Chapter

5
Spacer Systems
One of the key factors in obtaining an effective primary cementing job is to
minimize the contamination of the cement slurry with the drilling fluid. The
drilling fluid must be completely displaced from the annulus so that a competent
cement sheath can form and produce an effective hydraulic seal. The inadequate
removal of annular fluids may result in poor cement bonds to the pipe and
formation, intrazone communication, pipe corrosion, and pipe collapse
(Figure 5.1). In HPHT wells, these factors become even more critical. The
correct spacer system can help the operator/service company achieve a quality
cementing job.

Poor Bond

Communication

Pipe Collapse

Permeable Corrosion
Out Barren

Oil or Gas
Bearing

Figure 5.1—Problems can result from the inadequate removal of annular fluids.

April 1996 Spacer Systems 5-1

 Halliburton has spent much time and research to develop spacer systems that can
be used effectively in deep-well cementing applications. A good spacer should
perform the following tasks:

• separate fluids
• remove drilling fluid and excessive filter-cake buildup
• protect formations
• control formation pressures
• remove oil film
• inhibit damage to water-sensitive shales
• not adversely affect properties of the cementing composition or drilling
fluid

Other topics should be considered when selecting a spacer system. This section
examines the following topics:

• fluid compatibility
• types of spacers and flushes
• spacer volume and contact time
• additional additives
• fluid-loss control

This section also presents some spacer investigations, two commonly used
spacer systems, and the use of surfactants and reactive flushes in HPHT well
cementing.

Fluid Compatibility
Interfacial compatibility refers to the formation of a nonhomogeneous, unstable,
or unpumpable material when mixtures are formed between the drilling fluid and
cement, drilling fluid and spacer, spacer and cement, or drilling fluid, spacer,
and cement. Incompatibility also refers to an adverse effect on the fluid proper-
ties of either the drilling fluid or cement when contaminated by the spacer fluid.

Incompatible fluid mixtures between the drilling fluid and spacer or the spacer
and cement slurry can compromise the success of the cement job. Results of
incompatibility range from incomplete drilling fluid displacement (channeled
cement column), unset cement, or even premature job termination. Use of
properly designed compatible spacer(s) can help eliminate the potential for such
problems.

5-2 High-Pressure/High-Temperature Cementing April 1996

Types of Spacers
Spacers can be separated into two categories. Most are water-based, while a few
are oil-based. There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems.

SAM-4
Halliburton’s SAM-4 spacer has a hydrocarbon external phase, so there is little
danger of damaging water-sensitive shales and clays. With oil in the external
phase, SAM-4 exhibits good interfacial compatibility with most oil-based
drilling fluid systems. However, SAM-4 does not provide pipe-surface water
setting capability. SAM-4 is often followed by DUAL SPACER fluid, which
contains a water wetting surfactant such as SEM-7 or DUAL SPACER B
surfactant. A surfactant concentration of 1 gal/bbl is commonly used for this
application. In cases where a suitable water-based spacer/surfactant system
cannot be designed, the SAM-4 spacer can provide the compatibility required to
displace the oil-based drilling fluid. SAM-4 spacer typically is not recom-
mended for use at temperatures above 400°F or densities above 20 lb/gal.

DUAL SPACER
DUAL SPACER fluid is a water-based spacer fluid that is recommended to
displace either water-based or oil-based drilling fluids. As formulated, DUAL
SPACER often is pumped in turbulent flow. Supplemental additives can be
incorporated into the fluid to control well and job conditions, such as increased
solids suspension stability, increased rheological properties, lowered fluid loss,
and applications requiring displacement of oil-based drilling fluids.

When displacing oil-based drilling fluids with DUAL SPACER, surfactants

must be added to promote interfacial compatibility with the drilling fluid and
remove the oil film from the pipe surface. Because the interfacial contamination
tests involve a range of mixtures, a single surfactant rarely is capable of provid-
ing satisfactory viscosity results. The preferable surfactant blend provides
minimum viscosity over the entire mixture range. The only shortcoming of this
system is that peak efficiency is reached only when the surfactant concentrations
are matched to the particular type of drilling fluid system present in the
wellbore. Therefore, representative oil-based drilling fluid samples are needed to
initiate spacer design testing. Although DUAL SPACER rarely needs to be
modified when displacing water-based drilling fluids, some customers request a
small concentration of water wetting surfactant (0.25 gal/bbl) to ensure good
bonding.

DUAL SPACER can be used in temperatures up to 550°F and densities up to

22.0 lb/gal.

April 1996 Spacer Systems 5-3

 SPACER 500E+
Spacer 500E+ is an environmentally acceptable spacer. Spacer 500E+ consists of
a blend of gelling agents and dispersants. It can be formulated from 10 to 18 lb/
gal in fresh water, seawater, and 18% salt water. Spacer 500E+ can be used up to
a temperature of 250°F and is compatible with both water-based and oil-based
drilling fluids.

Supplemental Additives
DUAL SPACER consists of a prepackaged blend of additives. This spacer mix
can be formulated in fresh water, seawater, KCl water, and salt water up to
saturation. Handling is particularly advantageous for offshore applications where
barite from the rig can be used for weight. To ensure proper cement placement
downhole, an equal concentration of cement retarder should be included in the
spacer design. If surfactants are incorporated into the spacer design, D-AIR 3 is
the recommended defoamer to prevent or alleviate surfactant foaming tenden-
cies.

During low shear mixing operations (e.g., slugging pit), sufficient energy may
not be attained to provide a uniform fluid suspension. DUAL SPACER Mixing
Aid (DSMA) viscosifier can be added to the mix water to provide an adequate
viscosity to prevent surface solids segregation. A concentration of 1 gal DSMA/
10 bbl mix water is recommended for fresh water designs and brines where the
brine will be formulated. Add the salt after both the DSMA and the blend have
been added to the water. Seawater requires from 1.5 to 3.0 gal/bbl of DSMA. In
addition to increasing surface viscosity, DSMA increases downhole viscosity
and solids suspension capability up to about 290°F.

DUAL SPACER was designed to clean drilling fluid from the wellbore while
maintaining good short-term suspension properties. In high-temperature well
conditions, adding 2 to 5 lb/bbl of supplemental clay from either sepiolite,
aftapulgite, or bentonite can provide long-term stability and increased fluid
viscosity.

Spacer Volume and Contact Time

The recommended volume of spacer used in any cement job depends on the
application parameters. If well conditions and spacer fluid properties enable the
fluid to be pumped in turbulence, then a spacer volume will be recommended to
provide a 7 to 10 minute contact time. This amount of contact across a particular
point in the annulus has been found to effectively clean the wellbore. In contrast,
when well conditions and job parameters prohibit pumping at a rate required for
turbulence, then increasing the spacer fluid viscosity and increasing the volume
for 10 to 15 minutes contact time is frequently recommended. The minimum
spacer volume recommended is that volume which provides 450 ft to 500 ft of
annular fill. Lesser volumes may not provide adequate separation.

5-4 High-Pressure/High-Temperature Cementing April 1996

Fluid-Loss Control
Many well operators have requested a spacer system that provides good fluid-
loss control. These requests have resulted in a reevaluation of the original design
criteria. The concerns expressed for low fluid loss appear to be based on the
following fears:

• High filtrate loss from the spacer may result in “bridging off” in the
annulus across permeable zones, or at the least, an increase in viscosity
that reduces compatibility and increases the pumping rates required to
achieve turbulence.
• Once the spacer is in a static condition downhole, dehydration across a
permeable zone might prevent transmission of hydrostatic pressure and
allow the influx of liquid or gas into the wellbore.

Closer examination of cement job performance and the conditions that would be
necessary for these events to occur show these fears to be largely unfounded.
Successful past and current use of scavenger slurries also support the practice of
omitting fluid-loss control additives from spacers.

Upon request, suitable cementing fluid-loss control additives like HALAD®-344

and HALAD®-413 could be incorporated into the spacer formulation to lower
fluid-loss values.

Spacer Investigations
Spacer investigation testing procedures are designed to allow personnel to assess
the compatibility of spacers with other wellbore fluids and to evaluate spacer
fluid properties at simulated well conditions. Interfacial compatibility generally
refers to the formation of a homogeneous, stable, and pumpable mixture. When
investigating cement contamination, compatibility implies minimal adverse
chemical alteration of cement slurry properties, such as thickening time and
compressive strength development. Using these definitions, most drilling fluids
generally are considered to be incompatible with many cement slurries.

Time-consuming, extensive compatibility evaluations can be undertaken, such as

those outlined in API Specification 10, Appendix P: “Investigation of Preflushes
and Spacers for Cementing,” which covers the following tests:

• compatibility of low-temperature fluid mixtures

• compatibility of heated fluid mixtures
• effect of spacer on thickening time
• effect of spacer on compressive strength
• effect of spacer on solids suspension and early static gel development
• effect of spacers on cement fluid loss

April 1996 Spacer Systems 5-5

 Of the six tests, the test for compatibility of low-temperature fluid mixtures the
and the test for compatibility of heated fluid mixtures are conducted most. The
low-temperature fluid compatibility test is the most frequently performed spacer
evaluation test procedure. This procedure uses a rotational viscometer to record
rheological data for a range of contamination mixtures (95/5, 75/25, 50/50, 25/
75, and 5/95 percent by volume). If the fluids are water-based, the mixture
rheology data are recorded at room temperature and, if necessary, at an elevated
temperature. The elevated temperature is the bottomhole circulating temperature
(BHCT) or 180°F if the BHCT is higher than 180°F.

The API tentative procedure does not include a testing method for evaluation of
wettability.

Rheology tests conducted with oil-based drilling fluids and spacers are per-
formed at elevated temperatures. The tentative API procedure suggests that the
rheological data be recorded at 120°F when the BHCT is higher than 120°F.
However, many customers prefer the readings to be taken at 190°F. Elevated
temperature testing is advantageous because mixtures containing oil-based
drilling fluid or spacers can exhibit drastic changes in viscosity, homogeneity,
and stability with temperature increase.

Compatibility with Drilling Fluids

Compatibility problems have occurred occasionally with heavily treated water-
based drilling fluids. Oil-based drilling fluids pose additional problems during
cementing operations because they frequently exhibit poor interfacial compat-
ibility with water-based fluids. There is a potential to form interfacial mixtures
that can be extremely viscous and nonpumpable. An oil film remaining on the
pipe surface from the drilling fluid can hinder a good cement-to-pipe bond.

Surfactants
Surfactant choices are critical in water-based spacer formulations that displace
oil-based drilling fluid. The variety of base oils used to formulate oil-based
drilling fluids can range from diesel, mineral oil, ester oil to the newer synthetic
olefinic oil (both poly alpha olefin PAO and olefin 70). The resulting fluid
mixture responses vary with the type of oil-based fluid. Responses can range
from highly viscous, unpumpable mixtures to mixtures in which the emulsion of
the drilling fluid is broken. When the emulsion breaks, fluids separation and
solids settling occurs. Other mixtures may exhibit easily pumpable, homoge-
neous, stable fluids that also exhibit undesirable, strong oil-wetting tendencies,
even at high spacer volume contamination levels of greater than 50% by volume.

The surfactant selection is based on initial screening of aliquots of the oil-based

drilling fluid and the water-based spacer to find a combination of surfactants that
reduces the high interfacial viscosity between the oil- and water-based fluids,
maintains a stable, homogeneous mixture, and effectively changes the pipe
surface from oil-wet to water-wet.

5-6 High-Pressure/High-Temperature Cementing April 1996

The surfactant selection is based on an initial screening technique or on previous
experience with a spacer surfactant blend commonly run in that region. Since
the types and concentrations of surfactants can affect the spacer fluid’s flow
properties and stability, fluid properties necessary for the job should be con-
firmed after selecting the surfactant blend. Interfacial contamination tests should
be performed with the recommended spacer(s) and the oil-based drilling fluid
and cement slurry design. Oil-removal characteristics of the preflushes and
spacers containing surfactants are observed during these procedures or may be
investigated separately using a variety of test methods. Tests include:

• shear-bond test
• modified drilling fluid-removal test
• dynamic fluid-loss testing apparatus
• individual wettability-test procedures required by the customer

The API tentative testing procedure does not include a wettability-testing

procedure.

When spacer fluid selections are made with appropriate surfactant additions for
the specific oil-based drilling fluid and spacer fluid properties are designed for
the well application, the potential for a successful cement job is vastly im-
proved.

Reactive Flush
SUPER FLUSH
SUPER FLUSH spacer is a weighted reactive flush with unique properties.
SUPER FLUSH is effective at improving cement bonding, helping control
cement fluid loss, and alleviating lost circulation and cement fallback. SUPER
FLUSH can be used with all known drilling fluid systems and cement slurries
when separated with a sufficient volume of nonreactive compatible spacer (such
as DUAL SPACER).

SUPER FLUSH is available in powdered form and is ideal for cold weather
applications and offshore use. This product can be weighted to 20 lb/gal and
used at temperatures as high as 500°F. Reactive flushes are not recommended
for liner cementing applications.

April 1996 Spacer Systems 5-7

5-8 High-Pressure/High-Temperature Cementing April 1996