PETE 411

Well Drilling

Lesson 31
Plugback Cementing

1
 Plugback Cementing

Case I: No Spacer
Case II: Equal Height Spacers
Case III: Spacer Ahead of Cmt. (only)
Case IV: Two Unequal Spacers
Mixtures and Solutions

2
 Read:
Applied Drilling Engineering
Ch. 3. Cementing

HW #16
Due November 22, 2002

3
 Balanced Cement Plug

Fig. 3.11- Placement technique used for setting cement plug.

4
 Cementing (Open-Hole Plugging)

1. Plug-back for abandonment

2. Plug-back for fishing or hole deviation

Open-hole plugging is usually performed

with slick drillpipe or tubing.
In some cases, reciprocating scratchers
may be run to enchance cement
bonding.
5
 Types of Balanced Plugs

Case I: No water or other fluid of different

density from that in the hole is run ahead or
behind the cement slurry.

Case II: Water or other fluid of different

density from that hole is run ahead and
behind cement slurry. The volume of fluid
ahead and behind slurry is calculated so
that height in casing is same as height
inside the string.
6
 Displacement

Case III: Water or other fluid of different

density from that in the hole is run ahead of
cement slurry and hole fluid only is used as
displacing fluid.

Case IV: Water or other fluid of different

density from that in the hole is run ahead and
behind cement slurry. In this case, the
heights of fluid in annulus and drill string are
not equal.
7
 Case I
T C

ft 3
C annular capacity,
ft
ft 3
T drill pipe capacity,
ft

Height of
plug with Height of plug
pipe in place after pulling pipe

8
 Case I
T C
ft 3
C annular capacity,
ft
ft 3
T drill pipe capacity,
ft
V volume of slurry, ft 3
H height of cement plug
with pipe in place
H Final V H *C H*T
Height H(C T)
V
H
CT
9
 Example Balanced Plug - Case I

Set a balanced cmt. plug from

8,500-9,000 ft, with no fluid spacers.

1. Open hole diameter = 10 3/4

2. Assume no washout
3. Use 5, 19.50 #/ft DP, open ended
4. Use class H cement, 15.6 #/gal

10
 Example - Case I

(a) Calculate volume of DH

cement slurry required:

2 L
2 10.75
V DH L ft 2
(500 ft)
4 4 12

315.15 ft 3 of slurry required

11
 Example - Case I

(b) Calculate actual height of plug

when DP is in place at 9,000 ft.

If C annular capacity in ft / ft
3

T drillpipe capacity in ft / ft
3

then V (C T)H T C
V
H = Height of Plug,
CT
with Pipe in place
12
 Example - Case I

(b) contd

In this case,
10.75 2 5 2 2
C ft * 1 ft/ft
4 144
0.49394 ft 3 / ft

T 0.0997 ft 3 / ft ( Halliburton Book )

13
 Example - Case I

(b) contd

V 315.15 ft 3
H
C T (0.49394 0.0997) ft 3 / ft

H 530.9 ft

height of plug, with pipe in place

14
 Example - Case I
(c) Determine the quantity of mud displacement
inside the DP that will ensure a balanced plug.
Balance requires that the pressures be equal
inside the DP and in the annulus, at 9,000.

PD PA
P CD PMD PCA PMA
0.052( MD )h MD 0.052( MA )h MA

hMD = hMA PD PA

15
 Example - Case I

height of mud inside drillpipe

height of mud in annulus

height of mud inside drillpipe

9,000 - 530.9

8,469.1 ft

16
 Example - Case I

Volume of mud displacement

(behind the cement slurry)
3
= 8,469 ft * 0.0997 ft /ft

bbl
844.4 ft *
3

5.61 ft 3

VDispl = 150.4 bbl (of mud)

17
 Example - Case I
Also required:
3
315.15 ft
Class H cement
reqd 1.18 ft 3 / sk

267.1 sks

267.1 sks * 5.2 gal/sk

Mix water reqd
42 gal/bbl

Water Re quired 33.1 bbl

18
 Case II hWD = hWA
VWD VWA

mud T C
T
water VWD VWA
C
cement hW
Height of
water Height of plug
plug with
pipe in place after pulling pipe
mud

19
 Example, Balanced Plug - Case II

Set a balanced plug, 500 ft high, with its

bottom at 9,000 ft. Use water spacers of
equal height inside DP and in annulus.

Volume of annular water spacer = 10 bbl

Open hole diameter = 10 3/4. No washouts
5 DP, 19.50 #/ft, open ended.
Use class H cement, 15.6 #/gal

20
 Example - Case II

(a) & (b) From previous example:

V 315.15 ft 3 , vol. of cement slurry

C 0.49394 ft 3 / ft, annular capacity

T 0.0997 ft 3 / ft, drillpipe capacity

V
H 530.9 ft, height of plug
CT
with drillpipe in place
21
 Example - Case II

(c) Calculate height (length) of water spacer

in DP: 3
ft
10 bbl * 5.61
VWA bbl
In annulus, h WA 3
C 0.49394 ft / ft

113.6 ft

h WD 113 .6 ft

22
 Example - Case II

(d) Volume of water spacer inside DP

T
V W,DP Vol . of spacer in annulus *
C
0.0997 ft 3 / ft
10 bbls *
0.49394 ft 3 / ft

V W,DP = 2.02 bbls

for spacers of equal height

23
 Example - Case II

(e) A balanced plug

requires that
PD PA

PCD PWD PMD PCA PWA PMA

PD PA

mud in drillpipe must extend to the surface.

24
 Example - Case II
(e) contd

Height of mud in drillpipe

9,000 - hCD h WD

9,000 530.9 113 .6

8,355.5 ft

25
 Example - Case II

Volume of mud required to displace

cement and spacers
ft 3
8,355.5 ft * 0.0997
ft
3
= 833.0 ft

VDispl = 148.5 bbls

26
 Check

148.5 bbls 2.02 bbls

150.5 bbls

answer to previous problem - Case I

OK.

27
 Pumping Sequence:

1. Water spacer for annulus:

10 bbls
2. Cement Slurry for Plug:
315.15 ft 3 56.2 bbls
3. Water spacer behind cement:
2.0 bbls

28
 Pumping Sequence

4. Mud displacement behind second

water spacer:
148.5 bbls

Total fluid pumped = 10 + 56.2 + 2 + 148.5

= 216.7 bbls

(at 10 bbl/min this would require ~22 min)

29
 Case III
Hole fluid density
> density of water
Hydrostatic heads in DS
and annulus must balance
at top of cement slurry
with DS in hole.
hW
Height of
plug with Height of plug
pipe in place after pulling pipe

PA PD 0

PCA PWA PMA PCD PWD PMD

30
Case IV - General Case

Hole fluid density is greater

than water density.
Hydrostatic heads in DS
and annulus must balance
at top of cement slurry with
DS in hole.

PA PD

PCA PWA PMA PCD PWD PMD

31
 Procedure in setting balanced plug

1. Run drillpipe in to depth where plug is to be

set; in this case 9,000 ft. (open ended).

2. Circulate and condition mud one complete

circulation to make sure system is
balanced.

3. Pump spacers and cement per calculations

and displace w/proper amount of fluid

32
 Procedure in setting balanced plug

4. Stop pumps; break connection at surface.

A. If standing full, plug is balanced.

B. If flowing back, a mistake in

calculations has been made. Stab
inside BOP, or have a slug
of heavy mud ready to pump.

33
 Procedure in setting balanced plug

5. Once the end of the drillpipe clears the

plug, there is a good chance the pipe
will pull wet. This is because pressures
have gone back into a completely
balanced mud system.

6. If pulling wet, slug pipe and pull out of

hole.

34
 Procedure in setting balanced plug

7. Even if plug is severely out-of-balance,

never try to reverse cement out of hole.

8. Tag plug with DP at end of 8 hours. If too

high, plug may have to be drilled out
and another plug spotted. If too low,
spot another plug to required height
with DP just above top of first plug.

35
Calculations to Design a Balanced
Open Hole Cement Plug

1. Calculate cu. ft. of slurry required for

plug in open hole.

V1
2
4

d L ft 3 or, use Halliburton tables.

2. Multiply this volume by excess factor

(50% excess factor = 1.50)

V2 V1 * factor , ft 3

36
 Calculations for balanced plug - HINT
When dealing with a washed-out hole, where
an excess factor is required, it is usually easier
to calculate a new, effective hole size, and use
that instead of the excess factor.

V2 V1 * 1.5 If 50% excess is required

2 2
d2 d1 * 1.5
4 4
Use d2 for calculations
d2 d1 1.5 1.225 d1
This is the effective dia.

37
 Calculations for balanced plug

3. Find height (h, ft) cement will occupy when

drillpipe is at bottom of plug during pumping:

V
H
TC

3
V2 ft
h
Vol inside DP Vol annulus (based on d2 ) ft 3

ft

38
Calculations for balanced plug - contd

4. Find height (ft) water spacer ahead of

cement will occupy in annulus. Use
d2 to calculate this (to account for the
excess factor).
5. Find height (ft) water spacer behind
cement will occupy in DP. Do not use
excess factor.
6. Pressures must balance at bottom of plug
PDP Pann
39
Calculations for balanced plug - contd

7. Pann Pcmt Pspacer Pannulus mud

PDP Pcmt Pspacer PDP mud

Solve for PDP mud

8. Convert this PDP mud to feet inside DP.

40
Calculations for balanced plug - contd

9. Convert this footage to bbls inside DP for

proper displacement.

10. To find sks cmt required, divide volume,

V2, by yield/sk. This yield, Ysk, may be
in the Halliburton tables (or may not).
V2
Number of sx reqd, N
Ysk
41
Calculations for balanced plug - contd

11. If yield not shown, calculate from 1v1

formula for mixtures. Solve for VW
in this formula. Add the Vs for yield.

12. Total mix water will be VW / sk times

number of sacks.

VW total = (VW / sk) * N

42