SPE-188119-MS

Consideration to Batch Mixing Time Improves API Recommendation for Testing Cement
Slurries and Prevents Cement Failures: Lab Testing and Field Application

Abdullah S. Al-Yami, Vikrant Wagle, Tushar S. Mukherjee, Mohammad Al-Badran, Mohammad Aljubran, Saudi
Aramco
Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Annual Technical Symposium and Exhibition held in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 24–27
April 2017.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
of the paper have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any
position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written
consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may
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Abstract
Batch mixing of cement slurries is a common exercise in the drilling operations. To simulate cement
pump-ability of the cement API procedure are followed for thickening time. However, API Procedure
does not consider batch mixing time in thickening time tests which can cause catastrophic results ending
with cement failures. The objective of this paper is to show the importance of adding adequate time to
mix the cement slurry with no pressure and temperature simulating batch mixing to the API thickening
time tests. To the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first study to investigate batch mixing time
effect on cement thickening time.
Laboratory testing invariably follows the API procedure for thickening time and, although this may
be adequate in most cases, it cannot universally predict field behavior. Recently, several gas well
cementing operations did not perform successfully causing expensive remedial operations due to
immature cement setting. Initial lab testing in cement labs has shown acceptable thickening time using
API procedure prior to the job and after the failure. Including batch mixing time to the cement with no
temperature and pressure shorten the thickening time from 7 hours to less than 3 hours. This is due to the
sensitivity of some high temperature retarders to shear rate used in cementing gas wells. The short
thickening time was also observed when using these chemicals with tap water which rules out any possible
contamination or bacterial effect.
It is concluded from this study that adapting the batch mixing time into the API cementing procedure
for all future wells will mitigate future cement failures. Future plan also will be to communicate with API
committee to consider batch mixing time in cementing best practices.

Introduction
Cementing is an important factor in drilling and completion operations. Cement is used in drilling and
completion operations to:
 Isolate zones by preventing fluid migration between formations
 Support and bond casings
 Protect casing from corrosive environments
 Seal and hold back formation pressures
 Protect casing from drilling operations such as shock loads
 Seal loss circulation zones
SPE-188119-MS 2

Cement must be designed in a way to ensure acceptable properties such as mix ability, stability,
rheology, fluid loss, and adequate thickening time. Different chemicals are used when designing cement
slurries. These chemicals are used as retarders, fluid loss additives, dispersants, gas migration additives
and expansion additives. Good cementing practices are required for a proper advancing in drilling and
production operations. Successful cementing practices start with the design and testing of effective cement
slurries.
American Petroleum Institute (API) has led for more than 85 years the development of equipment’s
and operating standards in petroleum and petrochemical industries. API is maintaining 685 standards and
recommended practices which have been also followed by international organization for standardization.
It is not the API objective to simulate downhole conditions. Their objective is to have a group of tests
that produce consistent, reproducible results from test to test and from one lab to another. API only
consider small part of testing so we should not be disqualifying tests because they are not API. API
specification is not the same as API recommended practice.
Specification apply to pure material while recommended practices are used on daily basis for cement
slurries. They can be modified and altered to be more suitable to field cementing operations and this is the
main topic of this paper.
API specification tests should only be considered by cement factories and by the people who do quality
assurance and quality control operations. Otherwise, there is nothing that should stop us from making
changes to API recommended practices not specification to meet our wells conditions.
The objective of this paper is to show that the industry needs to address the required field simulation
to preform successful cementing operations and not to be limited to API practices. It is important to have
a slurry with the properties required for well conditions than to have a slurry (or test) that conforms to API
requirements. Some tests will be detailed here to show the need to simulate field conditions as much as
possible with the emphasis on thickening time tests. A field case is detailed also to support the authors’
opinions against blindly following API practices in executing critical cementing operations.

Thickening Time Test

Thickening time test simulate the placement of cement in dynamic condition at given bottom hole
circulating temperature and at simulated pumped down-hole pressure. This test is used to ensure that we
are adding the right amount and type of retarders for our cementing operations.
Retarders are cement additives whose function is to retard, or delay the setting of cement slurries. For
a well whose temperature is about 125 ºF or less, we do not need to add any retarders, Brothers et al.
(2011). However, as temperature increases, the hydration process of C 3S increases and, hence, the
thickening time decreases, Bensted (1991).
Lignosulphonate derivatives are the most commonly used retarders, being primarily the sodium and
calcium salts of lignosulphonic acids. These are polymers (MW = 20,000 - 30,000) derived from wood
pulp. Pure lignosulphonates have little retarding power and they have to be treated to provide retardation
effect especially at high temperature. Carbohydrates and aldonic acids are the main reason of the
retardation. They can be used up to 1.5% BWOC. For optimum performance cement with low C3A is
required. Gelation might be a problem at their upper concertation limit and dispersant will be required.
Attention and more lab testing is required when handling salt slurries to ensure the right order of addition
to prevent the precipitation out of the lignosulphonate retarder by the salt, Nelson (1990).
Retarders with hydroxycarboxylic acid group can chelate metal cation such as Ca2+ to slow down the
setting process. Over-retardation (too long time to set) can result when using this retarder at low
temperature (BHCTs lower than 200°F). To provide retarders at higher temperatures (higher than 220°F)
SPE-188119-MS 3

it is required to use blends of the various retarder compounds. For example, a blend of a lignin amine and
a sodium organic salt works by scavenging or complexing Ca2+ ions by the sugar acids from the cement
interstitial water to delay the setting time, Al-Yami (2015)
Additional secondary retarders can be used in addition to the main retarder for higher temperature and
to improve the performance of the primary retarder for example a mixture of a lignosulphonate and a
gluconate (a hydroxycarboxylic acid salt). It is used to aid the performance of the blend of a lignin amine
and a sodium organic salt in the temperature range of 300 - 350°F, Al-Yami (2015)
Many inorganic compounds retard the hydration of cements. Mostly used inorganic compounds are
salt, zinc oxide and borax. Less common retarders are boric, phosphoric, chromic and hydrofluoric salts
and acids, and lead oxide. NaCl acts as a retarder at concentrations above 20% BWOW but it is not
commonly recommended. Borax or sodium tetra decahydrate is used to enhance the performance of most
lignosulphate retarders up to 600°F, Al-Yami (2015)
Thickening time test simulate the placement of cement in dynamic condition at given bottom hole
circulating temperature and at simulated pumped down-hole pressure. The temperature is increased
linearly until it reaches the BHCT and then is held constant while measuring consistency (relative
thickness) until the cement reaches a non-pump able condition that is equivalent to 100 Bearden units of
consistency. API Thickening time test does not provide information about the changes that occur in
cement slurry in static conditions due to shutdowns or end of placement.
There are few simulation errors that can take place during thickening time test. Pressure effect on
cement hydration is minimum and can be eliminated as source of error. Temperature on the other hand
does have significant effect on cement hydration.
A rapid increase in gel strength in cement slurry during placement due to pumping suspension is
dangerous to operations. Any time cement circulation need to re-start, careful simulation in running
thickening time is required to see if increase in gel strength will occur or not which will increase circulating
pressure in the annulus above hydrostatic pressure as follow:

Additional Pressure = (SGSD/300) x (TOC-D)/ (DH-DP), where

SGSD : Static gel strength development
TOC : Top of cement
D : Depth of interest
DH : Diameter of hole
DP : Diameter of pipe

The API thickening time test result are used to show the performance of cement during pumping
operations. However, it does not inform us much during unexpected job shutdowns, problems during
placement, and does not simulate batch mixing time. There is no direct relationship between API
thickening time test and the time cement slurries can remain static and still need to be moved after certain
type of operations.
Thickening time test is a dynamic test because cement slurry is in moving state always. The test is
performed in stainless steel cup that is submerged in heated or pressurized oil bath. The consistometer
used typically uses moving paddle and stationary cup or moving cup and stationary paddle. The paddle is
connected to a spring, and as the cement start to gel it add torque on the paddle and deflects the spring.
This deflection is read as current and is translated into units of consistency called Bearden Units (Bc). The
thickening time test will aid in determining when the cement can no longer be pumped. It does not tell us
when the cement is set. The outcome of this test is a measurement of consistency or viscosity of the slurry
and not the compressive strength determination.
The thickening time test will tell us how long it takes the slurry to go from fluid state to highly viscous
state by the shape of the thickening time graph or curve. We will end up with graph of consistency vs.
SPE-188119-MS 4

time. There are a number of factors that influence the thickening time test results. The temperature is an
important factor. Initially BHST is given to the cement lab and then BHCT will be estimated from API
recommended practices or any other advanced available method or technology. The pressure used for the
test comes from drilling fluid weight and depth. Heat up rate or how fast the slurry is heated from room
temperature is also important. The heat up rate depends on how long it will take the cement to reach the
bottom of the well which is estimated from mixing, pumping rates and casing sizes.
The standard API thickening time test is only designed based on average time for the cement to reach
bottom of the well. Failures can occur if targeted thickening time of cement slurries were not carefully
calculated or anticipated.
We need to perform tests that are not standard API for example shut down periods need to be included
in the thickening time test to simulate top plug operations when required. The shut down simulation of the
top plug operations is done by turning off the motor for 10 minutes or so to simulate dropping the top
plug. The slurry consistency should not be beyond 50 Bc once the test resumes. If we have more than 50
Bc, then this will be an indication of sever gelation and the cement slurry will need to be re-designed.
One more aspect of required simulation which is really recommended to do for liner cementing or any
operations requiring batch mixing is to simulate batch mixing effect in thickening time test. This
simulation can take place by running the thickening time without applying temperature or pressure for the
first hour. For example a thickening time of 7 hours means that you have 7 hours to start pumping the
cement slurry into the well and get it in the desired depth. The 7 hours does not include batch mixing time
and should not since we are applying temperature and pressure during the whole interval of testing, the 7
hours. The batch mixing time should be reported separately to avoid confusing drilling engineers.
The temperature that we apply in thickening time test is held constant during the whole interval of the
test which is not accurate as well. The temperature we apply simulate circulating temperature for the whole
annulus and this temperature should be going down as cement slurry moves up in the annulus. It is also
important to mention that thickening time test is performed in stainless steel container with no fluid
contamination or fluid loss effect which is also not accurate. Contamination by drilling fluid in the annulus
might increase or decrease thickening time depending on type of drilling fluid used. Fluid loss of cement
slurries while placement in the annulus will decrease the thickening time test result.
Thickening time of cement slurries is the time the slurry takes to reach a certain consistency normally
values of 70 Bc or 100 Bc. For cement slurries containing silicate extenders such as sodium Meta silicates
or sodium silicates, more attention is required to determine the thickening time of the cement slurries. In
such silicate based cement slurries, the point of departure from the base ling on the graph is optimum
thickening time test result. It is possible to pump beyond this point but this might affect the final
compressive strength of such silicate based cement slurries. The time difference between 30, 50, and 70
Bc should not be big in the thickening time test for good cement formulations.
Below are some recommended properties when we desing cement slurries, for example:
 Rapid set development. That means the time between 30, 50 and 70 Bc should be less than 30
minutes.
 Adequate total test time. Time to reach 70 Bc must be longer than the job time.
 The Bc reading after ten minutes shutdown should be less than 50.
 Shutdown during testing for thickening time is required to simulate certain operations for liner
hangers or multistage operations to ensure that the cement will move easily after the temporary
shutdowns.
 Simulation of batch mixing time is required since retarders response can be affected by amount of
energy and mixing time specially when using retarders near their maximum temperature upper
SPE-188119-MS 5

limits.

Compressive Strength Test

Compressive strength test shows the degree of hydration and set in certain time. The physical property
that indicate the transition from liquid to solid is called gel strength. The static gel strength development
start immediately after pumping of cement slurry stops.
Compressive strength test provide information about cement ability to seal off formation and support
casing. A compressive value of 500 psi is acceptable to hold pipe in place and provide enough resistance
against shock loads of drilling. A value of 2000 psi compressive strength is needed in case perforation is
required.
The compressive strength test tell us about the force it takes to break a cement sample in tension/shear.
From this test we can know if the cement is set, set hard or set very hard. This test is destructive test. This
is an unconfined test which does not simulate the casing which is confined by casing and formation. Also
this test does not represent the actual compressive strength of cement after field mixing, contamination
and changes in temperature and pressure.
The results will be lower than cement slurries tested in confined area. Compressive strength is also not
very reproducible it does not simulate the time the slurry has been pumped or sheared in the well. The
pressure applied during this test also does not simulate pressure in the well.
Each mold contains two cubes, the force required to break the cubes even if they come from same
cement formulations and testing conditions can vary a lot. Compressive strength of cement can tell us
about the magnitude of strength of the cement. The accuracy of this test is not good enough to distinguish
incremental compressive strength development. Different cement formulations with compressive strength
values of 1500 or 1800 or even 2500 psi can show the same performance.
Compressive strength result also can be influenced by mixing since in the lab we tend to use high
shear rate which leads to higher compressive strength than slurries mixed in the field. Contamination also
is not simulated in the lab. Contamination will reduce compressive strength values.
UCA test is equivalent to compressive strength test but it is not destructive. Sonic waves are sent
through cement sample and signal transit time is converted into strength. Same sample of cement is used
for the entire test period. This test can tell us compressive strength development with respect to time. We
can determine compressive strength at any time which make this test useful to determine WOC required.
Same limitation to compressive strength determination also apply here for example shear rate and
contamination.

Free Water Test

Pressurized consistometer is used to heat up to BHCT then slurry will be cooled if required to 190 °F and
then placed into a 250 ml graduated cylinder for two hours. The fluid at the top of the slurry in the 250 ml
graduated cylinder after two hours is the free fluid. The graduated cylinder can be placed at any angle for
the test. It is best to place at same angle of the well or at 45 degree. The slurries tested at angle have higher
free water content than slurries tested at vertical conditions. This test is done to compare different slurries
to select optimum additives types and quantities to have zero free water. However, the test is done at room
temperature with no pressure. We had wells showing fresh water with pressure when we open the casing-
casing annulus. A new test needs to be designed to show free water accumulation on top of cement surface
with pressure applied from below to simulate field condition.

Fluid Loss Test

This test determines the amount of filtrate in ml that goes through a 325 mesh screen at 1000 psi
differential pressure in stainless steel. The fluid loss that is reported is the filtrate volume normalized to
SPE-188119-MS 6

30 minutes. Fluid loss test is static test and requires an initial conditioning period in the consistometer
where slurry is stirred. There is a fluid loss apparatus named stirred fluid loss apparatus that stirs or mix
cement slurry at same container used for fluid loss test without the need of initial condition period and
transferring cement slurry after the condition period. However, fluid loss test still is run under static
conditions. The test does not simulate the effect of formation or drilling fluid filter cake in reducing fluid
loss in the well.

Rheology Measurement Test

Rheology test is a dynamic test where cement slurry is placed into a stainless steel cup and the slurry is
sheared with rotating sleeve that surrounds a bob. This force of rotation is translated into a dial reading
through a spring attached to the bob. The sleeve rotates at different speed to indicate the viscosity and give
rheology data of the cement slurry. The rheology data can be used to calculate ECD, friction pressure,
pump pressure. The rheology data is also important even without doing any calculation. The test conducted
at room temperature will indicate how easy it is to mix the cement on surface. The 200 rpm reading at
room temperature should be less than the 300 reading, otherwise it will be difficult to mix and pump in
the field. The 6 reading should be more than 5, otherwise we are going to have settling in the cement
slurries. We need to supply sample of drilling fluid and any additives to be used to treat the mud prior to
cementing to do compatibility tests. Rheology tests are performed using viscometer. High viscosities mean
the fluids are not compatible. When having Oil based drilling fluids, we need to run thickening time on
50:50 mud/spacer mix and observe for any potential settling.

Field Case
A 4 ½” liner was cemented in Well-U with 125 pcf cement and was batch mixed for the job. All cement
fluids were mixed and pumped in a very ordinary manner and displacement of the job was completed
within an elapsed time of 2:30 minutes including cement batch mixing. After completing cement job
operation further operations to pull the liner setting tool were not successful, resulting in drilling string
taking weight and torque with no movement.
Final confirmation tests had given thickening time results of more than 6 hrs. in two independent labs.
Pre-job preparation steps were performed in regular manner without any issue. Blend preparation,
sampling, equipment checks, and lab testing were done according to recommended API practices.
New samples from rig site were tested in both labs again to try to find out the reason for this problem
and the results were the same as the initial one, more than 6 hours using recommended API practices.
Pressurized mud balance was used and all best practices related to quality control were followed.
The sequence of events prior and after the cement job took place as follows and as illustrated in
Fig.1:
 Dropped 1.5” Brass liner hanger setting ball. Pumped ball down with 2 bpm @ 300 psi.
 Ball landed after 570 strokes (58 bbl.). Hanger set with 2,400 psi after 2 attempts. Slacked off
liner weight (32 Klbs) + additional 45 Klbs, to 245 Klbs on indicator and pressured up to shear
ball seat. Ball seat sheared at 3500 psi.
 Picked up drill string to 265 Klbs on indicator, leaving 25 Klbs down on Hanger to release
liner hanger setting tool. After 15 right hand turns at 1,100-1,200 ft-lbs torque, running tool
released.
 Picked up drill string to check setting tool is released, OK. New up weight of string 290 Klbs.
P/U 3-4 ft. to verify release.
SPE-188119-MS 7

 Started pumping 50 bbl. of 110 pcf Spacer followed by 85 bbl. of 125 pcf Cement. Dropped
dart and started displacing cement with 50 bbl. of 110 pcf Spacer at 3.5 bbl. /min and 270 psi
surface pump pressure. Continued displacing cement with 95 pcf mud at 5 bbl. /min and 1060
psi surface pump pressure.
 Reduced rate to 3 bbl. /min @ 1065 psi after pumping 170 bbl. of mud. Observed shear of
Wiper plug after pumping 189 bbl. of mud.
 Sheared Wiper plug with 2100 psi. Increased rate to 4 bbl. /min 2270 psi. Pressure increased
to 3450 psi.
 Reduced rate to 2.5 bbl. /min @ 2770 psi after 270 bbl. of total displacement. After pumping
281 bbl., bumped plug with 3600 psi, 500 psi above final circulation pressure. Bled off pressure
and checked for backflow, OK.
 Picked up to set the liner top packer with 60 Klbs over pull. Continued pick up to 210 Klbs
over pull. Pipe stuck.

Fig. 1: The sequence of events

Same samples of field blend and mix water used in the confirmation tests labs were used to simulate
thickening time test including a 40 minute batch mixing period before the starting of applying pressure
and temperature. In order to discard the aging factor of the mix fluid, a test identical to the confirmation
was also run in parallel - without simulation of batch mixer time.
The following graphs shows the drastic shortening of thickening time occurred when the batch mixing
period was simulated. After 40 minutes of agitation at surface conditions, the pressure and temperature
schedule was applied and the resulting TT was 2hrs and 45 mins at temperature and pressure. The TT
without Batch Mixing is 7 hrs. : 31 minutes. This indicates a reduction of 5 hr.: 21 minutes, Fig.2 and
Fig.3.
SPE-188119-MS 8

Fig. 2: Thickening time results of more than 7 hours using API recommended practice

Fig. 3: Thickening time results of less than 3 hours simulating batch mixing time
SPE-188119-MS 9

A similar reduction in thickening time was resulted when an identical slurry design using same dry
field blend and same lot number of other additives except the retarder was tested to verify the response of
a different lot of retarder to the batch mixing simulation. Testing was also confirmed by another lab. Table
1 shows the detailed cement formulation, sodium lignosulfonate was used as a retarder. This retarder is
derived from wood pulp with molecular weight of 20,000 to 30,000.

Table 1: Cement formulation

Component Concentration Unit

Water 3.197 gallon/sack
defoamer 0.01 gallon/sack
dispersant 0.7 %BWOC
retarder 2 %BWOC
Latex stabilizer 0.15 gallon/sack
Bonding agent 1.5 gallon/sack
Cement expansion 1 %BWOC
Silica Flour 35 %BWOC

Testing in two different cement labs has shown acceptable thickening time using API procedure prior
to the job and after the failure. Including batch mixing time to the cement with no temperature and pressure
shorten the thickening time from 7 hours to less than 3 hours. This is due to the sensitivity of some high
temperature retarders to shear rate used in cementing gas wells. The short thickening time was also
observed when using these chemicals with tap water which rules out any possible contamination or
bacterial effect.

Conclusions
1. Specification apply to pure material while recommended practices are used on daily basis for
cement slurries. They can be modified and altered to be more suitable to field cementing
operations
2. It is important to have a slurry with the properties required for well conditions than to have a
slurry (or test) that conforms to API requirements.
3. Including batch mixing time to the cement with no temperature and pressure shorten the
thickening time from 7 hours to less than 3 hours. This is due to the sensitivity of some high
temperature retarders to shear rate used in cementing gas wells.
4. It is concluded from this study that adapting the batch mixing time into the API cementing
procedure for all future wells will mitigate future cement failures. Future plan also will be to
communicate with API committee to consider batch mixing time in cementing best practices.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Saudi Aramco for permission to present and publish this paper. The
authors also thank Schlumberger, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes for the useful discussion.
SPE-188119-MS 10

References
Al-Yami, A.S.: “An Overview of Different Chemicals Used in Designing Cement Slurries for Oil and Gas
Wells,” paper SPE 175259 presented at the 2015 Kuwait Oil & Gas Show Conference held in Mishref,
Kuwait, October 11-14.

Bensted, J.: “Retardation of Cement Slurries to 250ºF,” paper SPE 23073 presented at the 1991 SPE
Offshore Europe held in Aberdeen, UK, 3-6 September.

Brothers, E., Chatterji, J., Childs, J.D., and Vinson, E.F.: “Synthetic Retarder for High-Strength Cements,”
paper SPE 21976 presented at the 1991 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference held in Amsterdam, The
Netherlands, 11-14 March.

Nelson, E.B.: “Well Cementing,” Schlumberger Educational Services, Houston (1990).

Abbreviations
API : American Petroleum Institute
BWOC : By weight of cement
Bc : Bearden consistency
BHCT : Bottom Hole Circulating Temperature, ºF
BHST : Bottom Hole Static Temperature, ºF
BP : British Petroleum
BV : Bulk Volume, inch3
DP : Differential Pressure, psig
ECD : Equivalent Circulating Density, lb/gal
HT/HP : High Temperature/High Pressure
ID : Inside Diameter, inch
LDC : Low Density Cement
OD : Outside Diameter, inch
POOH : Pull-out of hole
PV : Plastic Viscosity, cp
TD : Total Depth, ft.
TDS : Total Dissolved solids, mg/l
XRD : X-Ray Diffraction
YP : Yield Point, lb/100 ft2

SI Metric Conversion Factors

in.  2.54* E02 = m
(oF-32) / 1.8* E+00 = oC
ft  3.048* E01 =m
gal  3.785 412E03 = m3
lbm  4.535 924E01 = kg
psi  6.894 757E-03 = Mpa
lbm/gal  1.198 26 E-01 = S.G
bbl  1.58987 E-01 = m3
SPE-188119-MS 11

*Conversion factor is exact.