Reverse Circulation Cementing: The Complete Picture

Reverse Circulation
Cementing
The Complete Picture
Beirute Consulting, L.L.C. 1

We will Review
1. Differences between conventional and
reverse circulation cementing (RCC)
2. The main advantages of the use of RCC
3. The main objections to the use of RCC
4. Literature report applications of RCC from
very shallow wells to very deep applications
5. The theory and physics governing the
differences between conventional and RCC
applications
We will Review (cont.)
6. Computer simulations of RCC jobs
compared to jobs performed using
conventional circulation
7. Several possible modifications to the float
equipment to allow reverse circulation, and a
tool design specific to RCC
8. General guidelines to design RCC jobs

What is Reverse Circulation
Cementing?
During conventional cementing, pumping is
done down the casing and returns are taking
from the annulus.
During Reverser Circulating Cementing
(RCC), pumping is done down the annulus and
returns are taken from the casing.
RCC makes sense! It is the most direct,
shortest way to do the job!

Conventional Cementing

Reverse Circulating Cementing

Introduction
Reverse Circulation Cementing is a viable alternative
to conventional cementing practices, particularly in
situations were weak formations may be broken
down during normal cementing because of
excessive pressures in the annulus.
This situation is not uncommon.
For example, excessive pressures in the annulus is
likely in wells with narrow annuli like in slim hole
applications or when long columns of cement need to
be used,
Reverse circulation cementing generates much lower
downhole and job pressures.
Introduction (cont.)
Reverse circulation cementing was used initially
almost exclusively in relatively shallow wells.
However, successful applications of the technology in
deep applications are being reported by the industry.
In shallow applications, cementing was performed by
taking returns through an inner string run inside the
casing after getting the casing to bottom.
The inner string stings into a tool (for example a
retainer) at the bottom of the casing.
The valve in the tool closes after the inner string is
un-stung from the tool after the end of the cement
job.

Some Potential Advantages of RCC
Much lower placement pressures across weak zones during
hole conditioning and during cementing. This is the main
advantage of reverse circulation.
Generally lower surface pumping pressures (lower horsepower
requirements) than for conventional cementing.
Because of the lower placement pressures, the technique may
produce good cement jobs in situations where the conventional
method would fail due to lost returns, for example.
The lower placement pressures allow faster placement rates
when needed for better displacement, without breaking down
weak formations.
Much shorter cement jobs because the cement slurry is
pumped down the annulus directly, instead of being
pumped down the casing and up the annulus.
Some Potential Advantages of RCC
(cont.)
Because of the way the jobs are pumped, not all
of the cement slurry sees the high well
temperatures located toward the bottom of the
well.
Additives can be staged
Since placement times are shorter, this can lead to
cheaper cement slurry designs: less additives
(retarders, fluid loss, expensive gas migration
materials, etc.)
Lower slurry densities may be used.
Some Objections to the Use of
Reverse Circulation Cementing
Following is a list of possible concerns and/or
objections to the use of reverse circulation cementing.
These objections are addressed later in this
presentation.
As will be seen, the bulk of the concerns are
unfounded, several have been resolved, and the few
left can be relatively easily addressed.
Clearly, RCC is not for all cementing jobs but it is
applicable, with potentially very good results, in quite
a bit more cases than it is being tried.

Some Objections to the Use of Reverse
Circulation Cementing (cont.)
Unconventional approach.
This is perhaps the main reason reverse
circulation cementing is not widely used.
Hopefully this presentation will help change
this objection.

Conventional float equipment cannot be used.
This problem has been solved in shallow well
applications by installing a retainer or other device at
the bottom of the casing, in conjunction with the use
of an inner string. Returns are taken during the job
through the inner string.
At the end of the job, the inner string is pulled from
the tool to close the valve at the bottom of the casing,
allowing the cement to set without having to apply
pressure to the casing.

For deeper applications, running an inner string is not
operationally easy, and in some cases undesirable.
Therefore, a new or modified float equipment is needed
to be able to use reverse circulation cementing without
the application of pressure to the casing after the end of
the cement job.
Several ways to modify float equipment are discussed
during this presentation.
New tool designs for RCC are not currently available in
the industry. One was designed between Amoco and
Weatherford.
The RCC tool will be discussed during this
presentation.
During reverse circulation cementing, it is not possible
to clearly tell when the job is done (since there is no top
plug, there is no clear pressure increase when the plug
lands on the float collar).
This is a reasonable objection.
In shallow well applications, it is possible to tag (die) the
spacer fluid ahead of the cement slurry to help determine
the fluids location at the end of the job, by observing the
spacer when it gets to the surface through the inner string.
Others have used viscous pills to observe a pressure
increase at the surface when the pill gets to the small I.D. of
the inner string.
For deeper well applications without the use of inner
string, fluid volumes have to be well measured, and
good open hole calipers have to be used to help
prevent pumping too little or too much cement inside
the casing.
Think about this: drilling a little more cement inside
the casing is not too big of a price to pay if the well
can be cemented properly in cases where it could
not have been done using the conventional
approach.
Extra cement to drill inside the casing. As said before, this
may not be too big of a price to pay for being able to cement
the well and obtain good zonal isolation across weak zones
and pay horizons.
Concerns about the quality of the cement around the shoe.
This is a valid concern, but again, displacing enough cement
inside the casing at the end of the job allows a good job around
the shoe. This is the reverse problem of getting a good liner
top cement job.
Concerns regarding proper hole conditioning in the
reverse circulation mode. Experiments conducted in large
scale models to be discussed later suggest that the efficiency of
hole conditioning prior to cementing is independent of the
direction of flow.

Concerns related to displacement efficiency during the
cement job.
Field applications of the technique suggest that good
cement jobs can be obtained by reverse circulation
cementing.
However, large scale displacement efficiency experiments
with cement slurries being pumped down the annulus have
not been conducted to properly address this concern.
Some guidelines are provided here based on what is known
about optimization of the displacement of one fluid by
another.
These guidelines should maximize the efficiency of the jobs
while the industry waits for the test results.
Since the casing is open to flow in the upward
direction, there may be safety concerns in high
pressure situations, mainly while running the
casing.
This may indeed be a problem in some high
pressure applications.
Therefore, these situations may not be good
candidates for reverse circulation.
For the same reasons, automatic fill-up float
equipment is not always applicable in high
pressure situations.

If during a reverse circulation cement job you lose
circulation above the shoe, chances are you will
not have a good cement job around the bottom of
the casing, requiring a casing shoe squeeze job.
This is possible, but considering that reverse
circulation cementing generates much lower pressures
in the annulus than conventional cementing, the
possibility of this problem occurring is minimized.
Actually using RCC may be the correct way to
reduce this risk

Casing collapse considerations if bridging occurs in the annulus
during the job due to sloughing clays, cuttings, etc.
Again this is possible, but by the most part, unlikely.
The possibility of this occurring can be minimized by properly
conditioning the hole prior to the cement job, if possible, using the
conventional circulation method (moving cuttings, etc. up the
annulus), to fully clean the hole.
Prior to the cement job, the well should again be circulated, this time
in the reverse circulation mode.
In all cases, the condition of the hole (problem shales, etc.) should be
closely examined before deciding that reverse circulation cementing
is a proper option.
As for conventional cementing, in RCC application, the use of KCl in
the cement slurry and/or properly designed spacer fluid ahead of the
cement needs to be considered to help with troublesome formations.
Other hole stability concerns: sloughing shales,
cuttings, etc. could bridge the bottom tool (or
float).
The possibility of this occurring can be minimized by
properly conditioning the hole prior to the cement
job, if possible, using the conventional circulation
method (moving cuttings, etc. up the annulus), to
fully clean the hole.
Prior to the cement job, the well should again be
circulated, this time in the reverse circulation mode.
When using an inner string, it could get cemented up in the
hole if the cement starts to set before un-stinging from the
tool.
The inner string could also get cemented up in the inside.
This is possible, but should not happen if good quality control
practices are followed with the slurry design, mixing procedures,
etc., and with the job execution.
Inner string cementing of surface casings using the conventional
method has been around for years with minimum problems.
In addition, liner cementing presents similar possibilities for
trouble if the drillpipe was to become cemented-up in place.
However, hundreds of liner cementing operations are performed
every month throughout the world without this situation
materializing very frequently.

Literature Review
The first recorded usage of reverse circulation cementing
is found in a paper by Marquaire and Brisac.
These French investigators tried reverse cementing after
conventional cementing techniques failed to give
satisfactory results in the North Hassi-Messaoud field in
Algeria.
Conventional cementing failed in this field because of a
combination of exposed high pressure zones requiring
high density muds, and weak formations that tended to
breakdown during the jobs, due to excessive ECDs
generated when attempting to cement in turbulent flow.

Literature Review (cont.)
The following figure describes the drilling program
used in the Hassi-Messaoud field.
The cementing difficulties were centered around the 7
in. production casing set in the 8-3/4 in, hole.
At 8,500 ft in the lower Jurassic, a high pressure,
8,500 psi CaCl2-saturated formation was
encountered.
To minimize severe contamination of the salt-
saturated mud weighted with barite, they used a mud
density of 17 to 18.5 lb/gal.

Drilling
Program
Hassi-
Messaoud
Field

A clay zone about 15 ft thick was encountered
at 9,500 ft.
These clays were abnormally plastic and
tended to extrude into the wellbore, again
requiring the use of 17 to 18.5 lb/gal mud to
try to keep them under control.
Other methods used to control the clays
including clay control additives and oil base
muds had failed.
Between 10,500 ft and 11,000 ft, they encountered
red sandy shales.
These shales had a lower mechanical strength than
the overlying sediments, and could not always
support the hydrostatic head from the high
density mud needed to control the high pressure
zones located above.
Thus, formation breakdown frequently occurred
during drilling with total or partial loses of mud,
requiring squeezing of the weak zones with cement.

For successful cementation of the 7 in. casing, it was required
to obtain a good seal of the high pressure CaCl2 zone, and a
good seal of the casing shoe.
Their experience in this field indicated that to achieve this
goal, they wanted to be able to pump the salt-saturated cement
slurry in turbulent flow.
However, when using conventional cementing, turbulent flow
could not be achieved without breakdown of the weak
formations due to the excessive ECDs generated during
pumping.
Faced with this problem, these investigators decided to try
RCC with the goal of reducing the circulating pressures
(equivalent ECDs) across the weak zones during
cementing, to prevent breakdown, while still being able to
pump the jobs in turbulent flow.

The application of reverse circulation cementing generated
several difficulties that they had to overcome.
The differential fill-up equipment had to be modified to
allow reverse circulation.
The next figure shows the changes they made to this
equipment.
The modified fill-up tool allowed normal use of the equipment
while running the casing in the hole, but once on bottom,
shearing of pins with pressure allowed removal of the bronze
plug, leaving the tool fully open for reverse circulation.
It is not clear from their paper what procedure they used to
prevent the cement from U-tubing into the casing after the end
of the job (possibly held pressure in the casing).


From the schematic of the equipment layout given in the paper
(next figure), it is assumed that they held pressure in the casing
after the cement job.
They also realized the problem of not being able to detect the
end of the job by a pressure increase at the surface, and the
need to place good quality, uncontaminated cement around the
shoe without leaving excessive amounts of cement inside the
casing.
To overcome these concerns, they used good caliper logs to
calculate the cement and displacement volumes, and they
designed the excess cement slurry volume to give them about
300 ft of cement inside the casing after the job.

Equipment
Layout

Leturno et. al. described the use of RCC to cement a scab-liner
in an old well to repair the leaky production string.
The flush joint, 4 in., 11 lb/ft liner was run to 8,560 ft inside
the 44 year old 5-1/2 in., 17 lb/ft, J-55 production string.
The pipe-in-pipe annulus was successfully cemented to the
surface using two slurries.
They used a lead slurry at a density of 11 lb/gal, and a tail
slurry, at a density of 14.8 lb/gal. (the heavy tail was pumped,
according to the authors, to reduce the build-up of annular
surface pressure.)
The job was pumped at about 1 BPM.
The authors indicated in their paper that the RCC technique
resulted in much lower circulating pressures when compared
to the conventional approach.
Conventional cementing would had exceeded the burst
strength of the old 5-1/2 in. casing, they said.
They used no float equipment, and apparently they were taking
returns through the inside of the 4 in. liner during the job.
The paper does not give details concerning the method used to
hold the liquid cement in place in the annulus after the job
(prevention of U-tubing into the liner before setting).
A 41 feet rat hole was present below the 4 in. liner, above a
cast iron bridge plug.
After WOC, they tagged cement at 8,430 ft (about 149 ft of
cement inside the casing).

Griffith et al. also wrote about the advantages of reverse
circulation cementing to reduce ECDs across weak formations
to prevent fracturing.
Their paper illustrates the use of this technique in cementing
shallow coal bed methane wells in Trinidad CO, USA to obtain
higher cement tops.
The coal beds exhibit severe lost circulation characteristics.
Conventional cementing of previous wells had not been
successful even with the use of lightweight cements, foam
cements and/or bridging materials.
When the paper was written, six successful reverse circulation
cementing job had been performed, achieving higher cement
columns than with the conventional cementing method.

The paper by Griffin includes results of a few large scale
tests performed to evaluate the effect of reverse circulation
on circulatable hole (amount of hole circulating during hole
conditioning prior to the cementing job).
The removal of partially dehydrated-gelled (PDG) mud and
filtercake studies in Griffins paper were conducted in large
scale models comprising 5 in. x 6-1/2 in. annuli.
The casing had an average standoff of 23%. The
circulatable hole was measured during the experiments by
the resistivity probe method.
Their experiments suggested that the circulatable hole
efficiency is independent of the direction of flow.
No actual displacement studies with cement being
pumped down the annulus were conducted during their
investigation.
The jobs in Trinidad CO. were performed using a 2-7/8 in.
inner string inside the 5-1/2 in. casing landed at about 2,000 ft.
The casing was cemented in a 7-7/8 in. hole.
The wells were cemented using a viscous pill ahead of the
cement slurry to indicate when the cement got to the casing
shoe.
This approach was possible according to the paper, because
most of the friction in the system was generated by the inner
string.
A cast iron cement retainer (CICR) was used at the bottom of
the casing.
Once the spacer/cement was detected at the shoe by the
increase in surface pressure, the valve at the CICR was closed
by un-stinging the inner string.

A few Amoco Experiences with RCC:
In September 1994, Dennis High et.al. with Amoco Canada
reported a very good description of a different application of
reverse circulation in their area.
Their situation dealt with the difficulty of establishing
circulation after running casing to bottom in wells drilled
with relatively high mud densities and gels, in the presence
of weak zones uphole.
In these cases, if fracturing of the weak upper zones took
place while attempting to re-gain circulation after running
the pipe to bottom, lost circulation would prevent the
cement column from obtaining the desired height during
the cement job.

The intermediate 8-3/4 in. hole was drilled to 2,634 m (8642
ft) with a fresh water Gel/PHPA mud with a density of 1,860
kg/m3 (15.5 lg/gal).
This mud density was needed to control the sloughing Fernie
shale.
The casing was tapered 177.8 mm (7) by 219.1 mm (8-5/8).
After running the casing, proper conventional circulation
could not be established due to high mud gels generated
during the static period. Discuss: is this good?
While attempting to re-gain circulation, large mud loses took
place, possibly near the pay zone.
Finally, it was decide to attempt reverse circulation with
the heavy density, gelled mud on the back side.

To be able to reverse-circulate, a 88.9 mm (3-1/2)
drill string was run inside the casing to drill out the
float equipment.
Next, a cement retainer was run into the casing and
set at 2,582 m (8474 ft).
Fresh water was circulated down the drillpipe, with
the pipe un-stung from the retainer.
The drillpipe was then stung back into the retainer.
With the heavy mud on the back side, this caused
a U-tubing tendency (large pressure drop
generated at the bottom in the reverse direction)
for the well to flow into the drillpipe.
They also pumped on the back side to help the heavy
mud flow into the drill string.
After a few trials using this procedure, the well
was successfully circulated in the conventional
direction (mud gels were broken).
The well was then successfully cemented to surface
pumping down the drillpipe (conventional method).
Full returns were seen during the job.
After the job, it was reported that the mud loses
did not go into the pay zone as initially feared.
How do you know this?

Bob Ovitz reported the successful use of RCC of coal
wells in the Raton Basin.
This basin in located near the East corner of the
Colorado-New Mexico border.
In these wells, the 5-1/2 in. casing needed to be cemented
to 2,400 ft across highly fractured coal beds in an 7-7/8
in. hole.
The use of blocking agents (LCMs) had not been fully
successful in allowing complete circulation.
In addition, the use of LCMs brought concerns regarding
production from those wells (production from fractured
coal seams).
Proper cementation of the wells was needed due to
production and legal ramifications.
The wells were air-drilled to TD.
After landing the casing, 2-3/8 in., 4.7 lb/ft tubing was run
inside the casing and stung into the float valve at the bottom of
the casing.
The tubing/casing annulus was filled with water.
The cement job was pump down the casing/hole annulus at
rates of around 2 to 3 BPM.
Cement mixing was stopped when spacer returns were
observed at the surface.
Since they used spacer volumes about equal to the tubing
volume, when the spacer was seen at the surface, the cement
was at the casing shoe.
The tubing was next sting-out of the float valve and reverse-
out.
They allow a maximum of 400 psi at the surface to reverse out
to clean the tubing.
A recent (about 4 years ago) deep application of the
technology:
They needed an effective method to cement a casing string
to 23,700 ft.
The well was cased to 20,700 ft.
Open hole was from 20,700 ft to 23,700 ft.
Casing was tapered: 14,000 ft of 10-3/4and 9,700 ft of 7-3/4.
Because of well control issues and extremely high sour gas
production required that the casing be cemented to surface.
Conventional cementing was ruled out because of retarder
issues (cement had to be pumped down to TD at ~ 410F
and back to surface) and the difficulty of wiping the
tapered string.
Two stage job was also ruled out due to tight clearances
between casing strings restricting stage tool design.
Finally, RCC was considered.
Open hole fracture gradient was 0.9 psi/ft
The short placement time provided by RCC was
considered a plus.
In addition, the retarder loading of the cement slurry
could be staged since not all the cement would be
exposed to the high temperatures at the bottom of the
hole.
If the casing was run open-ended to allow returns to be
taking from the casing, this presented a safety issue while
running the casing if the well was to kick. So, a special
shoe allowing the insert valve to be pumped out by
dropping a ball was designed as a contingency.
By pumping the valve out of the shoe after landing the casing, the
RCC procedure could be executed.
Because during drilling the open hole the formation showed very
little gas, the casing was run open ended with a guide shoe
(reduction of surge pressures).
Centralizers were used to try to centralize the casing string.
The annulus was closed and the cement slurry pumped down the
annulus via valves below the mandrel hanger.
Returns were taken from the casing.
Total job displacement was one (1) bbl of the OMB.
The cement slurry density was only slightly higher than the
density of the mud. This allowed manageable returns from the
casing.
Returns were monitored so that for every bbls pumped, a bbl
of returns was taken to the pits.
The cementing operation lasted only about 3 hrs.
About 3,300 sks of cement were pumped.
Formation breakdown was prevented (essentially no losses).
The job was planed to bring 1,500 ft of cement inside the 7-
3/4 casing.
After the cement set, cement was tagged at 2,200 ft inside the
casing shoe.
After drilled out, the shoe tested fine.
A savings of about $100,00 was reported from reduced rig
time and waiting on cement time.
Running a liner was avoided.

Theory of Reverse Circulation and
Reverse Cementing
It is known that use of reverse circulation can
substantially reduce the annular pressures
during pumping of a cement job.
To understand the reasons for this, lets
investigate the pressures in a well for the
conventional (normal) cementing case and the
reverse circulation cementing case.

Bottom Hole Pressures
Conventional Circulation Cementing:
In a conventional (normal) circulation case of a cement job in
progress, the fluids are pumped down the casing and up the
annulus. In this situation, the pressure at the bottom of the
annulus is given by:
PBCC = PHA + PFA + PSA (1)
where:
PBCC = Pressure at the bottom of the annulus in the

conventional case
PHA = Hydrostatic pressure in the annulus
PFA = Friction pressure in the annulus
PSA = Surface pressure applied to the annulus (if any)

Bottom Hole Pressures Conventional
Circulation Cementing (cont).
The casing surface pressure needed to circulate in the case of
conventional cementing is calculated by:
PSC = PBCC - PHC + PFC (2)
where:
PSC = Surface pressure in the casing at the surface
PHC = Hydrostatic pressure in the casing
PFC = Friction pressure in the casing
Substituting (1) into (2) we get:
PSC = (PHA - PHC) + (PFA + PFC) + PSA (3)
In normal cementing operations, pressure is not applied at the surface

to the annulus; thus, PSA in equations (1) and (3) is usually zero.

Stages of Conventional Cementing:
Studying equation (3), early during the cementing
operation (stage A) when the heavy fluids (spacers,
cement slurry) are being pumped into the casing, the
term (PHA - PHC) becomes increasingly negative
because the hydrostatic head in the casing is
continuously growing over the hydrostatic head in the
annulus.
This in turn causes the casing surface pressure to decline
with time during this stage of the cementing job.
Eventually the casing surface pressure can become equal
to zero and even negative (vacuum).
However, physically this pressure cannot become less
than absolute vacuum.
Therefore, once the surface casing pressure becomes
negative, the well goes on free-fall, and the flow rate
increases to cause the well friction pressure to go up,
to maintain the surface pressure at levels above
absolute vacuum Stage B.
Later on during the job, when the heavy fluids have
"turned the corner" and a good portion of these fluids is in
the annulus, the term (PHA - PHC) becomes increasingly
positive, the well comes out of free-fall, and the casing
surface pressure goes up with time until the end of the
cement job (see next Figure). Stage C.

Surface Pressure
Behavior
Bottom Hole
Pressures
Conventional
Circulation
Cementing
(cont).

Bottom Hole Pressures Reverse
Reverse Circulation Cementing:
In a reverse circulation situation, the fluids are pumped down the
annulus and up the casing. The pressure at the bottom of the
annulus is calculated in this case by:
PBRC = PHC + PFC + PSC (4)
where:
PBRC = Pressure at the bottom of the annulus in the reverse
circulation case
The required surface pressure in the annulus side is given by:
PSA = PBRC - PHA + PFA (5)

Substituting (4) into (5):
PSA = (PFA + PFC) - (PHA - PHC) + PSC (6)
PSC in equations (4) and (6) is usually zero since

normally no surface pressure is applied to the
casing at the surface.


Surface Pressures
Comparing Equations (3) and (6), it is concluded that
reverse circulation in general requires lower surface
pumping pressures (lower horsepower requirements)
than conventional cementing:
In the reverse circulation case, the term (PHA - PHC) is
positive most of the time and contributes to reducing the
surface pressure needed during the entire job (notice
thant in Eq. (6) the term has a negative sign).
In fact, looking at equation (6), it is easy to see that in
general, during reverse circulation cementing, the well
may tend to be on free-fall during a large portion of the
job, particularly at low pump rates (low friction
pressures).
Surface Pressures
Further indication that the surface pressures
will tend to be lower in the RCC case can be
seen by subtracting Eq. (6) from Eq.(3):
PSC PSA = 2(PHA PHC)
In the above equation, we set the terms PSA
and PSC equal to zero.
Notice that in the case that only one fluid (for
exaple mud) is circulated, surface pressures in
the conventional or the reverse case are the
same since in this case (PHA PHC) = 0

Bottom Hole Pressures
Back to looking at the bottom hole pressures:
By studying Equations (1) and (4) it is possible to
conclude that in general, during pumping of cement
jobs, the reverse circulation approach will yield lower
annular pressures toward the bottom of the hole than
the conventional circulation method.
This can be further illustrated by comparing a
conventional and a reverse cementing operation both
being conducted with the same fluids (same density
and rheology), being pumped at the same rate, at a
point in time toward the end of the job, and with the
interface of the fluids at the same elevation.
Bottom Hole Pressures (cont.)
With those assumptions, subtracting Equations (4) from (1):
(PBCC - PBRC) = (PHA - PHC) + (PFA - PFC) (7)
where, for simplicity, we have made PSA~0 for the conventional
case, and PSC~0 for the reverse circulation case.
Equation (7) can be used to conclude that reverse
circulation becomes even more attractive from the
point of view of reducing annular placement
pressures during cement jobs, when using high
cement slurry densities (high PHA) and with
increasing annular friction pressures like in
narrow annuli (high PFA).
Bottom Hole Pressures (cont.)
Large friction pressures are likely in narrow
annuli.
Thus, reverse circulation is quite attractive in
slimhole applications.
So, from theory, we conclude that reverse
circulation can allow execution of some cement
jobs across weak zones located near the bottom of
the hole, without breaking down those formations,
while the conventional approach may not.

Pressures Up Hole
It is also important to understand the pressures across upper
weak formations, or at a previous casing shoe.
Conventional Circulation Cementing Case:

In this situation, the pressure in the annulus across an upper
location at a distance Z from the bottom of the hole is given
by:
PCC Z = PHA + PFA + PSA - PHAZ - PFAZ (8)
where:
PCCZ = Pressure at a distance Z from the bottom in the annulus
in the conventional case
PHAZ = Hydrostatic pressure in the annulus along the distance Z
PFAZ = Friction pressure in the annulus along the distance Z

Pressures Up Hole (cont.)
Reverse Circulation Cementing Case:
In a reverse circulation situation, the fluids are pumped
down the annulus and up the casing. The pressure across
an upper location at a distance Z from the bottom of
the hole is given by:
PRCZ = PHC + PFC + PSC - PHAZ + PFAZ (9)
where:
PRCZ = Pressure at a distance Z from the bottom in the
annulus in the reverse circulation case.

Again lets compare a conventional and a
reverse cementing operation both being
conducted with the same fluids (same density
and rheology), being pumped at the same rate,
at a point in time toward the end of the job,
and with the interface of the fluids at the same
elevation.
With those assumptions we can write,
subtracting Equations (9) from (8):

(PCCZ - PRCZ) = (PHA - PHC) + (PFA - PFC) - 2 x PFAZ 10)
where again for simplicity, we made PSA~0 for the conventional

case, and PSC~0 for the reverse circulation case.
Equation (10) suggests that it is possible for the pressure up hole
for the reverse circulation mode to be higher than for the
conventional mode, at large distances up hole from the bottom of
the hole, if the cement slurry density is close to the muds and if
the annulus is tight (high annular friction pressures).
Therefore, it is possible that if weak formations are found up
hole in the open hole, the reverse circulation approach may not
be the best choice. Thus, pressures need to be check across all
weak zones in the open hole and the previous shoe.
In general, the best application for RCC is for situation were the
weak zones are located close to the bottom of the hole, and the
formations up hole in the open hole are competent or cased off.
Important Note
As shown above, the main use of reverse
circulation is to protect weak formations in the
openhole section of the well by reducing the
placement pressures in the annulus versus the
conventional circulation method during pumping
of the cement job.
Although Equation (4) suggests that during
reverse circulation cementing the annulus may
not experience the full annular hydrostatic head,
the exposed formations in the well will eventually
see the full hydrostatic head generated by the
density of the fluids in the annulus after the end of
the cement job.
Important Note (cont.)
This can be understood by realizing that Equation (4) gives
the bottomhole pressure during the cement job, from the
start to the end of the pumping operation.
As soon as the pumping stops, the pressure profile in the
annulus increases and becomes the annular hydrostatic
head by either the action of the closing of a valve at the
bottom of the casing, or by application of surface pressure
to the casing, needed to control the imbalance of the
annulus-casing hydrostatic heads (the U-tubing effect).
Therefore, for a successful application of reverse
circulation cementing, the weak formations in the annulus
must be able to support the full hydrostatic head of the
fluids at the end of the job, even if they do not see it during
the job, or they may experience breakdown after the cement
job.
Important Note (cont.)
Therefore, one of the first calculations that needs to be
made is the annular hydrostatic head with the full column
of cement in the annulus and the displacement fluid.
This hydrostatic needs to be compared to the pressure the
weak zones are capable of supporting.
For the RCC operation to be successful, the supporting
pressures of the zones need to be higher than the
calculated annular hydrostatic.
If needed, adjustments to the densities of the slurry,
spacer and displacement fluids need to be made at this
point to try to prevent breakdown of the weak zones if
they cannot support the full annular hydrostatic at the
end of the job.
Simulating RCC Jobs
To be able to determine if RCC is an
appropriate way to perform the cement job, a
simulator capable of simulating the job in the
reverse mode is needed.
The simulator should be able to simulate the
pressures profile along the entire annulus.

Cem-Job Simulates RCC

Conventional vs. RCC - Comparison
of Job Simulations
Example 1:
A high pressure situation (requiring heavy
fluids) similar to the one described in the paper
by Marquaire et al. was used for this example.
Cementing of a 7 in. casing inside an 8-3/4 in.
hole was simulated at a depth of 11,000 ft.
The operation was studied using the
conventional and the reverse circulation
methods.
The same job rate and the same fluids and
volumes were used in both cases.
Conventional Cementing Option at TD

Reverse Circulation Option at TD

Both Options Together at 10,500 ft

Conclusions from Example 1
Clearly the reverse circulation method
generated the lower circulating pressures in the
annulus.
In addition, as can be seen, the reverse
circulation job would be performed in about
60% of the time needed for the conventional
job.

of Job Simulations
Example 2:
This example simulates a situation similar to the one discussed
by Leturno et al. in their paper.
The simulator was run to look at cementing of a 4 in. scab
liner inside a 5-1/2 in. casing to 8,560 ft.
The following figure shows ECDs at the bottom of the liner vs.
cumulative volume pumped for the conventional and the
reverse circulation cement job simulations.
If we assume that the exposed formations at the bottom
were barely able to support the full hydrostatic of the
cement after the job, then the normal cementing job would
break the zones way before the end of the job (see the
figure).
On the other hand, the reverse circulation job would not
generate lost circulation, and the job would be completed in
about half the time. Beirute Consulting, L.L.C. 78
Both Options Together at 8.560 ft

of Job Simulations
Example 3:
A case like the ones illustrated by Griffith et al. and Ovitz
was simulated.
The well depth was 2,400 ft, with a 5-1/2 in. casing
cemented inside a 7-7/8 in. hole.
An inner string (2-7/8 in., 6.4 lb/ft) was used to take the
returns inside the casing.
A viscous pill ahead of the cement slurry was used to see if
the pill would give a good indication of the end of the job
when the pill got to the inner string.
The first simulation looked at cementing the well in the
conventional way, by pumping the cement down the casing
(no inner string). The second run simulated reverse
circulation cementing, with the tubing inside the casing.
Example 3 (cont.)
The following figure compares the data from the two methods.
Notice that the reverse circulation cementing approach again
generated much lower pressures in the annulus.
During the reverse circulation case, the pressure at the bottom
of the annulus increased rapidly toward the end of the job.
This was due to the viscous pill flowing inside the narrow
inner string (increase in friction pressure).
This bottom pressure increase caused a surface pressure jump
at around the same time, suggesting that the use of a viscous
pill may indeed help indicate when the cement slurry is at the
bottom of the hole.
Off course, care must be exercised to make sure that the pill
does not generate prohibitively high bottom hole pressures.
Both Options Together at 2,400 ft

of Job Simulations
Example 4:
This example illustrates the use of reverse circulation of mud
to reduce ECDs across weak formations.
It is similar to the application illustrated by the engineers from
Amoco Canada.
An 8 in. casing is set at 8,740 ft in an 8-3/4 in. hole. Density
of the mud is 15.5 lb/gal.
Circulation of this well with only mud in the hole was
simulated in the conventional and the reverse circulation
mode.
The simulations showed that the surface pressure was the
same for the normal and the reverse circulation modes since
there was only one fluid in the well, BUT, the bottom hole
pressures were drastically different!
Example 4 (cont.)
The conventional circulation mode generated for this
narrow annulus, an ECD of over 19 lb/gal at 1 BPM,
while the reverse circulation approach generated only
about 15.6 lb/gal!
This can be explained by looking at the equations given
before.

For the case of PSA and PSC = 0 then:
Equations (3) and (6) show that for only one fluid in the
hole, the surface pressure generated by circulation
should be the same regardless of the direction of flow
(no hydrostatic difference between casing and annulus).
Example 4 (cont.)
On the other hand, Equations (1) and (4) show
that in the conventional circulation mode, the
bottom hole pressure has to overcome the high
friction pressure in the narrow annulus, while in
the reverse circulation mode, the bottom hole
pressure sees instead the much lower, casing
friction pressure.
PBCC = PHA + PFA + PSA (1)
of Job Simulations
Example 4B:
Lets now examined another case similar to the Canadian field case
(Example 4), but lets looked at the situation after they ran the inner
string and tried to circulate with water in the hole.
We simulated a 4 in. drill pipe inside the 8 in. casing, with the drill
pipe full of water.
Again we looked at the conventional and reverse circulation cases.
The relevant part of the simulation is for both situation, obviously,
when the annulus is full of mud (water filling the entire drill pipe).
For the conventional circulation case, the ECD at the bottom of the
hole is again over 19 lb/gal.
For the reverse circulation case, the simulation is on free-fall, so it is
difficult to tell the ECD at the bottom when the annulus is full of
mud, but it is low, at a value ranging from the density of water to
less than 11.6 lb/gal, which is the ECD at the bottom of the hole
when the simulation finally comes out of free-fall.
Example 4B (cont.)
As illustrated by the Canadian field
experiences and supported by the last two
simulations, reverse circulation of mud has
tremendous potential for applications in
narrow annuli to reduce breakdown of weak
formations when attempting to establish
circulation after running casing in the hole.

Float Equipment for Use With RCC
New float equipment to use for RCC can be designed or
current equipment can be modified as we already saw.
Here is a valve designed by Beirute while with Amoco.
Design was shared with Weatherford.
A PDC drillable float equipment valve was designed that
would permit the application of reverse circulation
cementing in deeper wells, without having to use an inner
string or holding pressure in the casing after the job.
The new tool would permit circulation at any rate in the
conventional and reverse circulation modes.
After the reverse circulation cement job, by the action of a
ball, it would allow closing of the bottom of the casing to
prevent the cement slurry from U-tubing into the casing.
This would facilitate having the casing in radial
compression during WOC time to minimize the formation
of a micro-annulus during cement curing.
(cont.)
The equipment would consist of two sections: an
upper and a lower tool seat.
The lower seat would contain the valve designed
to close at the end of the reverse circulation
cement job.
The space between the two seats was named the
ball chamber.
The two seats would be located at a reasonable
distance from each other, for example 20 to 40 ft.
(cont.)
Figure 11 gives a sketch of the upper seat, and Figure
13 a sketch of the lower seat with the valve in its open
position.
In these two figures, the drillable ball is shown but
while circulating and cleaning the hole in the
conventional mode (down the casing), or the reverse
mode (down the annulus), the ball would not be
dropped, and therefore, the bottom of the casing would
be open to circulation in either direction.
Notice in Figure 13 that since the valve is pinned in its
open position, the casing could be circulated in either
direction at any rate without concerns of closing the
valve. Beirute Consulting, L.L.C. 90
Upper
Seat

Lower
Seat
Design could include Auto Fill

Capability

(cont.)
The only purpose of the upper seat (Figure 11) is to trap the
drillable ball in the ball chamber, so that the ball will be in close
proximity to the valve after the reverse circulation cement job.
This is the way the ball is utilized: once the hole has been fully
circulated-clean and conditioned in the conventional and/or
reverse circulation mode, the ball is dropped and circulated to the
upper seat (Figure 11).
The ball then enters the upper seat throat and seals the flow
opening. Application of a preset pressure (detectable at the
surface), shears the pins holding the two shear-arms, and allows
the ball to enter the ball chamber ( Figure 12).
The spring-loaded shafts located on the side of the shear-arms are
locked in place and prevent the arms from returning to their close
position, to prevent the ball from seating on the lower opening of
the upper seat flow channel of Figure 11 blocking the flow in the
reverse mode. Beirute Consulting, L.L.C. 93
Ball in the
Ball
Chamber

(cont.)
The reason for the length of the ball chamber (20
to 40 feet) is to make sure that when shearing the
shear-arm pins, the ball does not continue down
with force and also shears the valve pins located in
the lower seat.
Once the ball is trapped in the ball chamber,
circulation can only be performed in the reverse
circulation mode.
At this point circulation would again be
established in the reverse direction, followed by
the reverse circulation cementing job.
(cont.)
At the end of the reverse circulation cement job, the ball
is near the valve since it is trapped in the ball chamber.
After stopping the pumps and switching to pressurize the
casing, the ball is forced, by applying a preset pressure (in
addition to the hydrostatic differential) and after pumping
a small volume of fluid, to shear the lower flow cylinder
pins that hold the valve open.
After shearing this other set of pins, releasing of the
pressure in the casing causes the spring activated valve to
close.
The hydrostatic differential helps hold the valve close
after the job (Figure 14).
Bottom Valve
Closed at end
of Job

Guidelines for Reverse Circulation
Cementing Job Design
The main question still remaining regarding the application of
reverse circulation cementing is the level of displacement
efficiency achievable during the cement jobs, when compared
to conventional primary cementing.
Literature documented field applications of the technique
suggest that good cement jobs can be obtained by reverse
circulation cementing.
However, large scale displacement efficiency experiments with
cement slurries being pumped down the annulus have not been
conducted to properly address this concern.
Thus, some guidelines for reverse circulation cementing are
provided below based on what is known about optimization of
the displacement of one fluid by another.

Cementing Job Design (cont.)
1.Design reverse circulation cementing jobs using a simulator
that can simulate RCC. Be aware of fracture pressures across all
the weak formations and previous shoe, and high pore pressures
across pressurized zones (wells window) to make sure you
maintain well control during the job.
2. The use of good caliper logs to properly estimate the volumes
of cement needed is highly recommended.
3. Remember that weak formations in the well will see the full
hydrostatic of the fluids in the annulus after the reverse
circulation cementing job (same as with a conventional primary
cementing operations.). Make sure the weak zones can support
the full annular hydrostatic after the job. As needed, design the
density of the spacer, cement slurry and displacement fluid to
prevent breakdown due to the hydrostatic after the job.

4. Since gravity (density differences among the fluids) tends to
enhance mixing of the fluids when pumping in the reverse mode, the
density differences among the mud, spacer and cement slurry should
be minimized. Thus, spacer and cement slurry densities close to the
density of the mud are recommended in this case whenever possible
(this is different than when cementing in the conventional mode).
5. To maximize displacement efficiency, the yield point and plastic
viscosity of the fluids should be higher as you move up the hole. In
other words, whenever possible, you want to have a cement slurry
with more consistency than the spacer fluid, and the spacer fluid
with higher consistency than the muds. This is the same as with
normal primary cementing. Use Pressure Drop Hierarchy.
6. Flushes (densities and viscosity similar to water) may be
considered. However, there is the possibility of contaminating more
of the cement slurry at the flush-slurry interface than with
conventional cementing (cement channeling down into the flush due
to the density and rheology differences.
7. Thick spacers (pills) ahead of the cement slurry may help
detect when the job is near completion when using an inner string
(pressure increase at the surface when the pill enters the inner
string), but there is the possibility of contamination of the cement
slurry at the cement-pill interface (cement slurry may tend to
penetrate the less mobile pill during displacement due to
viscosity differences.) This contamination tendency may be
reduced by making the density of the pill equal or slightly higher
than the density of the cement slurry. A thick cement slurry
would also help in this case.
8. As with conventional cementing, spacers and flushes must be
tested for compatibility with the mud and cement slurry to
minimize contamination and channeling of the fluids during
placement. Compatibility tests with the fluids (mud, spacer,
cement slurry) must be conducted in the laboratory before
deciding that a given system can be used in the reverse
circulation cementing operation.
9. Whenever possible, clean the hole by pumping in the
conventional (normal) mode after getting the casing to bottom, to
clear the hole of cuttings, etc., before pumping in the reverse
circulation mode. This will minimize the chances of plugging the
valves used at the bottom of the casing during reverse circulation.
Off course, if the idea is to minimize pressures across weak zones
while breaking circulation, pumping in the conventional direction
would defeat this purpose. However, as indicated by the
Canadian experience, after getting the well circulating in the
reverse mode, it may be possible to establish circulation in the
conventional direction to complete the cleaning of the hole in the
normal way.
10. Prior to the reverse circulation cement job, pump in the
reverse circulation direction and condition the hole to remove as
much as possible of the PDG mud and filtercake in the open hole
annulus.
11. It is desirable to pump the jobs as fast as possible, within
the window allowed by the wells fracture gradient across the
weakest zones. Since as seen, reverse circulation cementing
generates much lower friction pressures in the annulus, faster
rates than with the conventional cementing method are easily
achievable during reverse circulation cementing. Use
Erodibility technology.
12. Other proven, good cementing practices such as
centralization of the casing, pipe movement, etc. should also
be used with reverse circulation cementing.
13. Remember that during reverse circulation cementing, wells
may often tend to go on vacuum or free-fall, as seen under
the Theory of Reverse Circulation. During free-fall, the fluids
move at rates that are different from the surface pump rates.

14. When using an inner string, consider using a spacer
volume close to the capacity of the inner tubing, to help
you detect when the cement gets to the bottom of the
casing. The cement slurry is at about the bottom in this
case, when the spacer is seen at the surface (tagging of the
spacer with dies is suggested in this application.) Leave
several bbls of cement in the casing to assure a good job
around the shoe.
15. Plan to leave about 500+ ft of cement inside the pipe
to make sure good cement is placed around the shoe.
This volume may be reduced later if experience indicates
that too much hard cement is being drilled-out after the
job.

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Reverse Circulation

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PBCC = PHA + PFA + PSA (1)

PBCC = Pressure at the bottom of the annulus in the

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C. 50

PSC = PBCC - PHC + PFC (2)

PSC = (PHA - PHC) + (PFA + PFC) + PSA (3)

In normal cementing operations, pressure is not applied at the surface

Beirute Consulting, L.L.C. 52

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PBRC = PHC + PFC + PSC (4)

The required surface pressure in the annulus side is given by:

PSA = PBRC - PHA + PFA (5)

PSA = (PFA + PFC) - (PHA - PHC) + PSC (6)

PSC in equations (4) and (6) is usually zero since

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Conventional Circulation Cementing Case:

PCC Z = PHA + PFA + PSA - PHAZ - PFAZ (8)

PFAZ = Friction pressure in the annulus along the distance Z

PRCZ = PHC + PFC + PSC - PHAZ + PFAZ (9)

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where again for simplicity, we made PSA~0 for the conventional

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