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SPE Distinguished Lecturer Program
The SPE Distinguished Lecturer Program is funded principally through a
grant from the SPE Foundation.
The society gratefully acknowledges the companies that support this
program by allowing their professionals to participate as lecturers.
Special thanks to the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and
Petroleum Engineers (AIME) for its contribution to the program.
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Distinguished Lecturer Program
www.spe.org/dl
Cement and Cementing:
An Old Technique With a Future?
Bernard Piot
Schlumberger
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Distinguished Lecturer Program
www.spe.org/dl
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Outline
Cement
Cementing: a necessary evil?
Alternative isolation techniques
Todays well challenges
Cement versatility
Well architecture tool for the future
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Cement
Material and Regulations
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5
0:00 0:30 1:00 1:30 2:00
Time (HH:MM)
0
20
40
60
80
100
V
is
c
o
s
it
e
(B
c
)
Thickening time test (neat class G)
0:00 0:30 1:00 1:30 2:00
0
20
40
60
80
100
C
o
n
s
is
t
e
n
c
y
,

B
c
Time, h
Portland Cement
Hydraulic binder
Suspension (paste or
slurry) for placement
Controllable setting
Solid
Strong
Impermeable
Inexpensive
Available everywhere
0 15 30 45 60 75
Time (HH)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
C
o
m
p
re
s
s
iv
e
S
tre
n
g
th
T
y
p
e
B
(p
s
i)
Strength development test (neat class G)
Time, h
0 15 30 45 60 75
C
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
iv
e

s
t
r
e
n
g
t
h
,

p
s
i
1,000
500
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
0
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History of Oilfield Cement
Before our era
Clay, lime
Ca(OH)2 + CO2 CaCO3
Roman times
Pozzolanic cements
1824: Portland cement
Selected raw materials
1903: Portland cement in oil wells
1917: Oilfield cements
API created 20 Mar 1919
1940: ASTM Types 1 to 5
1948: API Code 32 released
Became API RP10B in 52
1952: 6 classes of cement
1953: API Std 10A
API Spec 10A in 72
ISO 10426 since 2000
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Cement Types
Construction cements
Common cement
API classes A, B, C
Retarded cements
Deeper wells
Classes D, E, F
Pressurized consistometer
Cementing companies
Abandoned early 80s
Plain Portland cement
Classes G, H
Quality control, reproducibility
More universal
Class J cement
Replaced by G/H + Silica
Slag cement
~80s Brine resistance
~90s Mud compatibility
Others
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Use of Cement
USA
~ 80% class H and G
~ 10% class A, ~ 10% Class C
Rest of the world (international service companies)
>95% class G (often imported)
Class A or C; or local common cement: preferentially
Type V (ASTM), or CEM-I 42.5 or 52.5 (EN 197-1)
Logistics allowing
If good and even quality
If adequate quality control
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From API to ISO (since 1998)
API Committee 10
ISO TC 67 /SC 3/WG 2
ISO 10426 well cements
ISO 10426-1 (ANSI/API 10A) - specification
ISO 10426-2 (ANSI/API RP 10B-2) - testing
ISO 10426-3 (ANSI/API RP 10B-3) deepwater wells
ISO 10426-4 (ANSI/API RP 10B-4) - foam cement
ISO 10426-5 (ANSI/API RP 10B-5) shrinkage/expansion
ISO 10426-6 (ANSI/API RP 10B-6) static gel strength
Other work groups:
Evaluation (logs), High Temperature, Deepwater
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Cementing: A Necessary Evil?
Evolution of Equipment and Technology,
and an Outline of Their Shortcomings
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11
Technology Older Than a Century
First well cementing ~ 1903
Perkins Oil Well Cementing Co., Calif.
Shovel/cement mixer
First use of an eductor
Jet mixer invented 1921
High pressure mixing
In use till the 1970s
Still used by some
Gravity cement feed
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Primary Cementing Objectives
Casing anchor (axial
support)
Protection against corrosion
and erosion
Support of borehole walls
Zonal isolation
Hole
Casing
Cement
Gas zone
Oil zone
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Unsuccessful Zonal Isolation
Risk to
HSE
ACP/SCP Remedial
work
Early
water
prod
n
Loss of
prod
n
Interzonal
fluid flow
NPV
Loss of Loss of
well well
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Cementing Process at Surface
Additives
Water
Slurry
Homogenizing/
Control
Pumping Well
Dosing and
Mixing
Dry Additives
Cement Bulk
Blend
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Handling Dry Cement
From cutting sacks to
pneumatic handling
Storage
Transport
Blending
Typical problems
Contamination
Humidity (air)
Deliverability
Homogeneity
Fully automated blender
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Control of Mixing
SG - 1.0
+
SLURRY SG ~ 1.9
CEMENT
SG - 3.2
=
Density Control
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Cement Quality = Slurry Performance
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0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
Density
Viscosity
Gelation
Free Fluid
Stability
Dehydration
Pump Time
Early Strength
W/C ratio; extender;
weighting agent
Fluid loss agent
Anti-settling agent
Dispersant / viscosifier
Retarder/accelerator
Viscosity
Gelation
Pump time
Free fluid
Dehydration
Stability
Early strength
Density
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Cementing Additives Key Milestones
Lignosulphonates and cellulosics
Sugars and superplasticizing agents (~ 1960s)
Polyamine/imine ( ~1970s)
SB Latex ( ~ 1980s)
Co/ter-polymers AMPS (~ 1980s)
Temperature stability
Biopolymers (~ 1990s)
Not based on Xanthan gum
Environmentally friendly additives (end 1990s)
OSPAR (OSlo-PARis) convention 1998
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Cementing Process Downhole
Failures identified 30-40s
Field practices
Turbulent displacement
High Reynolds ~50s
10 min contact ~60s
SloFlo / Plug Flow ~70s
Fluid with yield stress
Displacement studies
Yield stress fluids ~end 60s
Mobility ratio/differential
velocity ~70s
Pump as fast as you can
All semi-empirical
Very mixed results
Even in vertical wells
DIRECTION OF FLOW
V = 0
V = 0
V max
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Mud Removal Modeling
More complex wells
Deviated, horizontal
& extended reach
More critical wells
Deepwater, high-pressure
high-temperature
Importance for Zonal Isolation
Very difficult modeling
Computational Fluid Dynamics
(CFD) tools not applicable
Eccentricity effects
Modeling ~ end 80s
Turbulent/Effective Laminar Flow
Rheology/Density contrast
Erodability / PDGM concept
Polymer muds
Numerical 2D Modeling (2002)
Lubrication analytical model (2003)
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Cement Evaluation Logs
Sonic logs
CBL ~60s
Compensated CBL ~80s
Segmented Compensated
Ultrasonic logs
8 sensors ~80s
1 rotating sensor ~90s
Limitation of cement logs
Strength or Impedance ~80s
Microannulus/Isolation???
Microdebonding ~mid-90 s
Casing interface exclusively
Flexural Attenuation (2006)
1 + 3 sensors
Full cemented annulus width
3rd interface
Differentiate lightweight
cements from liquids
Confirm hydraulic isolation
Visualize casing in borehole



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Alternative Isolation Techniques
Other Fluids and Mechanical Means
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Organic Resins
Very limited applications
Cost
Shelf-life
Sensitivity
Health, safety, and environment
Compatibility (water, mud)
Placement

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Mechanical Systems
Complementary to cement
Casing drilling, expandable casing (EC)
Swellable elastomer layer
Exclusive of cement
EC/Casing with (oil or water) swellable
packer
Another form of completion
May still require cement for most other
casings
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Todays Well Challenges and
Versatility of Cement
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New Reservoir Isolation Challenges
Aging and depleting fields
Completions at lower pressures
Steam injection, stimulation
Workovers and repairs
Plugging and abandonment
Exploration and new developments
Isolation under higher pressure and temperature
Very narrow pore/frac pressures margin
In deeper water and at colder temperatures
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Need for Ultra-Low Density
Conventional Cement
Slurries
Directly linked to W/C ratio
Slurry
Very low rheology
Stability
Set cement
Very low strength, high
permeability, very long
setting times
High performance/high solid
cements
Adapted from concrete industry
Same water/solid ratio at all
densities
From 900 to 2800 kg/m3
Similar rheology
High strength, low permeability
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Slurry Quality Control?
Solid Fraction Monitoring
SG - 1.0
+
CEMENT
SG - 3.2
Slurry Density - 1.0 ??
=
What if density 1.0?
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Well Architecture and Logistics
Lighter isolation-quality cements
Depleted reservoirs
Single-stage cementing
Production liner instead of casing
Light cements that set faster at
low temperatures
Deepwater conductors,
surface casings
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Cement A
Cement B
Is Isolation Durable?
Cement is strong, but fragile
Understanding failures
P or T increases
Drilling, milling, repairs
P or T decreases
Modeling capability
Parameter sensitivity
rock
cement
casing
P,T
rock
cement
casing
rock
cement
casing
P,T
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Isolation Made Durable
Controlled flexibility
and expansion
Isolation maintained
during P, T changes
From construction to
abandonment
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A Tool in Well Architecture
Summary
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Cement in the Past
A necessary evil?
Commodity?
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Cementing Today
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Early strength
Final strength
Permeability
Shrinkage
Bonding
Flexibility
Durability
Toughness
Solutions portfolio
Not only slurry
performance
Set material properties
Short/long-term well
requirements
Modeling tools
Fit-for-purpose,
cost-effective system
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Cementing Tomorrow:
A Technology for the Future
Oilwell cementing has evolved considerably
Oilwell cementing will continue to quickly adapt
New cements from cement manufacturers
New tools from cementing service industry
Physically active, chemically re-active or inert materials
Process design/simulation means
A true well engineering technology
An interesting future
Evolving cement industry
Still considerable academic
research
CO2 emissions
Important engineering
development
Oilfield cementing industry
More tools in the toolbox
Materials, simulators
Adapt to tomorrows well
requirements
A true well engineering
technology
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Thank you for your attention