University of Technology

Petroleum Technology Department

Drilling II
Lectures 2: Casing Design Process Semester 2 (2021-2022)

Dr. Emad A. Al-Khdheeawi

 Casing Design Process
• Casing is defined as a heavy large diameter steel pipe which can be lowered into the
well for some specific functions.
• Casing is strong steel pipe used in an oil or gas well to ensure a pressure-tight connection
from the surface to the oil or gas reservoir.
• It is a steel pipe of approximately 40 ft in length that starts from the surface and goes down to
the bottom of the borehole.
• It is rigidly connected to the rocky formation using cement slurry, which also guarantees
hydraulic insulation.
• The space between the casing string and the borehole is then filled with cement slurry before
drilling the subsequent hole section.
• The final depth of the well is completed by drilling holes of decreasing diameter and uses the
same diameter protective casings in order to guarantee the borehole stability.
• The design process includes
1) selection of casing sizes,
2) selection of setting depths,
3) definition of design properties, and
4) calculation of magnitude of properties.

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 Casing Design Process
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Example 1

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 Example 1
Solution

• The planned-mud-density program first is

plotted to maintain a 0.5 lbm/gal trip
margin at every depth.
• The design fracture line is then plotted to
permit a 0.5 lbm/gal kick margin at every
depth.
• These two lines are shown in Figure 1 by
dashed lines. To drill to a depth of 15,000
ft, a 17.6 lbm/gal mud will be required
(Point a).
• This, in turn, requires intermediate casing
to be set at 11,400 ft (Point b) to prevent
fracture of the formations above 11,400 ft.
• Similarly, to drill safely to a depth of
11,400 ft to set intermediate casing, a
mud density of 13.6 lbm/gal is required
(Point c).

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 Example 1

• This, in turn, requires surface casing to be set at

4,000 ft(Point d).
• Because the formation at 4,000 ft is normally
pressured, the usual conductor-casing depth of
180 ft is appropriate.
• Only 2,000 ft of surface casing is needed to
protect the freshwater aquifers.
• However, if this minimum casing length is used,
intermediate casing would have to be set
higher in the transition zone. An additional liner
also would have to be set before the total
depth is reached to maintain a 0.5 lbm/gal kick
margin. Because shale is the predominant
formation type, only minor variations in casing-
setting depth are required to maintain the
casing seat in shale

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 Example 2

Example 2: A well is being planned to drill

where well completion requires the use of 7-in.
production casing set at 15,000 ft. Determine
the casing size (i.e., OD) for each casing string
needed to reach this depth safely. Pore
pressure, fracture gradient, and lithology data
from logs of nearby wells are given in Figure 1.
Allow a 0.5 lbm/gal trip margin, and a 0.5
lbm/gal kick margin when making the casing-
seat selections. The minimum length of surface
casing required to protect the freshwater
aquifers is 2,000ft. Approximately 180 ft of
conductor casing generally is required to
prevent washout on the outside of the
conductor. It is general practice in this area to
cement the casing in shale rather than in
sandstone. 7
 Example 2

Solution

• A 7 in production casing string is desired.

• An 8.625-in bit is needed to drill the bottom section of the borehole (Table 1).
• An 8.625-in bit will pass through most of the available 9.625 in casings (Table 2).
• However, a final check will have to be made after the required maximum weight per foot
is determined.
• According to the data presented in Table 1, a 12.25-in bit is needed to drill to the
depth of the intermediate casing.
• As shown in Table 2, a 12.25-in bit will pass through 13.375 in casing.
• A 17.5-in bit is needed to drill to the depth of the surface casing (Table 1).
• Finally, as shown in Table 2, a 17.5-in bit will pass through 18.625 in conductor casing,
which will be driven into the ground.

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Casing Design Process

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 Example 3
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 Example 4
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 Calculation of Magnitude of Design Properties
1) Collapse Strength:
Figure 2 shows the variation of collapse resistance with
dn/t for the four collapses. Five factors (F1, F2, F3, F4,
and F5) are used with the tube’s dn/t ratio to
determine which of the four collapse-pressure
formulas is applied. The factors are dependent on the
yield strength of the tube. They are defined by the
following equations:

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 Example 5
Example 5: A production casing was running to a depth of 12,000 ft.
When casing was at bottom, inside casing was partially full of water up
to a depth of 6,500 ft. Later, inside casing was filled with water up to
the surface. If the mud weight in annulus is 14.5 ppg, calculate the
collapse pressure at the casing shoe for both cases?

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Example 5

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Example 5

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 Example 6
Example 6: A production casing with a collapse rating of 9,250
psi was planned to run in the production hole of a well. When
casing was run empty to a certain depth, collapse pressure was
measured to be half of the collapse rating. When the casing was at the
bottom of 17,500 ft, safety factor of the collapse was calculated to be
1.3. If the mud weight of the fluid in the annulus was 16.8 ppg,
determine the mud weight of the fluid inside the casing.

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Example 6

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Example 6

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