CH4.

CASING & CEMENTING

It is generally not possible to drill a well through all of the formations
from surface (or the seabed) to the target depth in one hole section.
The well is therefore drilled in sections, with each section of the well
being sealed off by lining the inside of the borehole with steel pipe,
known as casing and filling the annular space between this casing
string and the borehole with cement, before drilling the subsequent
hole section. This casing string is made up of joints of pipe, of
approximately 40ft in length, with threaded connections. Depending
on the conditions encountered, 3 or 4 casing strings may be required
to reach the target depth. The cost of the casing can therefore
constitute 20-30% of the total cost of the well (£1-3m). Great care
must therefore be taken when designing a casing programme which
will meet the requirements of the well.

Functions of Casing

• To prevent unstable formations from caving in;

• To protect weak formations from the high mudweights that may be
required in subsequent hole sections. These high mudweights may
fracture the weaker zones;
• To isolate zones with abnormally high pore pressure from deeper zones
which may be normally pressured;
• To seal off lost circulation zones;
• When set across the production interval: to allow selective access for
production / injection/control the flow of fluids from, or into, the
reservoir(s).
• To provide structural support for the wellhead and BOPs.
Types of Casing String

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 Conductor Casing (30” O.D.)
The conductor is the first casing string to be run, and consequently
has the largest diameter. It is generally set at approximately 100ft
below the ground level or seabed. Its function is to seal off
unconsolidated formations at shallow depths which, with continuous
mud circulation, would be washed away. The surface formations may
also have low fracture strengths which could easily be exceeded by the
hydrostatic pressure exerted by the drilling fluid when drilling a deeper
section of the hole. In areas where the surface formations are stronger
and less likely to be eroded the conductor pipe may not be necessary.
Where conditions are favourable the conductor may be driven into the
formation and in this case the conductor is referred to as a stove pipe.

 Surface Casing (20” O.D.)

The surface casing is run after the conductor and is generally set at
approximately 1000 - 1500 ft below the ground level or the seabed. The
main functions of surface casing are to seal off any fresh water sands,
and support the wellhead and BOP equipment. The setting depth of
this casing string is important in an area where abnormally high pressures
are expected. If the casing is set too high, the formations below the casing
may not have sufficient strength to allow the well to be shut-in and killed
if a gas influx occurs when drilling the next hole section. This can result
in the formations around the casing cratering and the influx flowing to
surface around the outside of the casing.

 Intermediate Casing (13 3/8” O.D.)

Intermediate (or protection) casing strings are used to isolate
troublesome formations between the surface casing setting depth and
the production casing setting depth. The types of problems encountered
in this interval include: unstable shales, lost circulation zones,
abnormally pressured zones and squeezing salts. The number of
intermediate casing strings will depend on the number of such
problems encountered.

 Production Casing (9 5/8” O.D.)

The production casing is either run through the pay zone, or set just
above the pay zone (for an open hole completion or prior to running a
liner). The main purpose of this casing is to isolate the production
interval from other formations (e.g. water bearing sands) and/or act
as a conduit for the production tubing. Since it forms the conduit for
the well completion, it should be thoroughly pressure tested before

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running the completion.

 Liner (7” O.D.)

A liner is a short (usually less than 5000ft) casing string which is
suspended from the inside of the previous casing string by a device
known as a liner hanger. The liner hanger is attached to the top joint of
the casing in the string. The liner hanger consists of a collar which has
hydraulically or mechanically set slips (teeth) which, when activated, grip
the inside of the previous string of casing. These slips support the weight
of the liner and therefore the liner does not have to extend back up to the
wellhead. The overlap with the previous casing (liner lap) is usually 200ft
- 400ft. Liners may be used as an intermediate string or as a production
string.

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PROPERTIES OF CASING

 Casing Size (Outside Diameter - O.D.)

The size of the casing refers to the outside diameter (O.D.) of the main
body of the tubular (not the connector). Casing sizes vary from 4.5" to
36" diameter. Tubulars with an O.D. of less than 4.5” are called Tubing.

 Length of Joint
the most common range of lengths is 25–34 t . However, the shorter
lengths are useful as pup joints when spacing out the hanger.

 Casing Grade
Casing grades are very much dependent on the chemical composition and
the mechanical properties of steel. these properties of casing differ
extensively. A variety of compositions and treatment processes are used
during the manufacturing process to develop desired properties.
Each grade is designated by a letter, and a number. The letter refers to
the chemical composition of the material and the number refers to
the minimum yield strength of the material e.g. N-80 casing has a
minimum yield strength of 80000 psi and K-55 has a minimum yield
strength of 55000 psi. Hence the grade of the casing provides an
indication of the strength of the casing. The higher the grade, the higher
the strength of the casing

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 Casing Weight
For each casing size there are a range of casing weights available. The
weight of the casing is in fact the weight per foot of the casing and is
a representation of the wall thickness of the pipe. There are for
instance four different weights of 9 5/8" casing:

The drift diameter refers to the guaranteed minimum I.D. of the

casing. This may be important when deciding whether certain drilling or
completion tools will be able to pass through the casing e.g. the drift
diameter of 9 5/8” 53.5 lb/ft casing is less than 8 1/2" bit and therefore an
8 1/2” bit cannot be used below this casing setting depth.

 Connections
Individual joints of casing are connected together by a threaded
connection
• Short thread connection (STC)
• Long thread connection (LTC)
• Buttress thread connection (BTC)

Casing design

there are three basic forces where the casing is subjected to collapse,
burst and tension. these are the actual forces that exist in the
wellbore. they must first be calculated and must be maintained below
the casing strength properties. In other words, the collapse pressure
must be less than the collapse strength of the casing and so on.
Casing should initially be designed for collapse, burst and tension.
Refinements to the selected grades and weights should only be attempted
after the initial selection is made.

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 Cementing

Cement is used primarily as an impermeable seal material in oil and

gas well drilling. It is most widely used as a seal between casing and
the borehole, bonding the casing to the formation and providing a
barrier to the flow of fluids from, or into, the formations behind the
casing and from, and into, the subsequent hole section (Figure below).
Cement is also used for remedial or repair work on producing wells.
It is used for instance to seal off perforated casing when a producing
zone starts to produce large amounts of water and/or to repair casing
leaks.

Functions of oilwell cement

• To prevent the movement of fluids from one formation to another or

from the
formations to surface through the annulus between the casing and
borehole.
• To support the casing string (specifically surface casing)
• To protect the casing from corrosive fluids in the formations.
 To reduce the risk of ground water contamination by oil, gas or salt
Water

Types of cementing

1- primary cement job.

The techniques used to place the cement in the annular space doing
this by pumping cement down the inside of the casing and through
the casing shoe into the annulus.

2- secondary or squeeze cement job.

This type of cement job may have to be done at a later stage in the
life of the well. A secondary cement job may be performed for many
reasons, but is usually carried out on wells which have been producing
for some time. They are generally part of remedial work on the well
(e.g. sealing off water producing zones or repairing casing leaks).
These cement jobs are often called squeeze cement jobs because they
involve cement being forced through holes or perforations in the
casing into the annulus and/or the formation.

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Classification of cement powders

There are several classes of cement powder which are approved for
oilwell drilling applications, by the American Petroleum Institute - API.
Each of these cement powders have different properties when mixed
with water. The difference in properties produced by the cement
powders is caused by the differences in the distribution of the four basic
compounds which are used to make cement powder;

 Classes A and B - These cements are generally cheaper than other

classes of cement and can only be used at shallow depths ,where
there are no special requirements. Class B has a higher resistance to
sulphate than Class A.
 Class C - This cement has a high C3S content and therefore becomes
hard relatively quickly.
 Classes D,E and F - These are known as retarded cements since
they take a much longer time to set hard than the other classes of
cement powder. This retardation is due to a coarser grind. These
cement powders are however more expensive than the other classes
of cement and their increased cost must be justified by their ability
to work satisfactorily in deep wells at higher temperatures and
pressures.
 Class G and H - These are general purpose cement powders
which are compatible with most additives and can be used over a
wide range of temperature and pressure. Class G is the most
common type of cement and is used in most areas . Class H has a
coarser grind than Class G and gives better retarding properties in
deeper wells.

physical properties of cement

 Slurry density
To minimize the danger of fracturing the formations, lost circulation
or kicks, the cement slurry density should be the same as the drilling
fluid density at cementing operations

 Yield
By definition, the yield is the volume of cement slurry obtained when
mixing one sack of cement with a specified amount of water as well as
other additives.

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 Thickening Time
The length of time the cement slurry is pumpable is also called
“thickening time”. To control the thickening time, adding of setting time
retarders, a reduction of rapidly hydrating components and an adjustment
of the cement fineness is performed.

 Compressive Strength
To hold the casing in place, enable support capability of the surface
wellhead equipment and withstand the differential pressures across the
cement-formation interface, the compressive strength of the set and
hardened cement has to be high enough.

Cement Additives
Most cement slurries will contain some additives, to modify the
properties of the slurry and optimise the cement job. Most additives are
known by the trade-names used by the cement service companies.
Cement additives can be used to:
• Vary the slurry density
• Change the compressive strength
• Accelerate or retard the setting time
• Control filtration and fluid loss
• Reduce slurry viscosity

1- Accelerators
Accelerators are added to the cement slurry to shorten the time taken
for the cement to set. These are used when the setting time for the
cement would be much longer than that required to mix and place the
slurry, and the drilling rig would incur WOC time. Accelerators are
especially important in shallow wells where temperatures are
low and therefore the slurry may take a long time to set.

The most common types of accelerator are:

• Calcium chloride (CaCl2) 1.5 - 2.0%
• Sodium chloride (NaCl) 2.0 - 2.5%
• Seawater

2- Retarders
In deep wells the higher temperatures will reduce the cement slurry’s
thickening time. Retarders are used to prolong the thickening time
and avoid the risk of the cement setting in the casing prematurely.
• Calcium lignosulphanate (sometimes with organic acids) 0.1 - 1.5%
• Saturated Salt Solutions

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3- Lightweight additives (Extenders)
Extenders are used to reduce slurry density for jobs where the hydrostatic
head of the cement slurry may exceed the fracture strength of certain
formations

The most common types of lightweight additives are:

• Bentonite (2 - 16%) - This is by far the most common type of additive
used to lower slurry density.

4- Heavyweight additives

Heavyweight additives are used when cementing through overpressured

zones. The most common types of additive are:
• Barite (barium sulphate) - this can be used to attain slurry densities of
up to
18ppg. It also causes a reduction in strength and pumpability.
• Hematite (Fe2O3) - The high specific gravity of hematite can be used
to raise slurry densities to 22 ppg. Hematite significantly reduces the
pumpability of slurries and therefore friction reducing additives may be
required when using hematite.
• Sand - graded sand (40 - 60 mesh) can give a 2 ppg increase in slurry
density.

5- Fluid loss additives

Fluid loss additives are used to prevent dehydration of the cement
slurry and premature setting. The most common additives are:
• Organic polymers (cellulose) 0.5 - 1.5%