3 Equipments PlacementTechniques Evaluations

Well Design
Well Design - PE 413
Surface Equipments and Placement Techniques
Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Well Design
Surface Cementing Equiments

Jet Mixer
Dry cement must be mixed with the proper amount of water to ensure
that slurry and set-cement properties are as designed.
The jet mixer induces a partial vacuum at the venturi throat, drawing in
the dry cement. High stream turbulence then provides thorough mixing

Well Design

Jet Mixer

Well Design

Batch Mixer
This is an old batch mixer.

Well Design

Batch Mixer
Batch mixing and/or blending is achieved through use of propellers,

paddle mixers, pneumatic mixing, and rotation of the cement tank

Well Design

Pump Skid Truck
The typical slurry-pumping unit is truck-mounted, and contains diesel

engines and displacement tanks that are accurately graduated so that
water or mud volumes can be controlled to place the slurry downhole
properly.

Well Design

Cement Head

Well Design
Downhole Cementing Equipments

Basic Equipments
A predetermined volume of slurry is

pumped into the casing between two
wiper plugs.
The bottom plug ruptures when it seats
The top plug is displaced with mud or

completion fluid.
Flow stops and pressure builds when the

top plug lands.
Check valves in the float shoe to prevent

backflow of the heavier column of slurry

Well Design

Guide/Float Shoes and Collars
In most cases, except in certain shallow wells, a round-nosed shoe is

run on the bottom joint to guide the casing past borehole irregularities
encountered while the string is run.

Well Design

Guide/Float Shoes and Collars
Float equipment reduces derrick stress by

increased casing buoyancy.
Float equipment consists of casing shoes

and collars which contain check valves to
prevent wellbore fluids from entering.
As the casing is lowered, the hook load is

reduced by the weight of fluid displaced.
The casing is filled from the surface to

prevent casing collapse. Float collar

Well Design

Wiper Plugs
Wiper plugs are used to separate cement

from preceding or following fluids.
The bottom plug removes mud from the

wall of the casing, and prevents this mud
from accumulating beneath the top plug.

Well Design

Wiper Plugs

Well Design

Casing Centralizers
Casing centralizers are used to:
1. Improve displacement efficiency
2. Prevent differential pressure sticking
3. Keep casing out of key seats

Well Design

Wipers and Scratchers
Wipers and scratchers are used

primarily to remove borehole mud
cake. They also aid in breaking up
gelled mud. Both rotating and
reciprocating styles are available.

Well Design
Primary Cementing Techniques

Introduction
The objective of a primary cement job is to place the cement slurry in the
annulus behind the casing.
In most cases this can be done in a single operation, by pumping cement

down the casing, through the casing shoe and up into the annulus.
However, in longer casing strings and in particular where the formations

are weak and may not be able to support the hydrostatic pressure
generated by a very long column of cement slurry, the cement job may be
carried out in two stages.

Well Design

Introduction
The first stage is completed in the manner described above, with the
exception that the cement slurry does not fill the entire annulus, but
reaches only a pre-determined height above the shoe.
The second stage is carried out by including a special tool in the casing
string which can be opened, allowing cement to be pumped from the
casing and into the annulus.
This tool is called a multi stage cementing tool and is placed in the casing
string at the point at which the bottom of the second stage is required.

Well Design

Conductor
Recommended cements for use with conductor casing are:
• Accelerated neat
• Ready-mix concrete
• Thixotropic cement
• LCM additives
When cementing down casing, plugs may not be used; cement is simply placed
The cement must have a compressive strength high enough to support the
wellhead load;
Therefore, high-compressive-strength cements are best.

Well Design

Surface Casing
Surface casing is usually the second string of pipe set in the well.
Shallow surface casing is cemented in the same manner as conductor

casing.
For deeper strings of surface casing, a lightweight cement is used,

followed by heavier-weight completion cement to strengthen the bottom
of the surface casing around the shoe.
This creates a strong seal with the pipe and formation for solid support of
the casing.

Well Design

Surface Casing
Recommended cement types include:
• Accelerated cements
• LCM additives
• High-strength cements, which are often used on deep-well surface

casing to support future strings
The following is a brief summary of surface-casing cementing practices:
• Both bottom and top plugs should be used to prevent mud

contamination.
• Centralizers should be used.

Well Design

Intermediate Casing
The intermediate casing is the first string of pipe set after the surface
casing. Intermediate casing strings extend from the surface to a
formation able to hold the mud weights expected at greater depth.
Unlike the conductor and surface casings, additives such as friction

reducers, fluid-loss additives, and retarders are required for intermediate
slurries.
Where the annulus is small, friction reducers lower pump pressures and
reduce the chance of losing fluids in a lost-circulation zone.

Well Design

Intermediate Casing
The following is a brief summary of intermediate-casing cementing

practices:
• Both bottom and top plugs should be used to minimize contamination of

the cement.
• Scratchers, centralizers, and flushes can be important in the successful

completion of an intermediate-casing cementing job.
• This casing string can be cemented in a single-stage primary cement job.
• But a multistage job is often performed because such a tall annular

column of cement slurry would exert a hydrostatic pressure greater than the
formation pressure.

Well Design

Production Casing
The production casing is the last full string of pipe set in the well, and
extends to the surface.
The production casing is normally the last casing set in the well. It may
be subjected to maximum well pressures and temperatures, and must be
designed to withstand such conditions
The production casing is normally run and cemented through a zone to

be produced, and then perforated to allow communication with the
formation.
Sometimes it is set just above the zone, and an openhohle completion is

performed. .

Well Design

Production Casing
The following are some characteristics of production casing and its

application:
· Common casing sizes are 4 1/2 in., 5 1/2 in., and 7 in.
· Drilling mud is usually in good condition.
· The cement job is usually not circulated, but cemented back to

intermediate casing depth.
· A good cement job is vital to a successful completion.

Well Design

Production Casing
To achieve a pressure-tight seal and protect the reservoir, special

consideration must be given to the production-casing cement properties.
As with intermediate casing and long surface pipe, both filler and
completion cement are usually employed.
The filler cement:
• Needs good fluid-loss control.
• Must have enough compressive strength to protect upper,

potentially productive zones which might be completed in the future.

Well Design

Production Casing
The completion slurry needs to have good fluid control and sufficient
compressive strength to hold the weight of the pipe and to bond the
formation to the pipe.
The setting times of both slurries should be minimized to help prevent

cement contamination from formation fluids and formation contamination
by cement filtrate.

Well Design

Production Casing
Recommended types of cement are
• Filler cements with high-strength tail-in
• Low-water-ratio cements (for all potential pay zones)
• Densified cements (for high competency and pressure control)
• Fluid-loss control additives

Well Design
Cementing Techniques
Single Stage Cementing Operation
The single stage primary cementing operation is the most common type of
cementing operation that is conducted when drilling a well.
In the case of the single stage operation, the casing with all of the
required cementing accessories such as the float collar, centralisers etc. is
run in the hole until the shoe is just a few feet off the bottom of the hole
and the casing head is connected to the top of the casing.
It is essential that the cement plugs are correctly placed in the cement
head.
The casing is then circulated clean before the cementing operation begins

Well Design

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1. The first cement plug (wiper plug) is droped down ahead of the cement
to wipe the inside of the casing clean.
2. The spacer is then pumped into the casing. The spacer is followed by
the cement slurry.
3. This is followed by the second plug (shutoff plug). When the wiper plug
reaches the float collar its rubber diaphragm is ruptured, allowing the
cement slurry to flow through the plug, around the shoe, and up into
the annulus. At this stage the spacer is providing a barrier to mixing of
the cement and mud.
4. When the solid, shut-off plug reaches the float collar it lands on the
wiper plug and stops the displacement process..
Well Design
Multi-Stage Cementing Operation
When a long intermediate string of casing is to be cemented it is

sometimes necessary to split the cement sheath in the annulus into two,
with one sheath extending from the casing shoe to some point above
potentially troublesome formations at the bottom of the hole, and the
second sheath covering shallower troublesome formations. The
placement of these cement sheaths is known as a multi-stage cementing
operation

Well Design
The reasons for using a multi-stage operation are to reduce:
• Long pumping times
• High pump pressures
• Excessive hydrostatic pressure on weak formations due to the

relatively high density of cement slurries.
• Cost due to the long distance between pay zones (reduce the high
quality volume of cement required for the production zones)

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First stage:
The procedure for the first stage of the operation is similar to the single
stage operation, except that a wiper plug is not used and only a liquid
spacer is pumped ahead of the cement slurry.
The conventional shut-off plug is replaced by a plug with flexible blades.
This type of shut-off plug is used because it has to pass through the stage
cementing collar which will be discussed below.

Well Design
Second stage
The second stage of the operation

involves the use of a special tool
known as a stage collar, which is
made up into the casing string at a
pre-determined position.
The ports in the stage collar are

initially sealed off by the inner
sleeve. This sleeve is held in place
by retaining pins.

Well Design
Second stage
After the first stage is complete a special freefall

plug is released form surface which lands in the
inner sleeve of the stage collar.
When a pressure of 1000 - 1500 psi is applied to the

casing above the freefall plug, the retaining pins on
the inner sleeve are sheared and the sleeve moves
down, uncovering the ports in the outer mandrel.
Circulation is established through the stage collar

before the second stage slurry is pumped.

Well Design
Liner Cementing
Liners are run on drillpipe and

therefore the conventional cementing
techniques cannot be used for
cementing a liner.
Special equipment must be used for

cementing these liners.

Well Design
Liner Cementing
As with a full string of casing the liner

has a float collar and shoe installed.
In addition there is a landing collar,

positioned about two joints above the
float collar.
A wiper plug is held on the end of the

tailpipe of the running string by shear
pins.

Well Design
Liner Cementing
The liner is run on drillpipe and the hanger

is set at the correct point inside the
previous casing string. Before the
cementing operation begins the liner
setting tool is backed off to ensure that it
can be recovered at the end of the cement
job.

Well Design
Liner Cementing
The cementing procedure is as follows:
1. Pump spacer ahead of cement slurry
2. Pump cement slurry
3. Release pump down plug
4. Displace cement down the running string

and out of the liner into the annulus
5. Continue pumping until the pump down

plug lands on the wiper plug.

Well Design
Liner Cementing
6. Apply pressure to the pump down plug and shear out the pins on the
wiper plug. This releases the wiper plug
7. Both plugs move down the liner until they latch onto landing collar
8. Pump the plugs with 1000 psi pressure
9. Bleed off pressure and check for back flow

Well Design
Liner Cementing

Well Design
Squeeze Cementing
Squeeze cementing is the process by which hydraulic pressure is used to

force cement slurry through holes in the casing and into the annulus
and/or the formation. Squeeze cement jobs are often used to carry out
remedial operations during a workover on the well. The main applications
of squeeze cementing are:
• To seal off gas or water producing zones, and thus maximise oil
production from the completion interval
• To repair casing failures by squeezing cement through leaking joints or

corrosion hole

Well Design
Squeeze Cementing
• To seal off lost circulation zones
• To carry out remedial work on a poor primary cement job (to fill up the
annulus)
• To prevent vertical reservoir fluid migration into producing zones
• To prevent fluids escaping from abandoned zones.

Well Design
Squeeze Cementing

Well Design
Evaluation of Cement Jobs
A primary cement job can be considered a failure if the cement does not
isolate undesirable zones. This will occur if:
• The cement does not fill the annulus to the required height between
the casing and the borehole.
• The cement does not provide a good seal between the casing and
borehole and fluids leak through the cement sheath to surface.
• The cement does not provide a good seal at the casing shoe and a
poor leak off test is achieved
When any such failures occur some remedial work must be carried out. A
number of methods can be used to assess the effectiveness of the
cement job. These include:
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Temperature Survey
(a) Temperature surveys:
This involves running a

thermometer inside the casing
just after the cement job. The
thermometer responds to the
heat generated by the cement
hydration, and so can be used
to detect the top of the cement
column in the annulus.

Well Design

Radioactive Surveys
(b) Radioactive surveys
Radioactive tracers can be added to

the cement slurry before it is pumped
(Carnolite is commonly used). A
logging tool is then run when the
cement job is complete. This tool
detects the top of the cement in the
annulus, by identifying where the
radioactivity decreases to the
background natural radioactivity of the
formation.

Well Design

Cement Bond Logs
(c) Cement bond logs (CBL)
The cement bond logging tools have become the standard method of
evaluating cement jobs since they not only detect the top of cement,
but also indicate how good the cement bond is.
The CBL tool is basically a sonic tool which is run on wireline. The
distance between transmitter and receiver is about 3 ft.
Since the speed of sound is greater in casing than in the formation or

mud the first signals which are received at the receiver are those
which travelled through the casing. If the amplitude (E1) is large
(strong signal) this indicates that the pipe is free (poor bond).

Well Design

Cement Bond Logs

Well Design

Cement Bond Logs

3 Equipments PlacementTechniques Evaluations

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Well Design

Well Design - PE 413

Surface Equipments and Placement Techniques

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Surface Cementing Equiments

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Surface Cementing Equiments

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Surface Cementing Equiments

This is an old batch mixer.

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Surface Cementing Equiments

Batch mixing and/or blending is achieved through use of propellers,

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Surface Cementing Equiments

The typical slurry-pumping unit is truck-mounted, and contains diesel

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Surface Cementing Equiments

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Downhole Cementing Equipments

A predetermined volume of slurry is

The bottom plug ruptures when it seats

The top plug is displaced with mud or

Flow stops and pressure builds when the

Check valves in the float shoe to prevent

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Downhole Cementing Equipments

In most cases, except in certain shallow wells, a round-nosed shoe is

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Downhole Cementing Equipments

Float equipment reduces derrick stress by

Float equipment consists of casing shoes

As the casing is lowered, the hook load is

The casing is filled from the surface to

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Downhole Cementing Equipments

Wiper plugs are used to separate cement

The bottom plug removes mud from the

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Downhole Cementing Equipments

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Downhole Cementing Equipments

Casing centralizers are used to:

1. Improve displacement efficiency

2. Prevent differential pressure sticking

3. Keep casing out of key seats

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Downhole Cementing Equipments

Wipers and scratchers are used

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Primary Cementing Techniques

In most cases this can be done in a single operation, by pumping cement

However, in longer casing strings and in particular where the formations

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Primary Cementing Techniques

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Primary Cementing Techniques

Therefore, high-compressive-strength cements are best.

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Primary Cementing Techniques

Shallow surface casing is cemented in the same manner as conductor

For deeper strings of surface casing, a lightweight cement is used,

Prepared by: Dr. Tan Nguyen

Primary Cementing Techniques