WELL INTEGRITY LOGS

ACOUSTIC CEMENT EVALUATION SURVEYS

OVERVIEW
Cement and Isolation
The main purpose of cement over the production interval is to provide
isolation between neighboring zones. Hydraulic isolation allows the
well operator to selectively complete cer­tain zones and assures that
fluids will not move into or from neighboring zones through the
borehole behind casing. Failure of isolation can cause a myriad of
problems such as water production, depletion of gas drive mechanism,
loss of production to neighboring zones, contamination of fresh water
sands, and the like. The remedy for such problems is an expensive
squeeze cement job which may only have a marginal chance of success.
Acoustic Bond Logs-What They Measure
The intent of running cement bond logs is to evaluate hydraulic seal.
Other reasons exist for running bond logs, such as determining cement
coverage, compressive strength, locate cement tops, and possibly
others. Acoustic cement bond logs do not measure hydraulic seal!
Instead they measure the loss of acoustic energy as it propagates
through casing. This loss of acoustic energy can be related to the
fraction of the casing perimeter covered with cement. If the cement
compressive strength is constant over the logged inter­val, this fraction
of cement annular fill is called Bond Index.
Referring to Figure herein acoustic bond
logs are suitable to detect annular fill of
cement and therefore can detect channels
within the cement of the types I and II.
These channels types of channels in cement
directly affect the fraction of the annulus
contacting cement. Types III and IV are
virtually invisible to the acoustic bond logs
unless they are large and the cement sheath
contacting the pipe becomes very thin. Type
V, the condition called "gas cut cement,"
would be detected but not recognized as
such.
FACTORS AFFECTING TOOL PERFORMANCE
• Centralization
• Micro annulus:
Some causes of micro annulus are listed below:
• The pressure inside the casing is less at the time of logging that at the time of cement curing. This may be
caused by:
• Reducing the casing fluid weight
• Lowering of the fluid level in the casing
• Holding pressure on the casing while cement cures
• Thermal expansion of the casing while the cement is curing followed by a return to normal temperatures
• Cool fluid circulated shortly before running the CBL
• Pressure testing or squeezing after cement has cured
• Cement Curing Time
• Uncured cement is essentially a liquid slurry and affords no support to the casing in shear. Therefore, its
presence around the pipe looks like poor bond to a CBL Jog prior to curing.
• Borehole Fluids:The fluids in the borehole may affect the ultimate amplitude detected at the receiver.
• Other Factors
• Other factors which may affect the measured amplitude include the cement compressive strength, foamed
cement, casing size, and weight