Using Alternative Sources of Oilwell Cement

Jeff, Hibbeler; Phil, Rae; Gilmore, T. Alan; Weber, L. James

doi:10.2118/62746-ms

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Hibbeler et al 7 outlined the current use of construction-grade cement in Vietnam and Thailand. They state that "most of the major 'classes' of API cement are analogous, or very similar, to the various 'types' of cement used in the construction industry," and that "the common oilwell cements are generally derived from the same clinker as construction cements of the appropriate 'type.'…”

Section: Cement Slurry Design: Oilwell-and Construction-grade Cementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sometimes, they may be ground to a different degree of fineness so that they pass the additional tests prescribed by the API, but otherwise, they are essentially the same." 7 Additionally, Myers has documented the substitution of Type I cement for Class A cement for wells in the Appalachian and Michigan basins. 8 The types of cement available, their repeatable performance, and the ability to deliver them to the San Juan basin has been, and remains to be, somewhat of a challenge.…”

Section: Cement Slurry Design: Oilwell-and Construction-grade Cementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Use of Lightweight Cement Slurries and Downhole Chokes on Air-Drilled Wells

Brown¹,

Ferg

2005

SPE Drilling &Amp; Completion

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Summary The success of a primary cement job is often measured according to effective zonal isolation, achieving the designed top of cement, and avoidance of remedial cementing. In the San Juan and Rio Arriba counties of New Mexico, many Mesa Verde and Dakota wells are air-drilled because the Mesa Verde formation is subnormally pressured and naturally fractured. This combination makes the Mesa Verde easy to hydraulically fracture during normal drilling and cementing operations. Therefore, meeting the primary-cement-job success criteria is particularly challenging. Cementing of casing within an air-drilled wellbore allows the slurry to freefall. Cement free fall can cause severe surge pressures at the bottom of the hole, leading to hydraulic fracture initiation and loss of lift. The use of a downhole choke (DHC) can be employed to prevent these processes from occurring. Because mud filter cake does not exist in an air-drilled hole, the lead water spacer and cement must wet the casing and wellbore rock surfaces. Loss of the lead water spacer, in conjunction with cement water loss, can produce dehydration of the cement column, leading to an increase in cement viscosity and equivalent circulating density. Careful control of cement-free water and fluid loss are required to prevent this from occurring. Furthermore, placing cement across targeted completion intervals that have low fracture gradients requires the use of a high-compressive-strength, low-density cement that is competent and capable of maintaining zonal isolation during the completion and production phases of well construction. This paper will outline the evolution of the cementing practices used for the Mesa Verde and Dakota wells drilled in the 29–6 Unit (T29N - R6W, New Mexico) from 1998 to 2002.It will illustrate how cementing changes enabled the primary cementing to be successfully completed in a single stage instead of two, which has translated into cost savings for both the drilling and completion phases of a well. The impact of using a DHC for the pumping and placement of these primary cement jobs will be illustrated and discussed. The function of the cement additives on slurry properties will also be discussed as they pertain to these cement jobs. Introduction The Mesa Verde and Dakota formations of the San Juan and Rio Arriba counties of New Mexico are two of the primary completion targets for this area of the San Juan basin. Fig. 1 shows a 500-square-mile view of the "Four Corners"area of the U.S.A., with the San Juan and Rio Arriba counties identified. Fig. 2 is a stratigraphic column of the San Juan basin. It illustrates the Dakota and Mesa Verde formations, along with other productive formations. The Dakota group is composed of a series of Cretaceous lenticular sandstones and shales. The nomenclature and designation of the individual layers vary and are beyond the scope of this paper. The Dakota formation is found at depths ranging between 7,000 and 8,000 ft, currently making it the deepest productive interval in the San Juan basin. The Mesa Verde group can be located at depths ranging between 4,500 and 6,500 ft and is also composed of a series of Cretaceous formations. These consist of the Point Lookout, Menefee, and Cliffhouse, from deepest to shallowest deposition, respectively. The Mesa Verde represents a group of subnormally pressured reservoirs with original gradients having been measured at approximately 0.25psi/ft. However, continued pressure depletion of the Mesa Verde has resulted in a reservoir gradient less than 0.15 psi/ft in most areas of the San Juan basin.1 Because of the low pressure gradients associated with the Mesa Verde formations, it has become a standard practice of many operators to use air-drilling techniques.2 These techniques use compressed air, natural gas, or nitrogen as the drilling fluid to dramatically reduce the hydrostatic-head and equivalent-circulating density. While this practice eliminates the concerns over lost circulation during drilling, it can pose significant challenges to achieving a successful primary cement job. A successful primary cement job is often measured according to effective zonal isolation, achieving the designed top of cement, and avoidance of remedial cementing. This paper will discuss the challenges of achieving a successful primary cement job on an air-drilled well and how to design a lightweight cement slurry and casing configuration—inclusive of a DHC—to achieve a successful primary cement job. The experiences and evolution of a consecutive 6-year drilling program that produced 112 Mesa Verde and Mesa Verde/Dakota wells serves as the foundation for support for these designs. However, for illustration purposes, the scope of this paper will be limited to the evolution of these practices on the 40 Mesa Verde and Mesa Verde/Dakota wells drilled in the 29-6Unit from 1998 through 2002.Fig. 3 is an aerial map of these well locations in the 29–6 Unit. It shows the study wells to be distributed over 23 of the 36 sections within the 29-6 Unit. The 29–6 Unit was chosen because it exhibits the lowest fracture gradients in the Mesa Verde and was considered the worst-case scenario for achieving a successful primary cement job on the production string of casing.

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Section: Cement Slurry Design: Oilwell-and Construction-grade Cementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cement Slurry Design: Oilwell-and Construction-grade Cementmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Lightweight Cement Slurries and Downhole Chokes on Air-Drilled Wells

Brown¹,

Ferg

2005

SPE Drilling &Amp; Completion

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Sometimes, they may be ground to a different degree of fineness so that they pass the additional tests prescribed by the API but, otherwise, they are essentially the same." 7 Additionally, Myers has documented the substitution of Type I cement for Class A cement for wells in the Appalachian and Michigan Basins. 8 The types of cement available, their repeatable performance, and the ability to deliver them to the San Juan Basin has been, and remains somewhat of a challenge.…”

Section: Cement Slurry Design: Oil Well and Construction Grade Cementmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Lightweight Cement Slurries and Downhole Chokes Improves the Success of Primary Cementing on Air-Drilled Wells

Devin¹,

Thomas²

2003

Proceedings of SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition

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Performance Assessment and Economic Analysis of Blended Class G Cement With Local Cement for Oil Well Cementing Operations: A Case Study of Ghana

Amorin

Broni-Bediako

Westkinn

et al. 2019

Day 3 Wed, August 07, 2019

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Good cementing job practices are required for an efficient advancement in drilling and production operations. Most drilled oil and gas wells in Ghana employ the use of class G cement in its cementing operations. This class G cement is imported, scarcely available and relatively more expensive compared to other forms of cements. It also does not promote the local content and local participation policy of the country in the oil and gas sector. This has therefore necessitated the need to research into available local cements (easily available and relatively inexpensive) as an alternative to serve the same purpose as the imported class G cement. This research therefore assesses the performance of class G cement blended with local cement at different ratios in an attempt to reducing the overdependence of the class G cement while considering the technical requirements and economic implications. All the blended samples met the minimum API compressive strength requirement of 1500 psi when cured for 8 hours at 140 °F. Though, free fluid values increased with increasing amount of local cement ratio, all values recorded were below the maximum field requirement value of 5.9%. The blended samples exhibited the ability to be pumpable, recording plastic viscosity less than the maximum recommended value of 100 centipoise (cP). It was therefore established that the use of blended samples (local and Class G) for oil well cementing operations in Ghana would save the industry from 19.57% to 78.28% of money over the use of class G cement only. Considering the performance and economic benefits of the blended cement over the class G cement only at the test conditions, it is highly recommended that, the industry adopts the blending of class G cement with the local cement in their cementing operations to boost the local economy as well as to reducing their cementing operation cost.

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Using Alternative Sources of Oilwell Cement

Cited by 5 publications

References 2 publications

The Use of Lightweight Cement Slurries and Downhole Chokes on Air-Drilled Wells

The Use of Lightweight Cement Slurries and Downhole Chokes on Air-Drilled Wells

The Use of Lightweight Cement Slurries and Downhole Chokes Improves the Success of Primary Cementing on Air-Drilled Wells

Performance Assessment and Economic Analysis of Blended Class G Cement With Local Cement for Oil Well Cementing Operations: A Case Study of Ghana

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