The Cement-to-Formation Interface in Zonal Isolation

Abstract

Summary Maintaining zonal isolation for the lifetime of oil and gas wells is critical. Leakage behind casing can reduce the cost effectiveness of the well and cause health and safety risks from pressure buildup and contaminated aquifers. During the completion and production phases of the well, temperature and pressure variations can cause stresses at the cement-to-formation interface. The ability of the casing-cement system to maintain a seal at the cement-to-formation interface depends on the condition of the formation surface before slurry placement. The condition of shale will depend upon the nature of the drilling fluid used, whereas the condition of a permeable rock will depend upon the presence and nature of the filter-cake deposited during drilling and circulation. In this paper, we present an improved understanding of chemical interactions at the cement-to-formation interface and the factors that determine bond strength and the position of the plane of failure. For permeable formations, the role of the mud filter-cake for different mud types is explored. For nonpermeable formations, the presence and effect of a mud treatment are also examined. The extent and depth to which chemical alteration of the mudcake occurs when in contact with cement is determined together with measurements of the yield stress and water-content profile of the altered mudcake. The effect on bond strength of exposing swelling and nonswelling shales to inhibitive drilling fluids is presented. Laboratory-scale test equipment and as mall-scale wellbore simulator, developed for tests under realistic field conditions, are described. A flexible (i.e., lower Young's modulus) cement plays a role in bonding and is demonstrated by the simulator tests. This improved understanding enables us to confirm the key issues at the cement-to-formation interface and propose some solutions for effective zonal isolation.

Reaction-driven casing expansion: potential for wellbore leakage mitigation

“…These cement seals are susceptible to various forms of failure [42,90]. For example, during emplacement, poor removal of drilling mud or filter cake may impair bonding between the cement, the casing and the surrounding rock [1,76]. Moreover, cement shrinkage upon hardening, inherent to some of the processes involved in hydration [117], produces radial contraction that may result in tensile fracturing of the cement or debonding at the casing-cement and cementformation interfaces [26,33].…”

Identification of potential CO2 leakage pathways and mechanisms in oil reservoirs using fault tree analysis

“…The cement sealing failure happens because of either cement‐formation interface failure (X 6 ), cement body failure (X 7 ), or cement‐casing interface failure (X 8 ). Cement‐formation interface failure generally occurred at the high pressurized permeable layers in old production wells because the CO 2 ‐saturated brine can attack the cement, leading to its rapid degradation 63,64 . Besides, the bond strength is influenced by the properties of cement, rock, and drilling mud 65,66 .…”

Specification for Permanent Plugging Materials

“…This phenomenon occurs in both sandstone and limestone rocks [15]. Generally, when cement is placed against a filter cake, the failure plane is within the filter cake and the flow path is at the filter cake-formation interface [24]. Usually, spacers and chemical washes are pumped ahead of the cement slurry for fluid separation and hole cleaning.…”