technology

DEW Journal October 2010

Drilling

New considerations in casing floatation and centralization equipment

Top-Co has developed an initiative called Fit-for-Purpose Casing, Cementing, and Completions Solutions, in which an effort is made to understand the end purpose of the application of the products based on foreseen drilling problems
Alfredo Sanchez, Sr. Petroleum Engineer, Top-Co LP, Edmonton
One cannot help marveling at the ever increasing complexity of todays wells. Just as in sports, previously established records that at times seemed impossible to break, keep getting surpassed in the next well: longer reach, deeper distances, higher pressures, higher temperatures, faster ROPs, lower overall costs, etc. Driven by the energy needs of the worlds exponential population growth, innovative engineering, supported by venturing entrepreneurship,willmost probably continue to accelerate this trend. The recent accident in the Gulf of Mexico is an example of the critical role that all components in todays most challenging drilling operations play in allowing operators and service companies to complete their wells in a safe and economical manner. As a manufacturer of primary cementing equipment, this unfortunate event made me wonder how we can further contribute towards this goal. As an engineer, I believe areas of opportunity may be found in design, product testing and, applications engineering. This article describes some, but not all, of these opportunities.

ne cannot help marveling at the ever increasing complexity of todays wells. Just as in sports, previously established records that at times seemed impossible to break, keep getting surpassed in the next well: longer reach, deeper distances, higher pressures, higher temperatures, faster ROPs, lower overall costs, etc.Driven by the energy needs of the worlds exponential population growth, innovative engineering, supported by venturing entrepreneurship,willmost probably continue to accelerate this trend. In my opinion, the recent accident in the Gulf of Mexico is an example of the critical role that all components in todays most challenging drilling 110

operations play in allowing operators and service companies to complete their wells in a safe and economical manner. As a manufacturer of primary cementing equipment, this unfortunate event made me wonder how we can further contribute towards this goal. As an engineer, I believe areas of opportunity may be found in design, product testing and, applications engineering. This article describes some, but not all, of these opportunities. Design Engineering Design challenges will be based on the more demanding performance that new wells will require. In general,

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Drilling
these will consist of higher differential pressures, higher temperatures, and in some cases longer circulating times. In horizontal wells, where ECD increases with reach, pressure drop contributions should also be considered, particularly in tighter pressure windows (pore-fracture.) For example, the highest testing category that API RP 10F (Recommended Practice for Performance Testing of Cementing Float Equipment) describes is IIIC which requires float equipment to be capable of withstanding a maximum differential pressure of 5000 psi. However, we are already seeing applications where the differential pressure at the float shoe exceeds this value. Consider for instance a deep well with casing cemented to surface. It is a common practice to displace cement with water, with a significantly lower density. Displacing heavy cement would create a pressure differential at the float shoe significantly above this rating. The increased frequency of these conditions has driven Top-Co to include 10 000 psi equipment in its R&D program utilizing our recently Lloyds Registry certified flow loop test facility. Similarly, faster circulating rates and in some cases longer circulating times requires wear considerations in the evaluation of improvements to existing or new designs of float equipment. Arguably, circulating times may be addressed through best drilling practices such as appropriate hole cleaning prior to running casing. However, unforeseen downhole conditions may, in some cases, still require additional circulation. Recently, we have seen casing hydrostatic tests at higher pressures, resulting in differential pressures at the cement displacement plug of up to 10,000 psi. We believe these conditions will be increasingly more common and therefore a few months ago we began the development of such a plug, evaluating design changes in both geometry and materials. Similarly, increasing reach in ERD wells and longer depths in deep drilling will submit cement wiping and displacement plugs to unprecedented wear conditions. Traditional fin geometries and construction materials must be reevaluated to ensure the plugs integrity and wiping efficiency are maintained at these longer distances, particularly at higher downhole temperatures. It is important to realize that fluid bypass failure and/or flow-by failures may have a larger detrimental effect under these conditions. Casing centralization equipment has existed for a very long time, at least compared to some of the newer technologies being implemented in todays wells. However, I still believe new and improved designs are required includingfor example, designs that would take into consideration the need to rotate casing to reach TD, reciprocate casing during cementing, or even designs optimized for running in formations with significant break outs. Product Testing Comprehensive testing of the performance of our products is also a key aspect in addressing more challenging downhole conditions. In my opinion, it is now more important than ever to fully understand the physical limits, failure modes, and performance characteristics of all equipment. Testing beyond API specifications and recommended practices will indeed be required. Float equipment has been traditionally tested according to API RP 10F, which essential requires float equipment to withstand a certain level of flowrate, circulation time, temperature, and back pressure. However, it is also important to know what the true physical limits of the equipment are by testing to destruction. This should be done in such a way that all modes of failure are understood; i.e. high flow rate, long circulating time (perhaps representative also of abrasive

Top-Co Type 225 Float Collar (image titled 225)

Top-Co Type 300 Centralizer (image titled 300)

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technology

DEW Journal October 2010

Drilling

Top-Cos flow loop test facility

mud or cement systems), elevated temperatures, high differential pressures, and even time subjected to differential pressure. In addition the design verification, testing should also be conducted for quality control purposes; something addressed only by API 10D2 for testing centralizers. Maintaining a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative test results database with at least minimum statistical analysis has proven to be critical. Cement wiping and displacement plugs are perhaps the products (in our industry segment) whose testing procedures vary the most among manufacturers. The reason behind this is that representative wiping efficiency tests are expensive and involve a very large test matrix. However, the importance of knowing limitations in travel distances and downhole temperatures are probably more important today than ever before. Joint Industry Projects should be considered. The performance of centralizers and stop collars is traditionally tested according to API 10D and API 10D2 specifications respectively, which establish a procedure to measure starting, running, and restoring forces for centralizers, and holding forces for stop collars. However, other important parameters such as torsional strength or scarring levels caused by set screws on casing, particularly on slippage, have not been investigated. Although Top-Co has conducted some tests in this area, we recognize the need for further research. In my opinion, pressure drop tests are of most importance in todays ERD wells. Top-Co has added to its testing program several tests that in our opinion will provide critical information, in particular for ERD applications. In the case of auto-fill float equipment, pressure drop vs. flow rate curves should be generated,

covering when applicable, all equipment sizes. This information may be used to increase the accuracy of surge and swap calculations, which is even more important in longer reach wells. Perhaps the most exciting testing phase Top-Co will be starting in the near future is on pressure drop across centralizers. Very limited research has been conducted in this area, and yet the contributions of centralizers (and other casing accessories) to ECD may not be negligible. In particular, casing strings that require optimum stand-off which may only be centralized with a larger number of centralizers or with larger diameters, leading to ECDs close to fracture pressure. The cumulative effect may be more than expected. Applications Engineering Usually, Applications Engineering is not a concept that comes to mind when thinking about casing centralization and floatation equipment. Yet, I believe it can have a significant impact in avoiding common problems such as inability to reach TD, poor cement bond, drillout problems, and many others. More challenging wells, in particular ERD wells, require that we approach the selection and installation process in a different way as it has historically been done. Top-Co has developed an initiative we call Fit-for-Purpose Casing, Cementing, and Completions Solutions, in which an effort is made to understand the end purpose of the application of our products based on foreseen drilling problems. For example, consideration of possible formation washouts by analyzing formation types and drilling mud types to determine casing centralizer types. Much emphasis should be given to casing string modeling software to determine the optimum number of

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Other considerations that are typically ignored in the selection of float equipment are formation collapse pressure, casing hanger type, completions type (cement and perforate vs. packers/sleeves), BHA assembly used, and others. Post-Run Analysis Not much effort is seen in analyzing data after casing is run and cemented, particularly if the job was successful. Yet, performing this analysis can provide valuable information for future wells. It is important to analyze actual hook load data to determine actual friction factors, which can be later used to increase the accuracy of future simulations under similar conditions. Furthermore, time should be invested in performing sensitivity analysis on friction factors during the simulation process. This is particularly important in highly deviated and horizontal wells (and even more so in ERD) where divergences from the expected hook load vs. depth curves may be an indication of problems such as differential pressure sticking that could lead to failure to reach TD. Performing this analysis and providing training to rig personnel will increase the chances of identifying such problems on time to take the required corrective measures. Closing Comments Obviously, an in depth-analysis of all of the aspects mentioned above is outside of the scope of this publication. However, I hope to be able to transmit the need to approach primary cementing equipment in a different way; the need for a fit-for-purpose approach in the more challenging wells, and most importantly, the need and benefits of doing in in the planning stages rather than the traditional few days before casing is run. Last, I believe there is much to be researched and developed in this area, some of it only possible through joint industry projects. dewjournal.com

Top-Cos flow loop test facility

placement of centralizers, with particular attention to troublesome areas. These simulations will give the engineer an indication of the side forces that the casing centralization equipment will be subjected to and therefore allow him to better select the optimum construction type and material. The relevance of this is higher in some types of wells, such as S-Shaped wells with long sections below the drop angle, which typically result in higher side forces. Similarly, longer reach wells, particularly ERD, require comprehensive analysis of torque and drag. It is now very common to see casing string designs that allow casing to reach TD only with rotation. Although space constraints in this article do not allow for an in-depth discussion on software simulations, it is important to keep in mind that the modeling of the well geometry and casing string will have a direct impact on the accuracy of the simulations. For example, an effort must be made in entering centralizer forces for the specific hole size where each centralizer will be set at. This in turn may require additional lab tests. Also, tortuosity should be accounted for, at least artificially when actual or historic data is not available. Sound Applications Engineering should include a continuous review of technical publications of relevant avant-garde laboratory research projects as well as field cases whose findings could have a positive or negative impact and casing running and cementing operations. For example, I was particularly surprised by the findings of a recent laboratory research project on flow distribution in eccentric annuli, some of which are counterintuitive and contrary to popular assumptions. Top-Co has incorporated these results in the development of the above mentioned initiative as it relates to stand-off requirements.

about the author

Alfredo Sanchez is a Sr. Petroleum Engineer at Top-Co LP. He earned a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MS degree in Petroleum Engineering, both from The University of Tulsa.

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