating Mixer
 The reciprocating (or
recirculating) mixer, designed
for mixing more-uniform
homogeneous slurries, is a
pressurized jet mixer with a
large tub capacity.
 The recirculating pump
provides additional shear,
and agitation paddles or jets
provide additional energy
and improve mixing.
 Cement Mixing: Batch Mixing
 Batch mixing is used to blend a cement slurry at the surface before it is
pumped into the well, especially when specified volume of cement is
required.
 The mixing tank in the batch mixer is
filled with enough water for a specified
amount of cement.
 The mixing turbine circulates the water,
as dry cement is added until the
desired slurry consistency and volume
are obtained.
 A prehydrator is used to wet the dry
cement to prevent dust problems as
the dry cement and water are blended
together by a stream of air.
Waiting On Cement (WOC)

 WOC time allows cement to cure, set and develop strength,

and avert development of small cracks and other fluid
pathways in the cement that might impair zonal isolation.
 The WOC time ranges from a few hours to several days,
depending on the difficulty and criticality of the cement job in
question.
 After the plug has been bumped, the WOC time begins, and
pressure is held (12-24h) until the cement has set.
 The valves prevent the cement to return to the casing.
 Water-to-Cement Ratio
Optimum water-to-cement ratio for a cement slurry is a compromise.
• Maximum cement strength occurs at a water-to-cement ratio of
about 2.8 gal/sack.
• This is the minimum amount of water necessary to fully hydrate and
chemically react with the cement ground to a size that represents
class G.

Excess volume:
• An excess of 30–100% of
the total is usually added
to the cement volume to
allow for washouts and
mud contamination.
Cementing Operations

 Primary Cementing
• The first cement job is called primary cementing, and its
success is absolutely critical to the success of subsequent well
control and completion operations.
• Primary cementing is the process of placing a continuous
sheath or band of cement around the pipe.

 Remedial or Squeeze Cementing

• If success of primary cementing is not ensured, repair (squeeze
cementing) must be done promptly.
Primary Cementing Technique
(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Primary Cementing Technique
Basic two-plug primary cementing operation:
 After a well interval has been drilled to the desired depth, the drillpipe is removed and a
casing string is lowered to the bottom of the borehole.
 The bottom of the casing string is usually fitted with a protective shoe, and centralisers
keep the casing centred in the wellbore.
 Chemical washes and spacer fluids are pumped down the casing interior to displace the
drilling fluid (Fig a).
 A bottom plug is inserted into the casing string, followed by a volume of cement slurry that
is sufficient to fill the annulus (Fig b).
 Continued pumping of cement slurry forces drilling fluid out of the casing interior, up the
annulus and out of the wellbore. When the bottom plug lands at the bottom of the casing
string, a membrane in the plug ruptures, opening a pathway for the cement slurry to enter
the annulus.
 After the cement slurry, a top plug is inserted, followed by a displacement fluid (Fig c).
 Pumping the displacement fluid forces the top plug downward until it lands on the bottom
plug, thereby isolating the casing interior and annulus, and filling the annulus with cement
slurry (Fig d).
Primary Cementing

 Primary cementing forms a cement sheath or band of cement

around the pipe, extending outward, without channels or
voids, to the formation face.
 The sheath provides a hydraulic seal that establishes zonal
isolation, preventing fluid communication between producing
zones in the borehole, and blocking escape of fluid to the
surface.
 The sheath also anchors and supports the casing string and
protects the steel casing against corrosion by formation fluids.
 Height of Cement Sheath

 Conductor and Surface Casing:

 The whole annulus, because of the weight of the wellhead
and BOP
 Intermediate and
Production Casing:
• Top of Cement (TOC) is
around 500 ft above
any problematic zone
 Liner:
• Usually the entire
length of the liner is
cemented (Oilfield Review Summer 2012)
Primary Cementing

 Single stage cementing

• Most common type of cementing
 Multi-stage cementing
• In longer casing string where the formations
are weak
 Inner-string cementation (full string)
 Liner cementing
Stage Cementing
 Multiple-stage cementing allow for selected intervals around the casing
string to be cemented at separate times or in stages.
 Two-stage cementing is the most common of the multiple-stage
cementing techniques, but a three-stage method can be used.
 It also can be used to reduce the potential for gas flow after cementing.
 The first stage of the cementing operation is conducted in the
conventional manner.
 After the slurry hardens, a bomb is dropped to open a side port in a
staging tool placed in the casing string.
 The second-stage cement then is pumped through this side port and
into the annulus above the set first-stage cement.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AM3ON3vN9M
Two-Stage Cementing
 To reduce hydrostatic
 Lost circulation zone or low-frac gradient
 Cement very long interval (time/volume limitation)
 Thickening time or logistics problem
 Reduce use of expensive slurries due to special well problem
 Salt zone
 Gas zone
 Economy
 Incomplete fill-up
 Ensure part of annulus is free of cement
 Plug Cementing

 Cement plugs can be set in open hole or in casing.

 Plugs are set to prevent fluid communication

between an abandoned lower portion of the well
and the upper part of the well.

 Plugs also are set to provide a seat for directional

drilling tools used to sidetrack the well.

 Cement plugs are set by running drillpipe or tubing

into the well and pumping cement down the tubing
and into the well. The tubing is then withdrawn,
leaving behind a column of cement.
Squeeze (or Remedial)
Cementing
 Remedial cementing requires as much technical,
engineering, and operational experience as
primary cementing, but is often done when
wellbore conditions are unknown or out of control,
and when wasted rig time and escalating costs
force poor decisions and high risk.
 Squeeze cementing is a “correction” process that
is usually only necessary to correct a problem in
the wellbore.
Squeeze (or Remedial)
Cementing
 Before using a squeeze application, a series of decisions must be
made to determine:
• if a problem exists,
• the magnitude of the problem,
• if squeeze cementing will correct it,
• the risk factors present, and
• if economics will support it.
 Most squeeze applications are unnecessary because they result
from poor primary cement-job evaluations or poor job diagnostics.
• A repair step, but it is also used to seal off
— Depleted zones
— Unwanted fluid production
• Shut off fluid loss
• To repair leaks
 Squeeze Cementing

 Squeeze cementing consists

of forcing a cement slurry
into an area of the well or
formation by means of
applied hydraulic pressure.
 The purpose of squeeze
cementing is to form a
hydraulic seal between the
wellbore and the zone
squeezed.
Squeeze Cementing
– Main Uses
1) To control high GOR
2) To control excessive water
3) To repair casing leaks
4) To seal off lost circulation zone
5) To stop fluid migration from a separate zone
6) To isolate zones
7) To repair the cement job
8) Abandonment squeezes
Cement Evaluation
Evaluation of Cement Job

Aim: To ensure that the cementing objectives have

been accomplished.

 Check the height of cement (TOC)

 Check the cement seal quality

 Etc.
Evaluation of Cement Job
Evaluation Process: Pressure-test cemented casing to the
maximum pressure anticipated in subsequent drilling operations.

 The top of the cement (TOC) can be located by making a

temperature survey of the well from 6 to 10 hours after
completing the cement displacement.
• When cement is present behind the pipe, heat liberated due to the
exothermic hydration reaction will cause an increase in temperature.

 In addition, acoustic logging tools are available for evaluating

the bond between the cement and the pipe.
• When the cement is not bonded acoustically to both the pipe and the
formation, a strong early sound reflection will be received by the
acoustic logging device, indicating sound travel primarily through the
casing.
 Cement
Evaluation

Quality of the Cement:

Acoustic sonic and ultrasonic cement
evaluation tools measure the bond
between the casing and the cement
placed in the wellbore annulus
between the casing and wellbore.
 Cement Evaluation
 Cement bond logs (CBL): The CBL log provides a measure of the cement to casing bond. The
principle of measurement is to measure the transit time and attenuation of an acoustic wave after
propagation through the borehole fluid and the casing wall. The absolute reading is a function of
casing size and thickness, cement bond quality, wellbore fluid, tool type and tool centering. Most of
parameters will be constant so that cement bond quality can be directly related to the amplitude
measured.

 Variable Density Log (VDL): The VDL gives a graphical representation of the actual sonic wave
form recorded at 5 ft transmitter/receiver spacing. This trace should be used to better differentiate
between casing and formation arrivals. The VDL is generally used to evaluate the cement to
formation bond and helps to detect the presence of channels and gas intrusion. A poor cement
bond is noted by strong parallel black and white vertical striped.

 Cement Evaluation Tool (CET): The CET induces casing resonance by transmitting a broad
band pulse (270 Hz to 650 kHz) normal to the casing wall. The energy returned to the transducers
from the induced casing resonance is related to the acoustic impedances of the materials in
contact with the inner and outer surfaces of the casing. The compressive strength of the cement in
the annulus can then be estimated.
References

1. Applied Drilling Engineering – Adam T. Bourgoyne, Millheim, K.K. & Chenevert, M.E –
SPE Textbook, Volume 2
2. SPE 64733: Why Oilwells Leak: Cement Behavior and Long-Term Consequences by
Maurice B. Dusseault, Malcolm N. Gray and Pawel A. Nawrocki
3. Fundamental of Drilling Engineering – Miska and Mitchell – SPE Textbook Volume 12
4. Drilling Technology in Nontechnical Language (2nd Edition) by Devereux, S. (2012)
5. Petroleum Engineering Handbook Volume 2 Drilling Engineering by Mitchell, R. F.
(2007)
6. Drilling Engineering by J. J. Azar and G. Robello Samuel
7. Drilling Engineering Handbook – Volume II – Robert Mitchell
8. Taylor, H. F. W. (1997). "The chemistry of Portland cement manufacture", Cement
chemistry. pp. 55-87.