Casing

Functions of Casing String

Casing prevents the collapse of the borehole during drilling and protects the hole from
caving in or washing out.

Casing hydraulically isolates the wellbore fluids from the subsurface formations and
formation fluids.

Casing prevents cross-channeling between two or more subsurface fluid-bearing layers.

Casing prevents the contamination of near-surface freshwater zones and protects

Casing provides a high-strength flow conduit that directs the drilling fluid to the surface
and, with blowout preventers (BOPs), enables the safe control of formation pressure.
The costs of the casing can constitute 20–30% of the total cost of the well. Since the cost of
the casing can represent up to 30% of the total cost of the well, the number of casing strings
run into the well should be minimized.

Fig. Casing with threaded joints

The main types of casing include

conductor casing,

surface casing,

intermediate casing,

production casing, and

liners.
 Types of Casing

Conductor Casing

The conductor is the first casing string and has the largest diameter. The conductor pipe is run from
the surface to a shallow depth to isolate unconsolidated formations and protect against shallow gas
or water flows. The conductor casing also protects the subsequent casing strings from corrosion and
may be used to support some of the well load structurally.

The size of the conductor pipe varies according to the geographical locations. For example, atypical
size for a conductor pipe is either 18⅝ or 20 in the Middle East. In North Sea exploration wells, the
size of the conductor pipe is usually 26” or 30”. However, it might vary from 16” to 48” in diameter,
and the length of the conductor pipe is normally 40’–300’. In general, it is set at approximately 100
ft. below the ground level or the seabed.
 Types of Casing

Surface Casing

Surface casing is run after the conductor casing. Surface casing is used to protect freshwater
aquifers and prevent the collapse of weak formations. It also isolates shallow hydrocarbon
zones and is connected to blowout preventers (BOPs). Surface casing also supports and
protects from corrosion any subsequent casing strings run in the well.

A typical size of this casing is l3⅜ (Figure 8.5) in the Middle East and 18⅝ or 20 in North
Sea operations. However, it might vary from 8⅝ to 20 in diameter. Surface-casing setting
depths are usually from 300 to 5,000 ft into the sediments.
 Types of Casing

Intermediate casing

Intermediate casing is usually required in deeper wells that penetrate abnormally pressured
formations, lost-circulation zones, unstable shale sections, or salt sections. Intermediate
casing is often referred to as “protective” or “drilling” casing. Some wells may require one
or more strings of intermediate casing between the surface casing depth and the final well
depth. When abnormal formation pore pressures are present in the deeper portions of a well,
intermediate casing is needed to protect formations below the surface casing. The most
common size of this casing is 9⅝ or 10¾. However, it ranges from 7⅝ to 13⅜ in diameter
and has no specific range in length.
 Types of Casing

Production Casing

The final casing string isolates the production zones (oil and gas layers) and houses the
production tubing. The usual sizes of this string are 4½, 5, and 7in. However, it ranges from
4½ to 9⅝ in diameter and has no specific range in length. This is the most important casing
and must not collapse since it has to remain efficient for the entire productive life of the well.
 Types of Casing

Liners

Liners are casing strings that do not extend to the surface, but are suspended from the bottom
of the next larger casing string. A liner hanger is used to suspend the top of the liner in the
larger casing size. The principal advantage of a liner is its lower cost.
 Range of Length

Casing is normally available in three length ranges as shown in Table 8.1. The joint length of
the casing has been standardized and classified by the API recommendation.
 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. API and ISO specify the maximum yield strength, the minimum tensile strength,
and the minimum elongation per unit length at failure (Table 7.1). The letter designation in
the grade was selected arbitrarily to provide a unique designation for each grade of casing
described in the standards. The letter designation is also used to distinguish between various
tensile-strength requirements or different heat-treatment methods used on casing with the
same minimum yield strength.
Casing Grade
 Manufacturing of Casing

The three basic processes used in the manufacturing of casing:

i) Seamless process

ii) Electric-resistance welding (ERW), and

iii) Electric-flash welding

Loading conditions in an oil well are a highly complex combination of many types of
loading, including loads from the environment and loads from temperature changes. Fig. 7.4
shows the principal stresses that can exist at any point in a tubular as a result of the
combined actions of internal, external, and axial loading. In a tubular, the stresses act in three
orthogonal directions: axial, radial, and tangential. Axial stresses act parallel with the axis of
the tube, radial stresses act through the wall thickness, and tangential stresses act around the
tube.
Combined Stresses
 Casing Tension Strength

To calculate the stress in the tube, the specified or nominal OD and ID are used for API
casing. Thus, the pipe-body tensile strength can be expressed as

The pipe-body yield strength computed using Eq. 7.8 is the minimum force that would be
expected to cause permanent deformation of the pipe. The expected minimum force required
to pull the pipe apart would be significantly higher than this value. Note that nominal OD
and ID are used in this equation.
 Example 7.1

Compute the pipe-body yield strength for a 20-in., K-55 casing with a nominal wall
thickness of 0.635 in. and a nominal weight per foot of 133 lbf/ft.
 Casing Internal Pressure Resistance

The Barlow equation is usually applied to calculate the internal pressure resistance (burst
pressure) of API casings. The Barlow equation is:

where the wall-thickness correction factor is f = 0.875 for standard API tubulars when a
12.5% wall-thickness tolerance is specified.

API recommends the use of this equation with wall thickness rounded to the nearest 0.001 in.
and the results rounded to the nearest 10 psi.
 Example 7.2

Compute the API burst resistance for a 20-in., 133-lbf/ft, K-55 casing with a nominal wall
thickness of 0.635 in.

Solution:

The API burst resistance is computed using Eq. 7.9:

Rounded to the nearest 10 psi, this value becomes 3,060 psi.