A Method for 'Selection of Cement

Recipes To Control Fluid Invasion

After Cementing
Robert M. Belrute, SPE, Amoco Production Co., and P.R. Cheung, The Western Co. of North America
Summary. A method to scale down well parameters to laboratory conditions for more realistic testing of cement recipes to be used
to control wellbore invasion/migration of formation fluids after cementing is introduced. The scale-down procedure proposed here addresses
a worst-case scenario. It assumes that the offending gas zone (source of the invading gas) has enough permeability, thickness, and
gas volume to invade fully and to pressure-charge the cemented annulus (cement column), if conditions allow. The method is demon-
strated in conjunction with the use of a certain laboratory gas-flow apparatus. This general scale-down procedure can be used with
other test equipment.
An imaginary set of well conditiojls is used to illustrate the mechanics of the use of the technique. Tests run with the procedure
and the computer-monitored gas-migration test cell are described. A preliminary set of criteria for selecting a cement recipe for a given
well is presented. A field case illustrates the use of the procedure.
Introduction
The oil industry wrestled with the problem of gas migration after
cementing since the early 1960's. An extensive review of papers
on the problem of gas invasion/migration of wellbores after cement-
ing was given earlier, 1 and Ref. 2 lists additional related papers.
It is generally recognized that gas invasion/migration after ce-
menting can occur through three different mechanisms
2
: contami-
nated cement and mud channels, microannuli along the cement/pipe
interface and along channels at the cement/formation interface, and
the cement itself.
There are no short cuts in minimizing gas invasion/migration.
Without good mud-displacement efficiency, gas movement in the
wellbore cannot be prevented. Invasion/migration through the ce-
ment itself can be minimized with proper slurry design. Some oper-
ators have had success with'the use of cement slurries that prevent
gas migration by forming an "impermeable" matrix to gas
1
,3 and
with expanding cements.
4
Although some gas-migration-control cement recipes (e. g., the
impermeable type) are generally quite effective, they are expensive.
For certain well conditions, using high-cost formulations can be
an overkill when using less expensive recipes could be just as suc-
cessful. The question then is, how does one select the recipe to be
used in a given well? We believe that the best way is to test the
proposed cement recipes in the laboratory with a realistic test proce-
dure. When gas invasion/migration is a concern, laboratory testing
of a cement formulation for gas-migration control should be con-
sidered as important as thickening-time and compressive-strength
tests.
Several laboratory devices and test procedures have been devel-
oped to test the gas-flow-control properties of a cement recipe. 1,5,6
One common problem exists with all the test devices and techniques:
a standard, satisfactory procedure has not been developed to test
a cement recipe under conditions that closely simulate downhole
conditions. Therefore, a method to scale down the well environment
to laboratory conditions was needed because the available laboratory
equipment and procedures cannot realistically duplicate certain pa-
rameters (hydrostatic head, gas formation pressures, and pressure
gradients potentially driving the gas through the cement column)
that l!I'e critical in tests to design cement slurries for this application.
Flow Cell
One of the simplest devices available to run gas-flow tests on cement
recipes is described by Cheung and Beirute. 1 The scale-down
procedure described in this paper will be illustrated with that appa-
ratus, but it is general enough that it can be used with other test
equipment. This gas-flow cell was modified to operate almost auto-
matically and to be computer-monitored to facilitate running of the
Copyright 1990 Society of Petroleum Engineers
SPE Production Engineering, November 1990
tests and data acquisition and processing. 2 Fig. 1 is a diagram of
the improved cell and its instrumentation.
Scale-Down Method
The procedure proposed here addresses a worst-case scenario. It
assumes that the offending gas zone (source of the invading gas)
has enough permeability, thickness, and gas volunie to invade fully
and to pressure-charge the cemented annulus (cement column), if
conditions allow.
The following set of imaginary well conditions is used as an ex-
ample to demonstrate the procedure. A high-pressure gas zone is
to be cemented to prevent gas migration to a lower-pressure zone.
The zones are separated by an impermeable shale zone. Table 1
summarizes additional well parameters, and Fig. 2 is a well diagram.
Pressure Differential Into the Zones of Interest in the Well. It
is well documented 1,7 that, as the cement rests static in the annulus
after a cement job, its pore pressure declines with time. Across
a gas-bearing formation, after the cement pore pressure becomes
equal to the formation gas pressure, gas can invade the cement if
the conditions are right. We assume that the cement's pore-pressure
drop results mainly from its gel-strength development, causing the
cement to become "load-bearing" 1 and therefore capable of sup-
porting the hydrostatic head above it. With this assumption, the
hydrostatic pressure reduction at any location in the cement column
can be calculated at any point in time by8
Pr=SL/3OO(D-d) . ................................ (1)
At any given time, the pore pressure across a zone is the initial
hydrostatic at that location in the annulus minus the pressure reduc-
tion resulting from the gel strength of the cement above the zone:
Pct=Pd-Pr' ..................................... (2)
The pressure differential into a given cemented zone at any time t is
Pdt =Pct-P
p
' ..................................... (3)
Table 2 gives the gel-strength development vs. time for a certain
16.4-lbrnlgal cement-slurry formulation. In addition, the hydrostatic
pressures across the two zones of our imaginary well and the pres-
sure differential into the high-pressure gas zone are calculated with
Eqs. 1 through 3 (Table 2). Notice in Table 2 that for this situation
the possibility of gas invading the wellbore starts about 170 minutes
after the cement slurry is left static behind the pipe.
Pressure Differential Into the Simulated Gas Zone in the Labora-
tory. In tests with the gas-flow cell, nitrogen gas at 400 psi con-
nected to the bottom of the cell is normally used to simulate the
high-pressure gas zone. Therefore, with the proposed scale-down
procedure, for the slurry of Table 2, the initial hydrostatic pressure
applied to the cell piston (representing the hydrostatic head above
433
Nitrogen
Gas
Nitrogen __ :=::1
Gas
Balance
Top Back Pressure Regulator
'"'""""'1. __ 0 Ring
Piston
Gas Flow
Meter
1=:'- __ Nitrogen
Gas
Fig. 1-Gas-flow cell.
TABLE 1-EXAMPLE WELL PARAMETERS
High-pressure (7,OOO-psi) gas zone, ft
Lower-pressure (6,500-psi) zone, ft
Top of cement column, ft
BHCT, of
BHST, of
Pipe diameter, in.
Average hole diameter, in.
Mud density in hole, Ibm/gal
Density of slurry to be used, Ibm/gal
10,000
9,900
8,000
167
230
5
8
14.5
16.4
the cement) would be 738 psi (the calculated initial pressure differ-
ential into the gas zone as indicated in Table 2) plus 400 psi for
the imaginary well at hand. After that, the pressure applied to the
piston would be reduced vs. time, according to a pressure schedule
that would follow the pressure differential across the gas zone as
given in Table 2. Thus, after 1 minute, the pressure on the piston
would be (694+400) psi and after 30 minutes, (605 +400) psi, etc.,
until the continuously recorded pore pressure (Fig. 1) of the cement
in the cell reaches a value near 400 psi. At that point, the piston
pressure would be maintained constant throughout the remainder
of the test.
Thus, this procedure represents a more realistic approach over
the original method, 1 which included a constant pressure of 1,000
psi in all tests to simulate the hydrostatic head above the cement.
Pressure Gradient Across the Sample in the Laboratory Cell.
Deciding what pressure differential to apply across the cement speci-
men in the laboratory to drive gas through the cement during a test
is not simple. We should not simply apply a pressure gradient equal
to the well's high-pressure gas zone minus the pressure of the well's _
weak zone divided by the measured distance between the zones (500
psi/ 100ft in our imaginary case) because we must account for gas
compressibility. To simulate the pressure gradient driving the gas to
migrate through the cement column between the two zones, we must
account for the fact that, for example, for the well conditions being
simulated, the gas source is at 7,000 psi, flowing toward a 6,500-psi
zone; in the laboratory cell, the gas source is at a lower pressure
(400 psi in our case), flowing toward a certain lower discharge pres-
434
8,000 Ft.
9,900 Ft.
Pipe
10,000 Ft.
Mud
Joo.-__ ..........c ___ Cement Top
:-;
o. 0
o
..
..
0
0
0
0
..
0
. .
0


0
..
0
0
0
0
0
Cement Slurry
Low Pressure Zone
6,500 PSI
Impermeable
Zone
High Pressure Gas Zone
7,000 PSI
Fig. 2-lmaglnary well conditions.
sure. To simulate the gas-migration problem properly, we must cal-
culate this discharge pressure to be used in the laboratory cell.
To scale the well differential pressure along the cement column
(possibly driving the gas through the column) down to the gas-flow-
cell conditions, we use Darcy's law for linear flow. For our pur-
poses, we assume that the gas permeability is a bulk (overall) perme-
ability that includes not just the natural permeability of the cement
but also any permeability induced by gas flow through the column
SPE Production Engineering, November 1990
TABLE 2-PRESSURE SCHEDULE'
Time
(minutes)
Gel Strength
(lbf/l00 ft2)
Pressure Across
Gas Zone
(psi)
Pressure
Differential
into Gas Zone
(psi)
Pressure Across
Weak Zone
(psi)
o
1
30
90
120
150
160
170
180
190
200
210
o
20
60
110
120
190
270
320
400
450
500
550
7,738
7,694
7,605
7,494
7,472
7,316
7,139
7,028
738
694
605
494
472
316
139
28
7,652
7,610
7,525
7,420
7,399
7,251
7,082
6,977
6,808
6,703
6,597
t
Slurry: Class H+gas-migration-control agent + fluidloss-control Agent A+38% water; 16.4-lbm/gal density.
Gas could invade the cement column beyond this point and pressurize the annulus to 7,000 psi.
t Formation fluids could invade the cement column beyond this point and pressurize the annulus to 6,500 psI.
(microchannels, etc.). In our scale-down scheme, we assume that,
because the slurry in the cell is of the same composition as the slurry
that would be used in the well, then the bulk permeability would
be the same in the well and in the cell under similar gas-flow con-
ditions. With this assumption, we can write
[JL2qp
I
Ll(Pf -p[)A]w=[JL2qp
I
Ll(Pf -pr)A]c' ....... (4)
To study equal flow rates per unit area in the well and in the test
cell, the flow rate in the well in Eq. 4 should be expressed in terms
of the cell discharge pressure. Assuming that the ideal-gas law holds,
(qIA)w=(qIA)cPlc1Plw' ............................ (5)
Assuming that the effect of gas viscosity can be neglected and
solving for the discharge pressure in the gas cell after substituting
into Eq. 4, we get
Plc=..j[Pfc-(LcILw)(Pfw-prw]' ................... (6)
Eq. 6 allows calculation of the discharge pressure to be used in
the gas-flow cell in terms of the pressures driving the gas flow in
the actual well. Rigorously, if the viscosity effects are not neglected
and the gas compressibility factors are included, Eq. 6 becomes
Plc=..j[Pfc-(LcILw)(JLcIJLw)(zlclzlw)(Pfw-prw))' ..... (7)
In our experience, the use of the simplified Eq. 6 produces satis-
factory results (see below).
For our imaginary well, Lw= 100 ft, P2w=7,OOO psi (a constant
once the gas invades the cement), and Plw varies, as illustrated in
Table 2 (minimum value is 6,500 psi). Assuming an average cement
column length in the gas-flow cell of 6 in., Lc =0.5 ft and P2c =400
psi (an arbitrary constant value).
Introducing the above terms into Eq. 6 allows values for the dis-
charge pressures for the test cell to be calculated. Table 3 gives
the results. As shown, the pressure differential across the cell (bot-
tom to top) ranges from about 17 to 45 psi for this imaginary case.
Eq. 7 generally yields lower differential prtissures across the cell
than Eq. 6. Therefore, Eq. 6 is normally used as a design safety
factor. In practice, the pressure differential across the cell is never
allowed to be < 15 psi even if lower values are calculated from
Eq.6.
Test Procedure Used With the Gas-Flow Cell. the cement slurry
to be tested is mixed according to API Spec. ]09 procedures and
then stirred for 20 minutes in a preheated atmospheric consistometer
at bottomhole circulating temperature (BHCT) or 194 of, whichever
is less, while the gas-flow cell is preheated to BHCT. With the for-
mation gas inlet valve closed, a simulated gas formation pressure
is applied to the gas flowmeter through the differential-pressure
regulator (Fig. 1). An equal gas pressure is applied to the backpres-
sure side of the top backpressure regulator. The same gas pressure
is applied to the backpressure side of the bottom pressure receiver.
The heated cement slurry is then poured into the cell from the top,
the piston inserted in the cell, and the initial simulated hydrostatic
pressure applied to the slurry by the hydraulic piston.
TABLE 3-CELL DISCHARGE PRESSURE'
Time
(minutes)
o
1
30
90
120
150
160
170
180
190
200
210
Final
Pressure Across
Gas Zone
(psi)
7,738
7,694
7,605
7,494
7,472
7,316
7,139
7,028
7,000"
Pressure Across
Weak Zone
(psi)
7,652
7,610
7,525
7,420
7,399
7,251
7,082
6,977
6,808
6,703
6,597
6,500
t
Cell
Discharge Pressure
(psi)
383
374
364
355
355
Pressure
Differential
Across Cell
(psi)
17*
26
36
45
45
Slurry: Class H + gasmlgration-control agent + fluidloss-control Agent A + 38% water; 16.4-lbm/gal density.
Worst-case assumption (complete gas invasion across the gas zone).
t Minimum value, equalization with weak zone pressure.
'Top to bottom of cell.
SPE Production Engineering, November 1990 435
TABLE 4-SLURRY COMPOSITION
Slurry 1-HHetarder+38% H
2
0
Slurry 2-H + gas-migration-control agent + fluid-loss-control
Agent A + 38% water
Slurry 3-H + fluid-loss-control Agent A + 38% water
Slurry 4-H + 12% gypsum + fluid-loss-control Agent B +
66% water
TABLE 5-SLURRY PROPERTIES
Thickening Time
Density at 167F
Slurry (Ibm/gal) _-,(c-hr_:m.....,i-,n),--_
1 16.4 3:10
2 16.4 4:00
3 16.4 3:30
4 14.5 4:00
Fluid Loss
at 167F
(cm3/30 min)
>1,000
40
72
294
Free Water
(cm
3
)
80F 167F
-----
0.7 2.1
0.0 0.0
0.0 0.1
0.0 0.0
TABLE 6-COMPRESSIVE STRENGTHS AND PERMEABILITIES
Curing temperature: 230F
Curing pressure: 3,000 psi
Curing Compressive Water N2 Gas
Time Strength
Slurry (hours) (psi)
1 6 653
8 1,728
24 4,288
2 6 410
7 700
24 4,250
3 8 173
10 2,500
24 5,000
4 6. 69
8 130
24 288
Next, the gas inlet valve (simulated gas formation) at the bottom
of the cell is opened. The test is started when the bottom filtrate
valve is opened, with the top ftltrate valve remaining closed. Heating
of the gas-flow cell from BHCT to the bottomhole static temperature
(BHST) on a predetermined schedule is initiated with the tempera-
ture controller. The hydraulic pressure applied to the piston, which
simulates the hydrostatic head above the high-pressure gas zone,
is continuously changed according to the precalculated hydrostatic-
pressure schedule (scale-down procedure). The pore pressure of
the cement slurry is monitored continuously. When it is close to
the constant simulated gas formation pressure, the hydraulic pressure
applied to the piston is recorded and maintained constant at that
value through the remainder of the test. The top filtrate valve is
then opened and the precalculated, variable differential pressure
(scale-down procedure) is applied across the cement slurry from
the bottom of the cell to the top backpressure regulator with the
differential-pressure regulator. If gas flow occurs during the test,
the flow rate is measured by the mass flowmeter.
With this particular gas-flow cell design, the cell's top filtrate
valve is maintained closed from the beginning of the test until the
pore pressure of the cement slurry reaches the gas formation pres-
sure to minimize filter-cake formation on the piston screen. The
formation of a filtrate cake on the piston screen is undesirable be-
cause it can interfere with the flow of filtrate and gas through the
piston shaft.
Measurement of Cement-Slurry Gel Strength
The gel-strength development vs. time of the cement slurry should
be measured before use of the scale-down method. Devices are avail-
able to measure gel strength at downhole conditions of temperature
and pressure. 10 If one of these devices is not available, an empir-
ical, less desirable approach can be used. 2
Tests Performed on Cement Specimen
After Gas-Flow Test
After a gas-flow test, the gas-flow cell is cooled to room tempera-
ture, and the set cement is pressed out of the cell with a metal bar
and a hydraulic-strength-testing device. The load required to start
pushing the specimen from the cell is recorded, and the surface
area of the cement sample is measured. The shear bond strength
436
Permeability Permeability
(md) (md)
0.20
0.041
0.013 0.024
0.58
0.37
0.0051 0.025
0.905
0.055
0.0067 0.010
1.53
0.40
0.085 3.0
of the cement sample is then calculated by dividing the measured
load by the outside surface area of the cylindrical sample.
Because the shear bond strength is measured at room temperature
(which normally is substantially below the gas-flow test tempera-
ture), test-cell contraction affects the results. Hence, the recorded
shear bond strength of the cement is not the bond strength at the
gas-flow test temperature, so no great confidence can be placed
in these measurements. These shear-bond-strength data can be used
only to compare several cement slurries when tested under identical
conditions.
After the cement sample is pressed out of the gas-flow cell, 1 x
IIh-in. cement plugs are cored from the cement specimen. The gas
permeability to air of the cement plugs is then measured with a
Hassler-sleeve-type device.
Examples of Gas-Flow Tests on Cement Recipes
Some of the many tests run with the proposed procedure are dis-
cussed in this section. Unless indicated, the same imaginary well
conditions were used to design the tests. Table 4 gives the general
composition of the slurries.
Tables 5 and 6 list the properties of the slurries in Table 4. The
slurries were designed to .have a thickening time of 3 to 4 hours
at 167F. Slurry 1, which did not contain a fluid-loss-control or
a gas-migration-control additive, had an API fluid loss of > 1,000
cm
3
/30 min. Permeabilities of the set cements at 24 hours meas-
ured with water
9
were about one order of magnitude lower than
those measured with nitrogen gas (Table 6). Table 6 also shows
that the early-set cements had relatively high permeabilities (com-
pared with reported measurements, normally made after the cement
is fully set), particularly Slurry 4, an extended cement. Permeabil-
ities at 24 hours were substantially lower than the early (6-hour)
permeabilities. Gel strengths were determined empirically.2
Slurry 1. Fig. 3 shows the results of this test. All the data in Fig. 3
are plotted vs. time. Fig. 3a gives the cell hydrostatic pressure (pres-
sure applied to the piston). the upper and lower pore pressure of
the slurry (see Fig. 1). the simulated formation gas pressure (kept
constant at 400 psi). and the gas flow rate measured by the mass
flowmeter. Fig. 3b shows the cell temperature recorded by the ther-
mocouple in the cell well (top of the cell. Fig. 1) and the slurry
SPE Production Engineering. November 1990
LOIIEFlPOAePQt"S. FORMATlONGASPAES
b
. 00 ;;:
l.1S i
.... I
....
a
b
tWO " to ta t" t. i8 " at - JO ... - - ..... "* .
1JPPI;FI FtLTIIIA:r .ptSTPN
.... i
::: I
...
.. i i' .... Ii
c
'.
Fig. 3-Gas-flow test, Slurry 1.
temperature recorded by the thermocouple through the center of
the cell. Fig. 3c gives the downward movement of the piston
registered by the linear-displacement transducer and the top and
bottom filtrate volumes from the cell.
Shortly after the test was started, the pore pressure of the cement
slurry dropped to 400 psi (equal to the gas pressure), while showing
very high fluid loss. At that point, the hydrostatic (piston) pressure
was reduced to 500 psi and the valve to the piston was closed. The
piston pressure continued to decrease during the test as the cement
continued to dehydrate.
A substantial amount of gas flow was detected 10 minutes after
the 'start of the test. The gas flow rate continued to increase with
time even after the cement obtained its initial set (a cement heat
of hydration peak can be observed on the cement temperature curve
after 5'12 hours). This continued gas flow through the cement after
the initial set confirms that once gas flow channels are formed, they
do not close and seem to continue to erode after the cement takes
its initial set. The test was terminated after 20 hours (see the tempera-
ture drop in Fig. 3b). At that point, a gas flow rate of 5,500 cm
3
/
min was recorded at standard conditions (the gas flow rate goes
out of the chart after about 10 hours, but the computer continued
to collect the data). After the gas-flow test, the sample's shear bond
strength was measured at 30 psi.
An approximation of the bulk permeability (to gas) of the cement
specimen while in the cell was obtained by Darcy's law; as indicated,
the gas flow rate at 20 hours was recorded as 5,500 cm
3
/min
(91.67 cm3/sec) at standard conditions. This rate was converted
to the exit pressure with the ideal gas law. A gas flow rate at 25.2
atm (test discharge pressure) was therefore calculated to be 3.638
cm
3
/sec, and the bulk permeability was 11.8 md.
This bulk permeability calculated with the cell-measured gas flow
rate and cross-sectional area can be misleading if, during the test,
the gas flowed through a restricted area of the cement sample (large
gas channels). After this test, careful examination of the cement
specimen indicated dried-out, unset cement at the sample center.
SPE Production Engineering, November 1990
c
IB /
to :
aY'
':!-, -=-. -:.:-:: .. :-= .. "",.,... -:: .. .. ..., .. "...." .. :-"':': .. .., .. .. :---::- .. ..., .. ... ::-:: ..
,--
Fig. 4-Gas-flow test, Slurry 2.
This portion could be removed easily. It is suspected that the cement
at that spot in the sample was deprived of its water by the fast influx
of the gas and therefore could not develop a complete set. Among
other things, this test showed how fast gas can invade a cement
that does not have proper fluid-loss control.
Slurry 2. Fig. 4 shows the test results for this slurry, which con-
tained a gas-migration-control additive (Table 4). The hydrostatic
(piston) pressure was reduced as calculated by the scale-down proce-
dure. At about 3 hours, the hydrostatic pressure reached about 410
psi. At that point, the top filtrate valve was opened and a predeter-
mined, variable pressure differential across the sample was applied
according to the scale-down procedure. As Fig. 4 shows, less filtrate
was collected during this test than during the previous one because
of the good fluid-loss control associated with the gas-migration
additive.
Gas started to enter the cell at about 10 hours, but not until the
slurry had taken its initial set (notice a heat of hydration temperature
peak at about 7'12 hours). A maximum gas flow rate of about 300
cm
3
/min was recorded.
A methylene blue dye solution was injected into the bottom of
the cell at about 20'12 hours (notice a decrease in the gas flow rate
at that point) in an attempt to identify the gas-migration pattern
through the sample.
When the cell was cooled down, starting at about 24 hours, the
gas flow rate began to decline and reached a minimum value when
the cell temperature was 80F. A gas flow rate of 20 cm
3
/min was
recorded at 42 hours. This decrease in gas flow rate with temperature
may indicate the presence of a microannulus at the cement/cell wall
interface at the higher temperatures. As the temperature decreased
during cooldown, cell contraction would tend to eliminate the
microannulus. That this microannulus can form is a disadvantage
of this particular cell design. A microannulus was not suspected in
every test run.
437
a
b
c
------ ---------- _______________ .__ _ ______________ _________ __ 0 ___ _
.. ..
UME IHCItlASI
Fig. 5-Gas-flow test, Slurry 3.
The sample shear bond strength was measured at 412 psi and
a bulk permeability to gas was calculated, as per the previous test,
to be 0.0527 md at 80F. Low permeability to gas was measured
on plugs cored from the cement specimen after the gas-flow test.
The vertical plug cored at the bottom of the sample gave a permea-
bility of 0.0057 md; the horizontal plug cored at the top of the sample
showed a permeability of 0.17 md.
Slurry 3. Fig. 5 shows the test results of Slurry 3, which contained
a fluid-loss additive (Table 4). Note that a relatively low filtrate
volume was collected during this test because of the the fast piston-
pressure decline curve called for by the high gelling tendencies of
this slurry (see scale-down procedure).
Because of the high early-gel-strength properties, the piston pres-
sure was reduced to close to the gas pressure in less than 1 hour.
At that point, the calculated pressure gradient was applied across
the sample. No gas flow rate was recorded by the gas flowmeter,
but a gas flow rate of about 26 cm
3
/min waS measured at 24 hours
with a pipette at atmospheric pressure. Almost the same flow rate
was then recorded at 28 hours at 125F, while the cell was cooled.
Therefore, no microannulus was suspected.
The saniple's shear bond strength was measured at 720 psi and
a bulk permeability to gas was calculated at 0.072 md. The vertical
plug cored at the bottom of the sample gave a gas permeability of
0.0020 md; a vertical plug cored at the top of the sample gave a
gas permeability of 0.17 md. Examination of the specimen after
the gas-flow test indicated no visible signs of gas channels.
Slurry 4. Fig. 6 shows the test results for this thixotropic slurry.
A well situation requiring a lighter-density slurry was simulated.
A fair amount of filtrate was collected during this test because the
slurry had only a moderate fluid-Ioss-control capacity. Gas flow
into the cell was detected at 4 hours into the test, about 2 hours
before the slurry obtained its initial set. A maximum gas flow rate
438
._APOM:"'!S. Lowat AORI!" _S . 'OANAUCIN ...... _
----_.- ....
a
I
b
so ,:' ,v----:----'--- ___ .,.- __ ......,. ___ . ___ .. ____
... i
:: I
....
<1O ;/
i
1.00 i
.. 'J
c
Fig. 6-Gas-flow test, Slurry 4.
of 1,150 cm
3
/min measured at 10 hours leveled off at about 1,000
cm
3
/min.
The sample had a shear bond strength of 147 psi and a calculated
average permeability of2.4 md. A horizontal plug cored at the top
of the sample gave a gas permeability of 2.36 md. Fig. 7 shows
voids and cracks observed in the middle portion of the sample after
the test.
Field Ca.e
A 5-in. liner was to be cemented at 12,110 ft measured depth [8,563
ft true vertical depth (TVD)] in the North Sea. The hole was 6 in.
(essentially gauge according to the caliper). The last liner was 7
in. set at 8,166 TVD. The top of this liner was at 4,249 ft TVD.
From there, 97f1-in. casing was run to the surface. Maximum record-
ed temperature was 198F after 18 hours of shutdown. The mud
in the hole was a low-toxicity oil-based mud at a density of 14.0
Ibm/gal. Two tight, high-pressure gas zones existed at around 8,432
and 8,530 ft. Because of reservoir requirements, this well was drilled
slightly underbalanced. During drilling of this section, gas-cut mud
with densities of as low as 13.5 Ibm/gal were measured, and gas
units indicating as much as 38 vol % mud cut were recorded. In
an offset well, gas had invaded the cement column after the cement
job, resulting in a job failure.
During the planning stages, the decision was made to use a
cement-slurry recipe that would prevent gas from migrating from
the high-pressure gas zones near total depth to the 5-in. liner overlap
(past experience indicated that this was the likely path for the gas).
Two formulations were proposed by the service company: one that
included microsilica as the gas-migration-control agent and one that
used a different extender. During the slurry selection process, all
normal slurry properties were tested in the laboratory, including
gel-strength development vs. time at well conditions. Scale-down
tests were also conducted on the two basic formulations with a gas-
flow cell. The scale-down tests designed with the well parameters
and the slurry properties indicated that the formulation containing
SPE Production Engineering, November 1990
microsilica was the better one for this application. This fonnulation
made only a very small amount of gas during the test, and the sample
showed no signs of gas invasion after the test. The other recipe,
on the other hand, made more gas and the specimen had a grainy
appearance with some small holes in the inside, although the holes
were not connected. As a result of the scale-down tests, the microsil-
ica fonnulation was recommended for this well.
Two bow centralizers were used on each joint of the 5-in. liner.
The liner was run with a tapered string of 3 'h- and 5-in. drillpipe.
Running speed was 2 minutes per stand in the open hole (full returns
were observed). A minimum density of the gas-cut mud was 13.8
Ibm/gal during hole conditioning.
The microsilica cement slurry was displaced at 4 bbl/min to the
shoe and at 3 bbl/min thereafter. Full returns were observed during
the job. The floats held.
After waiting-on-cement time, hard cement was drilled to the liner
top. No gas was detected during drilling (significant amounts of
gas were often found in other wells during this operation, requiring
the liner top to be squeezed). The liner top was positively tested
with mud in the hole and reverse-tested with a full column of diesel,
with no gas detected. For the record, a cement-bondlvariable-density
log showed good bond to pipe and fonnation. In summary, this
was an excellent job.
Final Observations
We have pointed out that the proposed scale-down method is general
enough to be independent of the test apparatus used to run the flow
tests. In our opinion, however, the test apparatus should allow ce-
ment dehydration for proper representation of downhole conditions.
Therefore, test apparatuses that do not allow fluid to be lost from
the cement (like cells that consist of long plastic or metal pipes)
are not recommended for testing the gas-invasion/migration prop-
erties of cement fonnulations.
Test results indicate that gas entry into the cement before the slurry
takes its initial set needs to be minimized to control the gas-invasion!
migration problem. When a substantial amount of gas enters the
sample before the slurry obtains its initial set, pennanent gas chan-
nels and microchannels are fonned and high gas flow rates persist
even after the cement sets.
Criteria for Selecting a CementSlurry Recipe
Preliminary, tentative criteria were chosen for the selection of
recipes for possible use in wells with potential gas-invasion!migra-
tion problems. These preliminary criteria will continue to be field-
tested and adjusted as needed before finner guidelines can be
adopted.
1. Measured gas flow rates through the specimen should be zero
or very small, with a maximum of about 30 cm
3
/min in the gas-
flow cell used. In the gas-flow cell, a maximum gas flow rate of
30 cm
3
/min corresponds to a specimen calculated bulk pennea-
bility of approximately 0.075 md.
2. Gas invasion of the sample before the slurry obtains its initial
set (as indicated by the hydration temperature peak) should be con-
sidered undesirable, and thought should be given to eliminating the
recipe from consideration. On the other hand, small gas flow rates
(Criterion 1) measured after the hydration temperature peak may
be considered acceptable.
3. The posttest specimen of an acceptable recipe should not show
to the naked eye any voids, cracks, channels, or other signs of pos-
sible gas movement through the sample.
4. The posttest specimen of an acceptable recipe should not show
to the naked eye a grainy appearance and should not be crumbly,
indicating the possibility of excessive sample dehydration during
the test.
5. The penneability of an acceptable recipe measured on plugs
cored from the specimen after the gas-flow test should be low. Per-
meabilities >0.2 md should be considered unacceptable.
Conclusions
1. A method has been developed to scale down actual well con-
ditions to laboratory scale for more realistic testing of cement recipes
for the prevention of wellbore fluid invasion/migration.
SPE Production Engineering, November 1990
2. The method attempts to tailor the gas-flow test of the cement
recipe to the well at hand and therefore represents a substantial im-
provement over currently available test methods.
3. The method, which uses a worst-case scenario, assumes that
the offending gas zone has enough penneability, thickness, and gas
volume to invade fully and to pressure-charge the cemented annulus
if conditions allow.
4. Based on the work reported here, a preliminary, tentative set
of criteria for selecting a cement recipe for use in a given well is
established.
5. Laboratory tests run in a gas-flow test cell suggest that, in some
cases, certain relatively simple cement recipes can be used instead
of other more expensive fonnulations to control gas invasion!migra-
tion in wellbores.
Nomenclature
A = specimen cross-sectional flow area, in.
2
d = pipe diameter, in.
D = hole diameter, in.
L = length, ft
P ci = initial hydrostatic pressure across a given cemented
zone, psi
P ct = hydrostatic pressure across a given cemented zone at
any time t, psi
P lit = differential pressure into the given zone at any time
t, psi
Pp = pore pressure of given zone, psi
Pr = pressure reduction caused by gel strength, psi
PI = exit (discharge) pressure, psi
P2 = entrance pressure, psi
q = gas flow rate calculated at exit pressure, ft3/hr
S = cement gel strength at a given point in time, Ibf/lOO ft2
z = compressibility factor
= gas viscosity, cp
Subscripts
c = cell
w = well
References
1. Cheung, P.R. and Beirute, R.M.: "Gas Flow in Cements," JPT (June
1985) 1041-48.
2. Beirute, R.M. and Cheung, P.R.: "A Scale-Down Laboratory Test
Procedure for Tailoring to Specific Well Conditions: The Selection of
Cement Recipes to Control Formation Fluids Migration After Cement-
ing," paper SPE 19522 presented at the 1989 SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Oct. 8-11.
3. Bannister, C.D. et at.: "Critical Design Parameters to Prevent Gas In-
vasion During Cementing Operations, " paper SPE 11982 presented at
439
Authors
Robert N. BeINte
Is a research as-
sociate at Amoco
Production Co. In
Tulsa. For the last
20 years, he has
been Interested In
the development of
new technology to
Improve primary and
remedial cementing.
Belrute Cheung Before joining Amo-
co In 1981, Belrute
was manager of cementing product development for The
Western Co. of North America. He holds BS degrees In
chemistry and chemical engineering from the U. of Costa Rica
and MS and PhD degrees In chemical engineering from the
U. of Houston. P.R. Cheung Is a senior research associate
at The Western Co. of North America In The Woodlands, TX.
He joined The Western Co. In 1979 and has worked In the ce-
menting products development group. Cheung holds a PhD
degree In chemistry from Clemson U.
the 1983 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Fran-
cisco, Oct. 5-8.
4. Seidel, F.A. and Greene, T.G.: "Use of Expanding Cement Improves
Bonding and Aids in Eliminating Annular Gas Migration in Hobbs
Grayburg-San Andres Wells," paper SPE 14434 presented at the 1985
SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Las Vegas, Sept.
22-25.
5. Tinsley, I.M., Miller, E.C., and Sutton, D.L.: "Study of Factors Caus-
ing Annular Gas Flow Following Primary Cementing, " JPT (Aug. 1980)
1427-37.
440
6. Bannister, C.E. and Lawson, V .M.: "Role of Cement Fluid-Loss Con-
trol in Wellbore Completion," paper SPE 11433 presented at the 1985
SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Las Vegas, Sept.
22-25.
7. Cooke, C.E., Kluck, M.P., and Medrano, R.: "Field Measurements
of Annular Pressure and Temperature During Primary Cementing,"
JPT (Aug. 1983) 1429-38.
8. Sutton, D.L. and Sabins, F.L.: "New Evaluation for Annular Gas Flow
Potential," Oil & Gas J. (Dec. 10, 1984) 65-70.
9. Spec. 10, Specification for Materials and Testing for Well Cements,
fifth edition, API, Dallas (Iuly I, 1990).
10. Sabins, F.L., Tinsley, I.M., and Sutton, D.L.: "Transition Time of
Cement Slurries Between the Fluid and Set States," paper SPE 9285
presented at Q1e 1980 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Dallas, Sept. 21-24.
SI Metric Conversion Factors
atm x 1.013 250* E+02 kPa
bbI x 1.589873 E-01 m
3
ft x 3.048* E-01 m
ft2
x 9.290 304* E-02 m
2
OF
(OF-32)/1.8
C
gal x 3.785412 E-03 m
3
in. x 2.54* E+OO em
Ibf x 4.448222 E+OO N
Ibm x 4.535924 E-Ol kg
md x 9.869233 E-04 ILm2
psi x 6.894757 E+OO kPa
'Conversion factor is exact. SPEPE
Original SPE manuscript received for review Oct. 9, 1989. Paper accepted for publication
April 17, 1990. Revised manuscript received April 11, 1990. Paper (SPE 19522) first present
ed at the 1989 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibttion held In San Antonio, Oct.
8-11.
SPE Production Engineering, November 1990