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Cement and wellbore integrity

Article · August 2013

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 OIL-WELL CEMENT

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ICement and wellbore integrity

by Kyris Agapiou and Structural integrity is a design imperative for well bores. It pivots load,
Sally Charpiot, stability and material properties against safety, readiness and cost on the
Halliburton Cementing fulcrum of risk. It also helps motivate design for any given structure to
withstand the forces applied during routine functioning. Halliburton’s
Thermalock™ cement is a specially-designed calcium aluminophosphate
cement-based product to mitigate corrosive risks and strengthen wellbore
integrity. Here the company explains why this new product in such
situations can be more suitable than Portland cement for establishing
well integrity.

S
tructural integrity is at the heart of
every wellbore architecture design
in the energy industry – and cement
plays a key role in wellbore integrity.
These wells are essentially pressure
containment vessels. As such, they are
called on throughout the life of the well
to resist failure by deformation, fatigue,
fracturing and corrosion. Cyclic loading
from geo-mechanical and geo-chemical
stresses occur daily. Wells are subject to:
• temperature changes that vary by
hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit
• formation pressure changes
compounded by concussive forces that
fluctuate by up to 10,000psi during
completion operations
• naturally-occurring and operationally-
introduced hydrogen sulphide, carbon
dioxide, brines and water.
The downhole environment is routinely
harsh. Wellbore architecture must be
resiliently designed for use and abuse.

Wellbore stability and

cement specification
Energy wells are designed to be a safe
conduit for the recovery of oil, gas, heavy
oil, gas hydrates and even (geothermal)
steam. The architectural structure
required for wellbore stability typically
involves multiple strings of casing run
into the hole with diminishing diameters:
conductor, surface, intermediate and
Figure 1: structural integrity is
production casing vital in wellbore operations
(see Figure 1).
Cement is typically used to seal the
annular opening between the individual
casing strings and/or the casing strings the slurry can turn and circulate back up of individual wells. It needs to remain in a
and the formation walls. This is usually into the annular space where it sets into a fluid state throughout pumping and then
accomplished by pumping cement through hardened mass. The cement is designed to rapidly gain strength to resist inflow from
the inside of the casing with sufficient meet specifications for pumpability and set the formation fluids and/or gases. The
borehole volume below the casing that time for the unique downhole conditions cement system conveys tensile strength

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for stabilising the casing and adhering to

surfaces throughout the annulus to create
a hydraulic seal. This set cement sheath
Uncompromised wellbore integrity
is intended to function as a barrier to Since 1929, Halliburton has applied scientific research to help take wellbore integrity
prevent any formation fluids or gases from beyond cement placement, compressive strength and the prevention of gas
migrating up the annular space at any migration. Since the establishment of the company’s first chemical research lab in
point during the life of the well, therefore 1930, the company has opened three major cementing research centres globally.
isolating the numerous subterraneous
zones the well traverses. The goal has been to establish the means to properly modify the chemical and
The Energy Information Administration mechanical properties of cement blends, adjusting the performance for the specific
(EIA) projects that the global energy challenges of each individual well. As downhole environments have become
consumption of oil and gas will rise one increasingly challenging, the selection of Halliburton additives has grown from a
per cent YoY for the next 30 years, while dozen in the mid-1950s to several hundred today due to the work of teams of
consumption of renewable energy will scientists.
grow 1.6 per cent annually. So, although
it took over 100 years to consume a This enables the customisation of any given slurry so that it is designed to address
trillion barrels of hydrocarbon, the next the demands of each well by anticipating future wellbore dynamics and thus
trillion barrels may be consumed in only a help avoid potential issues – even in ever more technically-demanding wells or
few decades. environmentally-sensitive areas (see Table 1).

Wellbore integrity is faced with

increasing complexities of well
designs in harsher environments
plus increased regulatory focus on
environmental sustainability.

Yet, recovering hydrocarbon to meet

demand is taking operators into areas
that require innovative solutions to
make the impossible possible: ultra-
deepwater operating environments,
extreme downhole conditions of pressure, Figure 2: a cement sheath is foundational to wellbore integrity. Having withstood the cumulative
temperature and corrosive elements, and stresses from pressure testing, well testing and stimulation treatments, this cement sheath
unconventional source rock. eliminates communication between fractures in a shale formation

Wellbore integrity is faced with rising

complexities of well designs in harsher The extremes of
environments plus increased regulatory wellbore integrity
focus on environmental sustainability. In 1920, easy oil was
If the cement sheath succumbs to flowing through land-
cumulative stresses due to downhole based, shallow wells, and
changes, it could fracture, crack, or pumping cement through
otherwise fail with the result of annular casing and into the annulus
pressure buildup, which could adversely to stabilise the wellbore
impact the integrity of the steel casing. and isolate producing zones
In addition, it could cause the unwanted was a new service. Today,
flow of gases or fluids across zones. placing cement in land-
Figure 3: comparison of dissolution of Portland cement (left)
Well economics can be compromised based wells can require and ThermaLock™ cement in CO2 3
and operators can be left to deal with pumping through more than
diminished or lost production, costly 6096m (20,000ft) of casing, offshore cementing operations can
remediation, possible fines, and/or the which may involve horizontal sections of require pumping through up to 365.8m
loss of a well. 3048m (10,000ft) or more. (12,000ft) of water (through a riser) and
Because cement plays a critical role in Deepwater offshore wells routinely then tens of thousands of feet below
wellbore integrity, it plays a fundamental span distances greater than the height the mud line through salt zones, high
role in helping fuel the world. So, the of Mount Everest. In 1947 Halliburton temperatures and extreme pressures.
potential loss of cement-sheath integrity cemented the first truly offshore well In 1962, Halliburton cemented the first
will only become a larger issue. in 30.5m (100ft) of water. Currently, geothermal well and in doing so, helped

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Table 1: additives used to strengthen wellbore integrity

Wellbore integrity challenge Cement additive Mechanical/chemical properties resulting from additives

Corrosive elements Non-Portland systems To increases acid resistance and resistance to corrosion
down hole (ie CO2 injector that can destabilise the bonding
wells/CO2 storage wells)

High formation pressures Latex systems To reduce permeability of the cement sheath and improve
Corrosive elements the ability for solids to remain suspended in the slurry

Deep offshore wells Retarders To control the time for a slurry to remain fluid and
Long horizontal wells pumpable
High temperatures Dispersants Ultra-deep wells commonly have a tight clearance
Ultra-deep wells between the annulus and casing, contributing to
increased friction pressures. Dispersants make a slurry
easier to mix and lower friction during pumping.
Fluid loss additives Helps the slurry retain proper water levels rather than allow
pressure differential to reduce the water content. This
helps ensure the integrity of the designs for viscosity,
thickening time, rheology and compressive-strength
development

High formation pressures Weighting agents For increasing cement density to restrain formation-
fluid flowback while improving mud displacement and
cement placement

Gas migration Gel strength modifiers To shorten the transition time from slurry to hard set to
resist gas channeling through the unset cement

Sustained casing pressure

Autonomous response Agents embedded in the sheath can respond without
agents intervention by swelling and sealing flow paths in and
around the cement sheath in the event of any flow of
unwanted hydrocarbons

Weak formations Lightweight additives Some formations cannot support even a water column
in the open wellbore prior to casing/cementing.
Lightweight additives can yield slurries 25 per cent lighter
than water yet will maintain desired mechanical properties

Staged casing operations Accelerators To control the time for a slurry to set.

advance the alternative energy industry source. Methane hydrates can form as the existing wellbore fluids for full
by contributing to the structural integrity solid crystalline compounds in deepwater placement without bridging off, loss of
of the wellbore in an environment sediments and Arctic permafrost. The free water, or setting up, amongst other
presenting the corrosive effects of CO2 in challenge for the hydrate-producing properties it must retain while pumping.
downhole temperatures exceeding 316˚C well was to predict the geo-mechanical Once set, it becomes the primary
(600°F). More geothermal wells come changes from subsidence during barrier for the upward migration of any
online annually with countries like Iceland production. Thus, the cement sheath had unwanted fluids in the annular space.
deriving 26 per cent of its electricity from to be designed not only for strength,
geothermal power plants. but also capable of reducing the thermal Overcoming corrosion –
In 2012, Halliburton helped one conductivity to avoid destabilisation of the mitigating risk
operator successfully cement a well hydrates and mitigate casing deformation. Recently, an operator in Colombia
offshore Japan to explore the promise of In each instance, wellbore integrity is developing a heavy-oil asset approached
methane hydrates as an alternative energy dependent on the cement fully displacing Halliburton to help provide wellbore

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Figure 4: recovery of heavy oil is difficult. Heavy oil is so thick it will not flow to surface. This can be overcome with in-situ combustion, or fireflood, in
an offset well above the production well relying on gravity, gas-driven pressure and heat to induce flow

architecture integrity for a fireflood extreme temperature fluctuations between which Thermalock cement is blended
recovery method. The downhole the bottom hole static temperature (BHST) allows it to retain strength even in ultra-
environment presented ultra-high of 52˚C (126°F) to a fireflood temperature high-temperature environments, and,
temperatures and highly-corrosive above 260°C (500°F). During fireflood unlike Portland cement, it does not
elements. All of this could weaken the cycles, the resulting casing expansion retrogress. In the aforementioned fireflood
cement and compromise the wellbore could fracture or even crush the cement operation, this cement set quickly at the
integrity. Fireflood, also known as in-situ and during cool-down between cycles, lower temperature and achieved early
combustion, is an enhanced oil recovery the contraction could lead to debonding, compressive strength. Nine fireflood wells
(EOR) method that helps heavy oil to creating microannuli through which the have been constructed for this operator
flow and always involves two wells: one corrosive elements could attack. with ThermaLock cement and all are
for the fireflood that serves as an injection A conventional Portland cement system resiliently withstanding all the stresses of
well and the second for recovering/ was not recommended in these conditions. the in-situ combustion. ______________I
producing the hydrocarbon. A section of The extreme high temperatures and the
the formation is ignited and combustion corrosive environment meant that the References
is maintained by injecting oxygen down only viable option for delivering long- 1 US Energy Information

the injection well. This creates a fire term zonal isolation for this customer was Administration – EIA (2011),
front. Downhole heat from the fire front Halliburton’s ThermaLock™ cement International Energy Outlook 2011.
converts injected fluids (like water) to gas. (see Figure 3). Washington, DC, USA: Department of
The heat ‘melts’ the heavy oil allowing it Thermalock cement is a non- Energy.
to flow while the expanding gases push Portland, specially-designed calcium 2 Rodengen, JL (1996 ) The Legend of

it to the producing well. Hydrocarbon is aluminophosphate cement capable of Halliburton. ISBN 0-945903-16-2. Fort
recovered and any unwanted produced resisting corrosive attacks while creating Lauderdale, Florida, USA: Write Stuff
fluids are separated at surface. a hydraulic seal that withstands dynamic Syndicate Inc.
However, while inducing flow, the temperature fluctuations. Resistance to 3. Berard, B, et al (2009) 'Foamed

fireflood would threaten the wellbore corrosion from carbonic acid is achieved Calcium Aluminate Phosphate Cement
architecture integrity. It would create by Thermalock cement forming a tightly- Enables Drilling and Cementation of
carbonic acid from the CO2 native to bonded ceramic network of calcium California Geothermal Wells' in: SOCIETY
the formation. Carbonic acid is known to phosphate when set and exposed to the OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS (2009)
attack the cement sheath and any metal downhole temperatures of the well. The 2009 SPE Western Regional Meeting, San
it touches. Additionally, there would be refractory calcium aluminate cement from José, California, USA, 24-26 March.

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