Casing

Casing

 While drilling of oil & gas wells, it is necessary to

line the walls of a borehole with steel pipe which is
called casing. Casing has its specified thickness and
diameter.
 The purpose of drilling a well is to evaluate one or
more prospective producing zones and provide a
means of producing the hydrocarbons that may be
found in those horizons. It also can be said that this is
primary purpose of the casing.
Casing Pipes in Yard

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 Casing
 When drilling wells, hostile environments,
such as high- pressured zones, weak and
fractured formations, unconsolidated
formations and sloughing shales, are often
encountered.
 Hence, wells are drilled and cased in
several steps to seal off these troublesome
zones and to allow drilling to the total
depth.
 Different casing sizes are required for
different depths.
 The five general casings used to complete a
well are: conductor pipe, surface casing,
intermediate casing, production casing and
liner.
Types of casing
 Types of Casing (contd.)
 Conductor casing

• Normal size - 18 5/8”- 30”

• (always cemented upto surface)
• To protect near surface unconsolidated formations.
• Seal off shallow water zones.
• Provide protection against shallow gas zones.
• To protect the foundation of the platform in off-shore
operations.
• It is used to support subsequent casing strings and
well head equipment or alternatively the pipe is cut
off at the surface after setting
 Types of Casing (contd.)
 SURFACE CASING
• Normal size - 13 3/8” – 18 5/8”or 20”.
• Should be set in competent rocks.
• To prevent caving of weak formations and maintain
hole integrity.
• Cover fresh water sands and prevent their
contamination by fluids from deeper formation.
• Minimize lost circulation into shallow permeable
zones.
• Cover weak zones that are incompetent to control
kick imposed pressures.
• Provide a means for attaching the blow-out
preventers.
• Support the weight of all casing strings (except
liners) run below the surface pipes.
20” Casing Pin End
 Types of Casing (contd.)
 Intermediate casing
• Normal size - 95/8” – 13 3/8”
• It is set at a depth between the surface and production
casing.
• Troublesome zones encountered include those with
abnormal formation pressures, lost circulation, unstable
shales and salt section.
• Good cementation of this casing must be ensured to
prevent communication behind the casing between the
lower hydrocarbon zones and upper water formations.
Longer cement columns are sometimes necessary to
prevent casing buckling.
• Multi-stage cementation may be opted for.
13-3/8”, 9-5/8” , 7” Casing Pipe
Casing Thread Protector

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Casing Pipe and Coupling

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 Types of Casing (contd.)
• Production casing
• Normal size - 5” - 7”
• (May be set above, mid-way or below pay zone)
• Isolate the producing zone from other formations.
• provide a work shaft of a known diameter to the pay
zone.
• protect the production tubing and other equipments.
 Types of Casing (contd.)
 Liners
• Normal size - 7” – 9 5/8”
• Liners are the pipes that do not usually reach the
surface, but are suspended from the bottom of the
existing largest casing string. It is about 100 – 150 m
overlap between the two strings. Liners are used for
the same purpose as intermediate casing.
• Drilling liners are used to isolate lost circulation or
abnormally pressured zones to permit deeper drilling.
• Production liners are run instead of a full casing to
provide isolation across the production or injection
zones.
 Types of Casing (contd.)
•
Advantages of Liners
• Low cost completion.
• Case off open hole more rapidly and easily.
• Complete wells with less weight landed on well-head
and surface pipe.
• Prevent lost circulation.
• Provide safer operations.
• Large ID up the hole accommodates large dual
strings.
 Types Of Casing (contd.)
• Permit drilling with tapered drill-string.
• Provide good well control while drilling and
completing.
• Where rig capacity cannot handle full string.
• To provide an upper section of casing (tie back)
which has seen no drilling.
• Allow deepening of old wells.
• Permit testing lower zone of a new well economically
before plugging back to primary zones.
• Accommodate large volume pumps for artificial lift.
• Provide ability to reciprocate high angle holes while
cementing.
 Types of Casing (contd.)
 Disadvantages of Liners
• Possible leak across a liner hanger.
• Difficulty in obtaining good primary cementation due
to the narrow annulus between the liner and the hole.
• Liner seals sometimes give trouble due to
occasionally disengagement from the run – in string
may be difficult or impossible.
• Clearance between a liner and the previous string of
casing is often smaller than is usual with other
casings.
 Types of Casing (contd.)
 Other purpose Liners
• Slotted liners, perforated liners and gravel packed
liners, which are set opposite producing zones for the
purpose of preventing sand from entering the well.
 Properties of casing
• The physical properties of oil-field tubular goods
include grade, pressure resistance, drift diameter, and
weight.
• These properties relate to the pipe’s ability to meet
the demands of the imposed drilling conditions. The
limitations of the properties must be considered
before final pipe selection.
• Grade: The pipe grade is a designation that defines
the pipe’s yield strength and certain special
characteristics. eg – N – 80, P – 110.
 Properties of casing
 API Ranges:

• Range – I: 16 to 25 ft.

• Range - II: 25 to 34 ft.

• Range - III: 34 to 46 ft.

 Types of coupling and elements of
threads
• Coupling is a short section of casing used to connect
two casing joints.
• In general casing and coupling are specified by the
type of threads (or connection) cut in the pipe or
coupling.
• Following are the most widely used
connections :
 Types of coupling and elements of threads

• API round thread coupling

• Eight round threads per inch, having V-shape with
an included angle of 60°.
• Two types :-
• STC and LTC
• STC & LTC connections are weaker than the pipe
body and LTC is capable of transmitting higher axial
loads.
Casing Coupling

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13-3/8”, 9-5/8” , 7” Casing Pipe Pin End
Threads
 Buttress thread coupling

• Capable of transmitting higher axial loads than

API round threaded coupling. It has 5 threads per
inch.
 Vam thread coupling
• Modified buttress thread, providing
double metal to metal seal at pin end
• It has 5 threads per inch.
 Extreme line thread coupling
• Externally and internally threaded on internal-
external upset ends. Upset ends to increase wall
thickness, to compensate for the loss of metal
due to threading. The thread profile is
trapezoidal, providing metal to metal seal at both
the pin end and the external shoulder. This
makes the extreme line casing suitable for use in
elevated temperature and pressures. The joint is
gas tight and can transmit high axial, tensile and
compressive loads.
• 6 threads per inch for sizes 5 in. to 7 5/8 in.
• 5 threads per inch for sizes 85/8 in. to 10 ¾ in.
 Casing specifications
• Casings are specified according to the following:
• Size:
• Size is specified for outside diameter of the
casing pipe.
• Nominal weight:
• The term nominal weight is primarily used for
the purpose of identification of casing type
during ordering.
• It is the theoretical wt. per foot for a 20 ft. length
of threaded & coupled casing joint
 Casing specifications
Plain end weight:
• Excludes threads & couplings

Threaded and coupled weight:

• It is the average wt. of a joint including the
threads at both ends & a coupling at one end
when power tight.
 Casing specifications
 Internal Diameter:

• Average internal diameter of the pipe used for

inside volume calculations.

 Drift diameter:

• The largest diameter equipment (bit, packer etc.),

which can be safely run inside the casing.
Casing drifting tool
 Strength properties
Casing strength properties are normally specified
as:

1. Yield strength for (a) pipe body and (b) coupling.

2. Collapse strength for (a) plain pipe & (b)

coupling.
– Burst (or internal yield) strength of pipe body.
 Loading conditions – Burst
INTERNAL PRESSURE(LOAD) = Pi
EXTERNAL PRESSURE(BACK-UP) = Pe

Pi BURST CONDITION WHEN

Pi > Pe
Pe
NET STRESS IMPOSED ON CASING
OR ‘RESULTANT’
=LOAD – BACK UP = Pi - Pe
Loading conditions – Collapse

EXTERNALPRESSURE(LOAD) = Pe
INTERNAL PRESSURE(BACK-UP) = Pi

COLLAPSE CONDITION WHEN Pe > Pi

Pe Pi
NET STRESS IMPOSED ON CASING OR

‘RESULTANT’ =LOAD – BACK UP

= Pe - Pi
 Grades of steel
• Seven different API grades available
• The numbers followed by alphabets denotes minimum yield
strength.

GRADE MINM. YIELD ST. COLOUR CODE

(psi)
J 55 55,000 GREEN

K 55 55,000 GREEN GREEN

N 80 80,000 RED
L 80 80,000 RED / BROWN /
RED

C 75 75,000 BLUE
C 95 95,000 BROWN
P 110 110,000 WHITE
 Design criteria

Axial tension:
Tension due to the casings dead weight

The top most casing joint is subjected to the maximum

tension.
 Design criteria
Collapse pressure:

• The increase in external pressure due to difference in

fluid column / formation pressure results in a
tendency to collapse the casing.
• Collapse pressure is maximum at the bottom & zero
at the surface.
• It is assumed that the inside of casing is empty for
surface & production casing, & partially empty for
intermediate casing.
• Collapse pressure is calculated taking true vertical
depth (TVD) for directional wells.
 Design criteria
Burst pressure:

• The increase in internal over external pressure

results in a bursting tendency.
• The criteria is based upon maximum formation
pressure resulting from a kick during drilling of
next hole section.
• It is assumed that the entire inside volume is
displaced by formation fluid.
• The burst pressure is maximum at the top &
minimum at the casing shoe due to external
pressure resistance.
Casing handling
and
running tools
Casing Shoe
Casing float collar
Casing Slip

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Casing single joint elevator
Casing side door elevator

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Slip type casing elevator
Slip type casing spider
Casing manual tongs
Casing power tong

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Casing spool
Casing spool
Casing slips
Power
Tongs
for
Casing
Slip Type Casing Elevators
CASING SIDE DOOR ELEVATORS
CASING SINGLE JOINT
ELEVATOR
Casing
Bushing