Table of

Contents
⦿ Functions of Casing
⦿ Types of Casing Strings
⦿ Classification of Casing
⦿ Mechanical Properties of Casing
⦿ Casing Design Criteria
⦿ Corrosion Design Considerations
 Functions of
Casing
⦿ Isolate porous formations with different
fluid-pressure regimes and also allow
isolated communication with selectively
perforated formation(s) of interest.
⦿ Isolate troublesome zones (high- pressured
zones, weak and fractured formations,
unconsolidated formations, and sloughing
shales) and to allow drilling to the total
depth.
⦿ Prevent the hole from caving in
⦿ Serve as a high-strength flow conduit to surface
for both drilling and production fluids.
⦿ Prevent near-surface fresh water zones from
contamination with drilling mud.
⦿ Provide a connection and support of the wellhead
equipment and blowout preventers.
⦿ Provide exact dimensions for running testing,
completion, and production subsurface
equipment.
 Types of Casing
Strings
⦿ There are different types of casing for different
functions and drilling conditions.
⦿ They are run to different depths and one or two of
them may be omitted depending on the drilling
conditions. They are:
⚫ Cassion pipe
⚫ Conductor pipe
⚫ Surface casing
⚫ Intermediate casing
⚫ Production casing
⚫ Liners
 Cassion pipe (26 to 42 in.
OD)
⦿ For offshore drilling only.
⦿ Driven into the sea bed.
⦿ It is tied back to the conductor or surface casing
and usually does not carry any load.
⚫Prevents washouts of near-surface unconsolidated
formations.
⚫Ensures the stability of the ground surface upon which the
rig is seated.
⚫Serves as a flow conduit for the drilling mud to the surface
 Conductor pipe (7 to 20 in.
OD)
⦿ The outermost casing string.
⦿ It is 40 to 500 ft in length for onshore and up to
1,000 ft for offshore.
⦿ Generally, for shallow wells OD is 16 in. and 20
in. for deep wells.
⚫Isolates very weak formations.
⚫Prevents erosion of ground below rig.
⚫Provides a mud return path.
⚫Supports the weight of subsequent casing strings.
 Surface casing (17-1/2 to 20 in.
OD)
⦿ The setting depths vary from 300 to 5,000 ft
⦿ 10-3/4 in. and 13-3/8 in. being the most common
sizes.
⦿ Setting depth is often determined by government
or company policy and not selected due to technical
reasoning.
⚫Provides a means of nippling up BOP.
⚫Provides a casing seat strong enough to safely close
in a well after a kick.
⚫Provides protection of fresh water sands.
⚫Provides wellbore stabilization.
Intermediate casing (17-1/2 to 9-5/8
in. OD)
⦿ Also called a protective casing, it is purely a
technical casing.
⦿ The length varies from 7,000 to 15,000 ft.
⚫ Provides isolation of potentially troublesome zones
(abnormal pressure formations, unstable shales, lost
circulation zones and salt sections).
⚫ Provides integrity to withstand the high mud weights
necessary to reach TD or next casing seat
 Production casing (9-5/8 to 5 in.
OD)
⦿ It is set through the protective productive
zone(s).
⦿ It is designed to hold the maximal shut-in
pressure of the producing formations.
⦿ It is designed to withstand stimulating
pressures during completion and workover
operations.
⦿ A 7-in. OD production casing is often used
⚫ Provides zonal isolation (prevents migration of
water to producing zones, isolates different
production zones).
⚫ Confines production to wellbore.
⚫ Provides the environment to install subsurface
completion equipment.
⚫ Provides protection for the environment in the
event of tubing failure during production
operations and allows for the tubing to be repaired
and replaced.
Liners
⦿ They are casings that do not reach the surface.
⦿ They are mounted on liner hangers to the
previous casing string.
⦿ Usually, they are set to seal off troublesome
sections of the well or through the producing zones for
economic reasons (i.e. to save costs).
⚫Drilling liner
⚫Production liner
⚫Tie-back liner
⚫Scab liner
⚫Scab tie-back liner
⚫ Drilling Liner – Same as intermediate/protective casing. It
overlaps the existing casing by 200 to 400 ft. It is used to isolate
troublesome zones and to permit drilling below these zones
without having well problems.
⚫ Production Liner – Same as production casing. It is run to
provide isolation across the production or injection zones.
⚫ Tie-back Liner – it is connected to the top of the liner with a
specially designed connector and extends to the surface, i.e.
converts liner to full string of casing.
⚫ Scab Liner – A section of casing used to repair existing damaged
casing. It may be cemented or sealed with packers at the top and
bottom.
⚫ Scab Tie-back Liner – A section of casing extending upwards
from the existing liner, but which does not reach the surface and
normally cemented in place. They are commonly used with
cemented heavy-wall casing to isolate salt sectons in deeper
portions of the well.
 Classification of
Casing
⦿ There are two types of casing standardization:
⚫the API
⚫non-API
⦿ Some particular engineering problems are
overcome by specialist solutions which are not
addressed by API specifications:
⚫drilling extremely deep wells
⚫using ‘premium’ connections in high pressure high GOR
conditions.
⦿ Nevertheless, we will stick to the API methods
⦿ Classifications to be considered are:

⚫ Outside diameter (OD).

⚫ Inside diameter (ID), wall thickness, drift
diameter.
⚫ Length (range)
⚫ Connections
⚫ Weight
⚫ Grade
 Outside diameter
(OD)
⦿ Casing manufacturers generally try to prevent
the pipe from being undersized to ensure
adequate thread run-out when machining a
connection.
⦿ Most casing pipes are found to be within ±
0.75% of the tolerance and are slightly
oversized.
 Inside Diameter (ID), Wall
Thickness, Drift Diameter
⦿ The ID is specified in terms of wall thickness
and drift diameter.
⦿ The maximal ID is controlled by the combined
tolerances for the OD and the wall thickness.
⦿ The minimal permissible pipe wall thickness is
87.5% of the nominal wall thickness, which in
turn has a tolerance of -12.5%.
 ⦿ The minimal ID is controlled by the specified
drift diameter.
⦿ The drift diamater refers to the diameter of a
cylindrical drift mandrel that can pass freely
through the casing with a reasonable exerted
force equivalent to the weight of the mandrel
being used for the test.
⦿A bit of a size smaller than the drift
diameter will pass through the pipe.

Casing & Liner OD (in.) Length (in.) Drift Diameter (in.)

API recommended ≤ 8-5/8 6 ID – 1/8

dimensions for drift
mandrels 9-5/8 – 13-3/8 12 ID – 5/32

≥ 16 12 ID – 3/16
 Length
(range)
⦿ The lengths of pipe sections are specified in
three major ranges:
⚫ R1, R2 and R3.

Range Length (ft) Average Length (ft)

1 16 – 25 22
2 25 – 34 31
3 > 34 42
Connection
s
⦿ API provides specifications for four types of
casing connectors:
⚫ CSG – Short round threads and couplings – offer no
pressure seal at internal pressure, threaded surfaces get
further separated.
⚫ LCSG – Long round threads and couplings – same
basic thread design as CSG but offers greater strength
and also greater joint efficiency (though less than
100%). Often used because it is reliable, easy and cheap.
⚫ BCSG – Buttress threads and couplings – offers a
nearly 100% joint efficiency. Not 100% leakproof.
⚫ XCSG – Extreme line threads – design is an integral
joint, i.e. the coupling has both box and pin ends. Much
more expensive.
⦿ CSG and LCSG are also called API 8-Round
threads because they have eight threads per inch
 API
Round Thread
Connector
 API
Buttress Thread
Connector
 API
Extreme-Line
Connector
Weigh
t
⦿ Pipe weight is usually expressed as weight per
unit length in lb/ft. The three types are:
⚫ Nominal Weight
⚫ Plain-end Weight
⚫ Threaded and Coupled Weight or Average Weight
⦿ Nominal weight
⚫ Based on theoretical weight per foot for a 20-ft
length of threaded and coupled casing joint.
Wn  10.68 OD  t t  0.0722  2

OD 

○ OD = outside diameter (in.)
○ t = wall thickness (in.)
⚫The nominal weight is not the exact weight of the
pipe, but rather it is used for the purpose
identification of casing types.
⦿ Plain-end weight
⚫ The weight of the joint of casing without the threads
and couplings.

Wpe  10.68OD  t 

⦿ Threaded and Coupled Weight or Average Weight

⚫ The weight of a casing joint with threads on both ends
and coupling at one end when in the power tight
position.
⚫ The variation between nominal weight and average
weight is generally small, and most design calculations
are performed with the nominal weight.
    Lc  2J   
Wtc  1 W pe  20  
20   24 
  
 Weight of coupling
20
 Weight removed in threading two pipe ends
20

○ Lc = length of coupling (in.)

○ J = distance between the end of the pipe and center of
the coupling (in.)
Grade
⦿ The steel grade of the casing relates to the tensile
strength of the steel from which the casing is
made.
⦿ The steel grade is expressed as a code number
which consists of a letter and a number.
⚫ The letter is arbitrary selected to provide a unique
designation for each grade of casing.
⚫ The number deisgnates the minimal yield strength of the
steel in thousands of psi. For example, K-55 has a yield
strength of 55,000 psi
 Mechanical Properties of
Casing
⦿ Casing is subjected to different loads during
landing, cementing, drilling, and production
operations.
⦿ The most important loads which it must
withstand are tensile, burst and collapse loads.
⦿ Other important loads include wear, corrosion,
vibration and pounding by drillpipe, the effects
of gun perforating and erosion
Tensio
n
⦿ Under axial tension, pipe body may suffer
3 possible deformations:
⚫ Elastic – the metallurgical properties of the steel
in the pipe body suffer no permanent damage and
it regains its original form if the load is
withdrawn
⚫ Elasto-plastic – the pipe body suffers a
permanent deformation which often results in the
loss of strength)
⚫ Plastic
⦿ The strength of the casing string is expressed as
pipe body yield strength and joint strength.
 ⚫ Pipe body strength is the minimal force required
to cause permanent deformation of the pipe.

Fa = axial force to pull apart the pipe, lbf

As = cross-sectional area of the pipe, in.2
σy = minimum yield strength, psi
do = pipe outer diameter, in
di = pipe inner diameter, in

 
Fa   y As As 
4
d 2
 d 2o Fa   y d 2 
4
2
o
d
 i
 i
 ⚫ Joint strength is the minimal tensile force required
to cause the joint to fail.
⚫ For API round threads, joint strength is defined as the
smaller of minimal joint fracture force and
minimal joint pullout force.
For fracture force,  0.95up Ajp
Faj
joint strength:
For pullout force,  0.74d o0.59

Faj  0.95Ajp Let
up
 y
joint strength:  0.5L  0.14d 
 et o Let  0.14d o 

   d 2i 
2

σup = ultimate strength, psi A 

jp
d o  0.1425  
4
Ajp = area under last perfect thread,
in.2
Let = length of engaged thread, in.
⚫ Bending force – Casing is subjected to bending
forces when run in a deviated wells. The lower
surface of the pipe stretches and is in tension. The
upper surface shortens and is in compression.
 Fb  63doWn

Wn = nominal weight, lb/ft

ϴ = dogleg severity, degrees (o)/100 ft

⚫Other tensional forces include:

○ Shock load (the vibrational load when running
casing and the slips are suddenly set at the
surface)
○ Drag force (frictional force between the casing
and the borehole walls)
Burst pressure
⦿ Minimum expected internal pressure at
which permanent pipe deformation could
take place, if the pipe is subjected to no
external pressure or axial loads.
⚫ The API burst rating is given as:

2 t
Pbr  0.875 d y
o
 Collapse
pressure
⦿ Minimum expected external pressure at
which the pipe would collapse if the pipe
were subjected to no internal pressure or
axial loads.
 ⦿ There are different types of collapse pressure
rating depending on the do/t ratio:
⚫ Yield strength
⚫ Plastic
⚫ Transition
⚫ Elastic

Yield
Plastic Transition Elastic
Grade strength
Ranges collapse
collapse collapse collapse

of do/t F1 F2 F3 F4
F5
when H-40 16.40 27.01 42.64 2.950 0.0465 754 2.063 0.0325
axial J-, K-55 14.81 25.01 37.21 2.991 0.0541 1,206 1.989 0.0360
stress is C-75 13.60 22.91 32.05 3.054 0.0642 1,806 1.990 0.0418
zero L-, N-80 13.38 22.47 31.02 3.071 0.0667 1,955 1.998 0.0434
C-90 13.01 21.69 29.18 3.106 0.0718 2,254 2.017 0.0466
⚫ Yield Strength Collapse Pressure

 d o  1 
  
 t
Pcr  2 y  
  do 2 
 
 t 


⚫ Plastic Collapse Pressure

 
 F 
Pcr   y  1  F2   F3
  do 
 t 


⚫ Transition Collapse Pressure

 
 F 
Pcr   y  4  F5 
 do 
 t 



⚫ Elastic Collapse Pressure

46.95106

Pcr 2

 do   do   
 t   t 1 
   
Combined stresses
⦿ The performance of casing is examined in
the presence of other forces.

axial loadz
  As

  2  
 y,eff  Pi 1 0.75 z

y 

 0.5   z
y y
  
2

  z 
 y,eff   1 0.75  z   0.5 
 y  Pi
  y    y 

σz = axial stress, psi (+ve for tension, - ve

for compression)
Pi = internal pressure, psi
σy,eff = effective yield strength, psi
 Casing Design
Criteria
⦿ Casing costs is one of the largest cost
items of a drilling project.
⦿ It is imperative to plan for proper selection
of casing strings and their setting depths to
realise an optimal and safe well at
minimal costs.
 Casing points
selection
⦿ Initial selection of casing setting depths is based
on the pore pressure and fracture pressure
gradients for the well.
⦿ Information on pore pressure and fracture
pressure gradients is usually available from
offset well data.
⦿ This information should be contained in the
geotechnical information provided for planning
the well.
⦿ Other factors affecting casing points
selection include:
⚫ Shallow gas zones
⚫ Lost circulation zones, which limit mud weights
⚫ Well control
⚫ Formation stability , which is sensitive to exposure
time or mud weight
⚫ Directional well profile
⚫ Sidetracking requirements
⚫ Isolation of fresh water sands (drinking water)
⚫ Hole cleaning
⚫ Salt sections
⚫ High pressured zones
⚫ Casing shoes should where practicable be set in
competent formations
⚫ Casing program compatibility with existing
wellhead systems
⚫ Casing program compatibility with planned
completion program
⚫ Multiple producing intervals
⚫ Casing availability
⚫ Economy
 Design
factors
⦿ API design factors are essentially “safety factors”
that allow us to design safe, reliable casing
strings.
⦿ Each operator may have his own set of design
factors, based on his experience and the condition
of the pipe.
⦿ The design factors are necessary to cater for:
⚫ Uncertainties in the determination of actual loads that
the casing needs to withstand.
⚫ Reliability of listed properties of the various steels
used in the industry and the uncertainty in the
determination of the spread between ultimate strength
and yield strength.
⚫ Uncertainties regarding the collapse pressure
formulas.
⚫ Possible damage to casing during transport and
storage.
⚫ Damage to the pipe body from slips, wrenches or
inner defects due to cracks, pitting, etc.
⚫ Rotational wear by the drill string while drilling.
⦿ The use of excessively high design factors
guarantees against failure but provides
excessive strength and, therefore, increased
cost.
⦿ The use of low design factors requires accurate
knowledge about the loads to be imposed on the
casing as there is less margin available.
⦿ The company values selected for design factors
are a compromise between safety margin and
economics.
 ⦿ The API design factors are:
⚫ Tension and Joint Strength: DFT = 1.8
⚫ Collapse: DFC = 1.125
⚫ Burst: DFB = 1.1

⦿ Example

Design
Required Design factor

Tension: 100,000 lbf 1.8 180,000 lbf

Collapse: 10,000 psi 1.125 11,250 psi

Burst: 10,000 psi 1.1 11,000 psi

 Worst possible
conditions
⦿ Tension Design
⚫Assume there is no buoyancy effect.
⚫Design is based on the weight of the entire casing
string.
⦿ Collapse Design
⚫Assume that the casing is empty on the inside, that is,
no pressure inside the casing and no buoyancy effect.
⚫Design is based on the maximum mud weight at the
casing depth
⦿ Burst Design
⚫ Assume no backup fluid on the outside of the casing.
⚫ Design is based on maximum pressure on the inside
of the casing.
⚫ The pressure is to design for is the estimated
formation pressure at TD for production casing, or
estimated formation pressure at the next casing depth.

⦿ The casing string must be designed to

withstand the expected conditions in tension,
burst and collapse.
 Graphical design
method
⦿ Casing design itself is an optimization
process
to find the cheapest casing string that is
strong enough to withstand the occuring loads
over time.
⦿ The design is therefore depended on:
⚫ Loading conditions during life of well (drilling
operations, completion procedures, production, and
workover operations)
⚫ Strength of the formation at the casing shoe (assumed
fracture pressure during planning and verified by the
formation integrity test.
⚫ Availabilty and real price of individual casing strings
○ Burst: Assume full reservoir pressure all along the wellbore.
○ Collapse: Hydrostatic pressure increases with depth.
○ Tension: Tensile stress due to weight of string is highest at
the top
 Analytical design
method
⦿ Burst requirements
⚫Casing must withstand the maximum anticipated
formation pressure that the casing string could possibly be
exposed to.
⦿ Collapse requirements
⚫ We start at the bottom of the string and work
our way up.

⚫ Our design criteria will be based on hydrostatic

pressure resulting from the mud weight that will
be in the hole when the casing string is run,
prior to cementing.
⦿ Worst possible conditions

⚫ Burst design: assume no “backup” fluid on the

outside of the casing

⚫ Collapse design: assume that the casing is empty

on the inside.

⚫ Tension design: assume no buoyancy effect.

 Corrosion Design
Considerations
⦿ Corrosion “eats” through casing string
⦿ This reduces the wall thickness
⦿ It then affects the collapse resistance, burst
resistance and the yield strength, among others.
⦿ Forecasting the presence and concentration of
corrosion is essential for a choice of a proper casing
grade and wall thickness and for operational safety
purposes.
⦿ Casing can also be subjected to corrosive attack
opposite formations containing corrosive fluids
 Factors causing
corrosion
⦿ Most corrosion problems in oilfield operations
are due to the presence of water.
⦿ Corrosive fluids can be found in water-rich
formations and aquifers as well as in the
reservoir itself.
⦿ Factors initiating and perpetuating corrosion can
either act alone or in combination.
⦿ Oxygen (O2)
⚫ Oxygen dissolved in water drastically increases its
corrosivity potential.
⚫ It can cause severe corrosion at very low
concentrations of less than 1.0 ppm.
⚫ The solubility of oxygen in water is a function of
pressure, temperature and chloride content.
⚫ Oxygen is less soluble in salt water than in fresh
water.
⚫ Oxygen usually causes pitting in steels.
⦿ Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S)
⚫ H2S is very soluble in water and when
dissolved, behaves as a weak acid and usually
causes pitting.
⚫ This type of attack is called sour corrosion.
⚫ Other problems from H2S corrosion include
hydrogen blistering and sulphide stress
cracking.
⚫ The combination of H2S and CO2 is more
aggressive than H2S alone.
⦿ Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
⚫ CO2 is soluble in water and forms carbonic acid,
decreases the pH of the water and increase its corrosivity.
⚫ It is not as corrosive as oxygen, but usually also results in
pitting.
⚫ Corrosion by CO2 is referred to as sweet corrosion.
⚫ Partial pressure of CO2 is used as a yardstick to predict
corrosion.
○ Partial pressure < 3 psi: generally non corrosive.
○ Partial pressure 3 – 30 psi: may indicate high corrosion risk.
○ Partial pressure > 30 psi: indicates high corrosion risk.
 ⦿
Temperature
⚫ Like most chemical reactions, corrosion rates
generally increase with increasing temperature.

⦿ Pressure
⚫ The primary effect of pressure is its effect on
dissolved gases.
⚫ More gas goes into solution as the pressure is
increased, this may in turn increase the corrosivity of
the solution.
⦿ Velocity of Fluids
⚫ Stagnant or low velocity fluids usually give low
corrosion rates, but pitting is more likely.
⚫ Corrosion rates usually increase with velocity as the
corrosion scale is removed from the casing exposing
fresh metal for further corrosion.
⚫ High velocities and/or the presnce of suspended
solids or gas bubbles can lead to erosion, corrosion,
impingement or cavitation.
 Corrosion control
measures
⦿ Corrosion control measures may involve
the use of one or more of the following:
⚫ Cathodic protection
⚫ Chemical inhibition
⚫ Chemical control
⚫ Oxygen scavengers
⚫ Chemical sulphide scavengers
⚫ pH adjustment
⚫ Deposit control