Squeeze Cementing

Squeeze Definition

 The placement of a cement

slurry under pressure against
a permeable formation
causing the slurry to
dehydrate and create a
cementitious seal across the
formation face.
 Reasons For
Squeeze Cementing
 Repair primary cement job
 Channels
 Voids due to losses
 Shut-off produced water
 Shut-off produced gas
 Repair casing leaks
 Abandon depleted zones
 Selective shut-off for water
injection
 Seal lost circulation zone
 Shut off fluid migration
 Squeeze Slurry
Design
 Considerations:
 Viscosity
 Thickening time
 Compressive strength
 Fluid loss control
 Squeeze pressure
 Slurry volume
 Primary Concerns

 Squeeze Purpose
 Formation Types
 Establishing an Injection Rate
 Method of Squeezing
 Slurry Design
 Laboratory Testing
 Slurry Placement
 Reasons for Failure
 Good Habits

 Pre-Job Meeting
 Review Procedures
 Discuss Potential Problems
 Establish alternative Procedure
 Good Record Keeping
 Pressure
 Times
 Densities, Rates and Volumes
 Cement Slurry
Viscosity
 Low viscosity.
 Entry into small fractures and
small cracks
 Slurries using dispersants
preferred
 High viscosity
 Useful for cementing large voids
(vugs)
 Will not flow into narrow
restrictions unless high pressure
applied
 High gel strength restricts
movement of the slurry
 Laboratory
Testing
 Thickening Time
 Always use Hesitation Squeeze
Schedule
 Simulate Batch Mixing
 Monitor Gelling Tendencies
 Monitor Settling Tendencies
 Modify API Schedule for Actual
Down Hole Conditions
 Continue Hesitation until Slurry
Sets
 Laboratory
Testing
 Fluid Loss
 Use Test Procedure in BJ Lab
Manual
 Heat Slurry From Ambient
 Above 200°F
 Condition in Pressurized
Consistometer or use Stirring
Fluid Loss Cell
 Thickening Time

 Required job time plus

reversal of excess cement
 Temperature and pressure
 Higher than in primary cementing
 Use API squeeze schedules for
testing
 Shallow wells
 Short times (2 - 3 hours)
 Use of accelerators
 Deep wells and hesitation
squeezes
 Long times (up to hours)
 Compressive
Strength
 High compressive strength
 Withstand shocks from running
tools, drilling etc.
 To prevent cracking during re-
perforation
 Partially dehydrated cement
(filter cake)
 Will develop sufficient strength
 Not of primary concern
 Fluid Loss
Control
 Low pressure squeeze
 Cement to fill all voids
 Minimum node build up
 Important with permeable
formations
 Very low permeability
 200 ml/30 minutes
 Low / medium permeability
 100 to 200 ml/30 minutes
 High permeability (>100 md)
 25 to 100 ml/30 minutes
 Fluid Loss
Control (cont.)
 High pressure squeeze
 Medium to high permeability
 200 to 500 ml/30 minutes
 Fractured limestones, cement
travels large distance from
wellbore, re-perforation difficult:
 High fluid loss rate
 300 to 800 ml/30 minutes
 Lost circulation material beneficial
 Lead and tail (hesitate)
 Lead 300 to 800 ml/ 30 min
 Tail <300 ml/30 minutes
 Cement Node
Formation
Cement Primary Formation
Node Cement

Dehydrated
Cement
Casing

FLUID LOSS
(P = 1,000 psi)

800 ml / 30 min

150 ml / 30 min

Cement
Nodes
50 ml / 30 min

15 ml / 30 min
6 inch
Casing
 Rate Of Filter
Cake Build Up
 Permeability of the formation
 Low = slow leak off
 High = fast leak off
 Differential pressure applied
 Time over which pressure is
applied
 Slurry fluid loss control
 Low = slow dehydration
 High = fast dehydration
 Low permeability and fluid loss can
give excessive job times
 High permeability and fluid loss
can cause bridges
 Rate of Filter Cake
Build Up (cont.)
 For a constant differential
pressure applied
 Rate of cement filter cake growth
for a 30 md formation is
approximately twice that for a 300
md formation
 For a given cement slurry, the
time taken to form a filter cake of
given thickness will double for a
ten fold decrease in formation
permeability
 Filter Cake
Permeability
 Lower fluid loss = lower cake
permeability = less solids filtered
out of slurry

Fluid Loss Time to Form Permeability

(API) 2.0 in. Cake

Neat cement < 30 sec. ± 5.0 md

300 cc < 4 min. ± 0.5 md
25 cc > 4 hours ± 0.05 md

 Filter cake growth is indirectly

proportional to the cake's
permeability
 Filter Cake
Permeability (cont.)
 Squeeze pressure
 Increasing squeeze pressure
does not reduce the permeability
of the filter cake
 Flow of filtrate through a filter
cake is proportional to the
permeability of that cake
 Darcy's law
 Flow rate through filter cake of
given permeability is proportional
to the differential pressure
 Cement Slurry
Volume
 Dependent upon length of
interval to be squeezed
 For job convenience 10 to 20
barrels are prepared
 Volume for high pressure
squeezes should be
minimized
 Fracture at low pump rate
 Keep pressure below fracture
propagation pressure
 Cement Slurry
Volume (cont.)
 Rules of thumb:
 Cement volume should not
exceed capacity of treating string
 Use two sacks of cement per foot
of perforations
 If injection rate after break down
is 2.0 bpm or more:
 Minimum volume 100 sacks
 If injection rate after break down
is less than 2.0 bpm:
 Minimum volume 50 sacks
 Planning

 Establish Two-Rate Fluid

Injection Profile
 Determine Fracture Gradient
 Determine BHSqT
 Determine Top of Existing
Cement
 Determine Formation Pore
Pressure
 Planning - Cont.

 Determine Formation Fluid

Characteristics
 Calculate Hydrostatic
Pressure Differential
 Review Completion Records

“Gather Data Before Designing a

Cement Slurry”
 Injectivity

 Viscosity must be manageable

 Channel repair may require
small cement particle sizes
 Injection Testing
 Use water, chemical flush or
weak acid
 Used to ensure all
perforations are open
 Helps to estimate slurry
injection rate
 Helps to estimate pressure for
performing squeeze
 Helps to estimate cement
volume required
 If injection is not achieved, an
acid perforation wash should
be performed under matrix
conditions
 Establishing An
Injection
 Pump at a Constant Slow Rate
 Increase rate to Obtain
Desired Cement Placement
Rate

“Remember not to Exceed Fracture

Gradient !”
 Why Establish
Injection Rate
 To determine if and at what
rate “BELOW THE FRACTURE
GRADIENT” fluid can be
placed against the formation.
 Two Rate
Injection
 Lowest Rate at which the
Formation will take Fluid
 Minimum Rate needed to
Displace Cement to the First
Hesitation
 Always Establish with Clear Fluid
 Avoid using Mud
 Affects Rate
Choice
 Thickening Time
 Packer Depth Variable
 Slurry Volume
 Depth
 Workstring Size
 Casing Size
 When Fracture
Pressure Is
Unavoidable !
 REMEMBER
 You Will Damage the Formation
 You Will Increase the Difficulty of
getting a Satisfactory Job

The Key is to
“BE CONSERVATIVE”
 Proper Execution

 High Injection Rate - Low

Pump Pressure

 High Pump Pressure - Low

Injection Rates
 Types Of
Injection Rates
 Loose Injection Rates
 High Rates
 Low Pressures

 Tight Injection Rates

 Low Rates
 High Pressures
 Injection Rate
Profile

Injection Rates And Pressures

6 to 8 BPM 0.25 - 0.5 BPM

0 - 200 PSI 3500 - 4000 PSI

Loose Injection Tight Injection

From Chevron DTC

 Caution

 “ High injection rates with

high pressures”

 Almost Never Acceptable!

 Yields highly fractured formations
that require a large volume of
cement slurry, before actually
obtaining a squeeze.
 Reasons For
Failure
 Non-Determination of
Injection Rate
 Slurry Design and Testing
 Slurry Placement Problems
 Squeeze Cementing
Methods
 Principal methods:
 Squeeze packers
 Cement retainers
 Bradenhead
 Modes of operation:
 Low pressure
 High pressure
 Job procedures:
 Running squeeze
 Hesitation squeeze
 Packer or Retainer
Setting Depth
 Determine from CBL
 Using tail pipe:
 Minimum distance from top perforation is
limited by tail pipe length
 Do not set tool too close to top
perforation:
 Communication in annulus above tool
can collapse casing
 Do not set packer too high (running
squeeze):
 Minimize contamination with mud or
other fluids
 Minimum 30 ft 75 feet above top
perforation
 Retrievable
Packers
 Compression or tension set
packers are used for squeeze
cementing
 Packer should have by-pass valve
to:
 Allow fluid circulation when running in
hole
 Clean tool after job
 Allow reversing of excess cement slurry
 Prevent swabbing
 Flexible, can set and release many
times
 Can run in tandem with retrievable
bridge plugs
 Place sand on top of bridge plug
 Squeeze Through A
Packer Balanced Plug
Method
 Spot viscous pill
 Pull to top of pill
 Spot cement and spacer as balanced plug
 Under displace (1 to 2 barrels) to ensure
flow out of the drill pipe

Mud

Packer

Spacer

Cement

Viscous
Viscous Pill
Pill

Mud
 Squeeze Through A
Packer Balanced Plug
Method
 Pull out above top of cement (500 ft)
 Set the packer and squeeze cement
 When squeeze complete, unset the packer
 Reverse circulate any excess cement and
spacer out of hole

Mud

Packer

Mud

Spacer

Cement

Viscous Pill

Mud
 Drillable
Cement Retainer
 Prevent back flow where no cement
dehydration is expected (circulating
squeeze into channels)
 Used where high differential pressure may
disturb the filter cake
 Where communication with upper
perforated zone makes use of packers
risky
 Multiple zones, isolates lower zone
 Allow further squeeze operations without
waiting on cement.
 Can be set closer to the perforations (Less
fluid injected ahead)
 Running Squeeze
Method Through A
Cement Retainer
 Run in hole with retainer on wireline or
drill pipe
 Set retainer
 If wireline set, run in hole with drill pipe
 If run on drill pipe sting out from retainer

Mud

Retainer

Mud
 Running Squeeze Method
Through A Cement
Retainer (cont.)
 Circulate cement down to
bottom of drill pipe
 Sting into the retainer and
squeeze cement

Mud

Spacer

Cement

Retainer

Cement

Mud Pill
Viscous
 Running Squeeze Method
Through A Cement
Retainer (cont.)
 Sting out from retainer and
reverse circulate excess
cement and spacer
 Pull out of hole

Mud

Retainer

Cement

Viscous Pill
Mud
 Bullhead Squeeze
Method

Casing Casing Pump

Pump 500 - 1000 psi
500 - 1000
psi

Displacement  Pump cement

Fluid with packer Set

 Displace Mud
into Formation
Cement
 Hold Annulus
Mud or Pressure
Displacement
Fluid  Apply Squeeze
Pressure
Spotting Method

Casing Pump
500 - 1000 psi

 Sting out of tool

 Spot cement
 Stab with Packer
 Apply Casing
Pressure
 Displace Cement
 Apply Squeeze
Pressure
 Bradenhead Squeeze
Technique

 Used when low pressure

squeezing is practiced
 Used where casing and
surface equipment have
sufficient burst resistance to
withstand squeeze pressures
 This is the most popular
method due to its simplicity
Bradenhead
Method

 Spot Cement
 Pull Work
String
 Close Annulus
 Apply Squeeze
Pressure
 Coiled Tubing
Operations
(Through Tubing Squeezes)

 Advantages
 Time Savings
 Cost Savings
 Pumping Flexibility
 Fluid Placement
 Reduced Formation Damage
 Safety
 Coiled Tubing
Applications
 Well Stimulation
 Wireline and Production
Logging
 Perforating
 Squeeze Cementing
 Fill Cleanup
 Sand Consolidation
 Cement Requirements
for Coiled Tubing
Squeeze
 Fluid Loss
 < 60 and > 30 cc’s/30 min.
 Compressive Strength
 1000 psi in 12 Hrs.
 Thickening Time
 6 - 8 Hours at BHTT
 Free Water
 Zero cc’s at 45° Angle
 Cement Requirements
for Coiled Tubing
Squeeze (cont.)
 Rheologies
 @ R.T.
 PV; 200 to 350
 YP; 70 to 130
 @ BHTT
 PV; 70 to 130
 YP; 10 to 25
 Nodes
 0.75 to 1 inch
 Firm Cake
Mud Placement

 Placement of Mud
 Pull Nozzle Up while
Pumping, to Maintain
Mud-Brine Interface
10 - 15’ Above Nozzle
 Pump 1 BBL. Excess

Brine Fluid

Perforations

Viscous Pill

 Locate Top of Mud

 Fluid Pac the Well
 Wash Out
Contaminated Mud
 Identify Top of Mud
 Cement Placement
and Squeeze
 Circulate in Cement
 Pull Nozzle Up while Pumping
Cement, to Maintain Cmt/Mud
Interface 100’ Above Nozzle
 Cement Volume from
Evaluation Log

Brine Fluid
Fresh Water

Perforations

Cement
Viscous Pill

 Pull Nozzle Above Cement

 Close Annulus and Squeeze
 Squeeze Pressure at 1500 to
2000 psi above Reservoir
Pressure and Hold for
40 Minutes
Contaminating
The Cement
 Pump contaminant
and Lower the Nozzle to
Displace 1 BBL of
Cement per BBL of
Contaminant

Contaminant

Cement / Contaminant
(50/50)

Dehydrated Cement
Nodes
Mud / Contaminant
(50/50)

Contaminate 50’ into Mud

Pull Nozzle up and Pump
Contaminant at a Rate of
1 BBL per 2 - 3 BBL of
Previously Contaminated
Cement
 Reversing Out
 Contaminated Cement
to be Reversed out the Mud, Cement
Following Day or After and
Cement has Set Contaminant
 Jet with Fresh Water
While Going Down 50’
Below the Original Mud
Top
 Reverse out and Pull
Dehydrated
Nozzle at a Rate to
Cement nodes
Circulate out 1 BBL per
BBL pumped
 Repeat Reverse out 2
more Times or Until
Returns Cleanup
 Evaluate with CET,
Repeat if Necessary
 If OK, Reperforate and Viscous Pill
Test
 Low Pressure
Squeeze Cementing
 Bottom hole treating pressure maintained
below fracture pressure
 Aim to fill perforations and connected
cavities with dehydrated cement
 Cement volume is small
 Hydrostatic control is required to prevent
formation breakdown
 Use safety factor of 500 psi
 Low pump rates
 Friction pressure is negligible
 Perforations must be clean and free of
mud or solids
 Cement nodes should be small
 High Pressure
Squeeze Cementing
 Bottom hole treating pressure is higher
than fracture pressure
 Fractures created at or close to
perforations
 Fluid ahead of cement is displaced into
fracture
 Cement slurry fills the fracture and any
voids or connecting channels
 Further applied pressure dehydrates the
cement against fracture walls
 When final squeeze pressure is applied all
channels should be filled with cement filter
cake
 Extreme Losses

 Sodium Silicate Pre-Flush

(Flow-Guard)
 Pump CaCl Pad
 Pump Fresh Water Pad
 Pump Flow-Guard
 Pump Fresh Water Pad
 Pump Cement Design
 One Possible Situation for
“Neat” Cement
 Low fluid loss = good frac!
 Use Caution with Sodium
Silicate Across Pay Interval
 Running Squeeze

 Misconceptions
 Formation Locks-up at High Rates
 Final Squeeze Pressure Must be
Obtained at the Rate Induced During
Injection
 Better Term “Walking” or
“Creeping”
 More Applicable for Low
Permeability Formations
 Always Know the Location of the
Cement
 Know the  P between Cement &
Wellbore face
 When To High
Pressure Squeeze
 Where voids and channels
cement behind casing are not
connected to the perforations
 Where small cracks or micro-
annuli allow passage of gas
but will not take cement
 Application of Ultra Fine cements
 Perforations are plugged or
debris ahead of cement
cannot be removed
 High Pressure
Squeezes (cont.)
 Extent of the induced fracture is a
function of pump rate
 Slurry volume is dependent upon pump
rate:
 High rate = large fracture
 Large fractures = large volumes
 Minimum volumes should be used to
allow perforation past cement where
required
 Drilling mud or low fluid loss fluids
should not be pumped ahead
 Use weak acid or water as a pre-flush
 Related Fracture
Theory
 Location and orientation of created
fracture cannot be controlled
 Fractures occur in plane
perpendicular to direction of least
resistance
 In most wells overburden is the
principle stress, vertical fractures
result.
 Fracturing pressure is less than
overburden
 In shallow wells (< 3000 ft)
horizontal fractures can occur
 Fracturing pressure is greater than
overburden
 High Pressure Squeeze
Fracture Orientation
 Where fracture pressure is less
than over-burden pressure

Dehydrated
Cement
Primary Casing
Cement

Cement
Mud
Filter Cake

Filtrate
Vertical
Fracture

Mud

Filtrate

 Over-burden
PF

H1

 H2
 Running Squeeze
 Cement slurry pumped continuously until
final squeeze pressure is achieved
 This may be above fracture pressure
 When pumping is stopped, final squeeze
pressure is maintained and monitored
 Pressure drop due to filtrate leak off
should be re-applied up to final squeeze
pressure
 Repeat procedure as necessary until
pressure remains steady for several
minutes
 Volumes are large 10 to 100 barrels
 Hesitation
Squeeze
 Only practical method for small volumes
 Intermittent application of pressure at low
rates
 0.25 to 0.5 bpm
 Each application of pressure is separated
by a period of shut-down to allow for
filtrate leak-off
 10 to 20 minutes
 Initial leak-off is high
 As cake builds up and applied pressure
increases, leak-off slows down
 As several hesitations are applied, the
difference between initial pressure and
final pressure becomes smaller
 Hesitation Squeeze
Pressure Behavior
2,400

2,000
B C D
Surface Pressure, psi

1,600

A
1,200

800

400

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Time, minutes

 A = Slurry mix-water leaks off

 B = No slurry mix-water filtrates
therefore squeeze is complete
 C = Pressure is bled off
 D = Final pressure test
 Hesitation Squeeze Profile
Loose Injection Rate

2000

1000
PRESSURE

Pump as slow as possible

( 1/4 to 1/2 BPM )

0 1 2 3 4
TIME in HOURS Chevron DTC
 Hesitation Squeeze Profile
Tight Injection Rate

2000

1000
PRESSURE

( 1/4 to 1/2 BPM )

0 1 2
TIME in HOURS
Chevron DTC
 Best Results

“Always Plan for a Hesitation

Squeeze, But be prepared for
a Running Squeeze”
 CFL
Two Slurry Method
 Conventional Method
 Lead Slurry: Fluid Loss < 100 cc’s
 Tail Slurry: No Fluid Loss Control
 Modified Method
(Chevron DTC)
 Lead Slurry: Mod. Fluid Loss -
300 to 500 cc’s
 Tail Slurry: Fluid Loss < 100 cc’s
 More Specifics to follow...
 CFL Slurry Design
Modified Method
(Chevron DTC)
 Loose Injection
 Lead Slurry
 Fluid Loss 300 to 500 cc’s
 Thickening Time
 1 to 2.5 hours
 Free Water & Comp. Strength - N/A
 Tail Slurry
 Fluid Loss < 100 cc’s
 Thickening Time
 3 - 5 hours (Hesitation
Schedule)
 Free Water & Comp. Strength - N/A
 Modified Method

Fluid Loss Control

CFL Two Slurry Method LWL Single Slurry Method

Lead : 500. . . . . . 300 . . . . . 200. . . . . . . N.A.

Tail : < 100. . . . . . .100 . . . . 100 . . . . . . . 100

Loose Injection Tight Injection

Chevron DTC
 Calculating Pressure
to Reverse-Out
Always know what pressures are
required to reverse-out.
 Step 1: Calculate Differential Fluid
Gradient, psi/ft
15.6 ppg x 0.052 = 0.8112 psi/ft ( Cement )
10.0 ppg x 0.052 = 0.5200 psi/ft ( Comp Fluid )
0.2912 psi/ft
 Step II: Determine Tubing Fill
Factor, ft/bbl (decimal book)
2-3/8” 4.7 lbs/ft tubing = 258.65 ft/bbl of fill
 Step III: Calculate Pressure to
Reverse-Out, psi/bbl
ex: 258.65 ft/bbl x 0.2912 psi/ft = 75.3 psi/bbl*
*Multiple psi/bbl by the barrels
of slurry left in the tubing
 Hesitation
Squeeze
 Final squeeze is achieved
when the leak-off becomes
negligible
 For loose, permeable
formations a first hesitation
period of up to 30 minutes is
not unreasonable
 For tight low permeability
formations a short first
hesitation period of ± 5
minutes is sufficient
 Hesitation
Squeeze
(Chevron DTC)

 Always Test on Hesitation

Schedule
 Hesitation Time Dictated by
Pressure Build-up
 Be Patient
 Use CFL Slurry
 Know the Location of the
Cement
 Never Over-Displace
 Determine Final Squeeze
Pressure from Injection Profile
 Misconceptions of
Squeeze Cementing
 Cement slurry enters
formation pore spaces
 All perforations are open
 High pressure squeezes
create horizontal pancake
 High final pressure is required
to assure success
 Final squeeze pressure must
equal future working pressure
 General
Recommendations
 Ensure hole is junk free
 Ensure perforations are open
 Acid wash if necessary
 Low pressure squeeze where
possible
 Use low fluid loss cement
 Cement volume should not exceed
string volume
 High final squeeze pressure is not
essential
 Batch mix cement
 Allow adequate time for cement to
set based on compressive strength
data