Experimental Research on Key Factors Influencing the Expansion Performance of New Type Sealing Materials

To improve the borehole sealing effect, especially that of coal seam with low permeability and micro fissures, this paper takes the expansion rate of the sealing material as the response value and establishes the quadratic model embracing the expansion rate and various experimental factors by designing orthogonal experiments. The response surface is used to further determine the significance order of each key factor according to the expansion rate and adjust the admixture content to obtain the optimal ratio of the sealing material. For the research investigating a sealing material, the optimal ratio of the sealing material is obtained: the content of water reducing agent of 0.5%, the content of retarder of 0.04%, water-cement ratio of 0.8, and the content of expansion agent of 10%. At this time, the expansion rate reaches 3.136%. Besides, a scanning electron microscope is used to observe the microscopic morphology of the material. According to the scanning electron microscopy analysis of new borehole sealing materials, the surface of the new borehole sealing material shows no holes and possesses compactness; and a large amount of ettringite is formed on the surface of the hydration product of hardened cement slurry. The ettringite improves the expansibility of the material. The new sealing material provides a new idea for gas sealing, which is of great significance to improve the efficiency of borehole extraction, improve the utilization rate of resources, and prevent gas accidents.

Field Tests on Bearing Characteristics of Large-Diameter Combined Tip-and-Side Post Grouted Drilled Shafts

This paper presents a field study on the axial behavior of four large-diameter drilled shafts embedded in coarse sand. The grouting and loading test procedures were reported. The bearing capacity of shafts (TS1 and TS2) and grouted drilled shafts (TS3 and TS4) were herein determined by the bi-directional static test and top-down load test, respectively. The enhancement mechanism of bearing characteristics of the grouted shafts was discussed in detail. The test results indicate that the bearing characteristics and load transfer mechanisms of the test shafts were significantly affected by the quantity of pressurized cement slurry and the mechanical properties of the soil surrounding the shafts. Furthermore, the tip resistance of shaft can be mobilized more rapidly and fully after grouting, the side and tip resistance are mobilized in a more synchronized and coordinated manner due to the pre-mobilization of the grouted cement. Additionally, the standard penetration test (SPT) prediction model was introduced to calculate and predict the SPT blow counts of soil after grouting. The results show that the post grouting has a more obvious improvement on the strength of cohesionless soil.

Study on Synchronous Propagation Behavior of Hydraulic Fractures and Cementing Interfacial Cracks during Fracturing of Shale Horizontal Wells

Large-scale staged hydraulic fracturing stimulation technology is an effective method to increase shale oil and gas recovery. However, cracks will appear along with the cementing interface and expand under the drive of fluid while hydraulic fracturing, failing wellbore sealing. To solve this problem, the synchronous propagation model of hydraulic fractures and cementing interfacial cracks in hydraulic fracturing is established. The Newton iteration method and displacement discontinuity method are used to solve the propagation length of each fracture, and the effects of cement sheath parameters and fracture parameters on the interface failure range are studied. The results show that when multiple hydraulic fractures expand, the interfacial cracks are also affected by “stress shadow,” offering an asymmetric expansion, and the cementing interfacial cracks in the area between hydraulic fractures are easier to expand. The failure range of interface between the hydraulic fractures expands rapidly if the cement elastic modulus increases from 5 GPa to 10 GPa; while the cement elastic modulus is higher than 10 GPa, the failure area is mainly affected by the number of hydraulic fractures; the failure range is not affected by the number of hydraulic fractures if the hydraulic fracture spacing is less than 10 m or more than 30 m; while the crack spacing is between 10 m and 30 m, the more the number of hydraulic fractures, the easier it is to cause the interface failure range to increase and connect. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for the optimization of cement slurry systems and fracturing parameters.

Investigation of Multiple Hole Grouting for Reducing Water Inrush Risk in Underground Engineering

Reinforcement with grout as an environmentally friendly technology has played a key role in underground coal mining. The risk of the water inrush into coal mines can all be reduced by grouting. A model that integrates a geographic information system (GIS), distribution of quantity of grouting injected, and water inflow correlation method is proposed here to evaluate the effects of grouted reinforcement in coal mining. The temporal and spatial characteristics of the volume of grout injected and water yield of aquifers are analyzed by using the GIS, and the rate of filling of cement slurry and its distribution characteristics are determined. The effects of grouting on the aquifers which has been carried out to reduce their permeability are determined by comparing the spatial temporal variations in the volume of the grout injected, water yield, and rate of filling of the cement slurry. The method was applied in a case study in a coalmine in Henan province, China, in which the risk of the water inrush from karst aquifers has been reduced by grouting. There are three limestone aquifers, namely, L8, L10, and L11 which underlie an exploitable coal seam. The result indicates that most of the cement slurry is consumed when the water yield is 20 to 30 m3/h; and that there are minimal changes of the electrical properties of the rock stratum under coal seam when the water yield of L11 is low within the range of 40 m. The resistivity of the aquifers before and after grouting and their spatial characteristics are tested by using the transient electromagnetic method (TEM), and this shows that there are no areas with low resistivity. The electrical properties of the strata at a depth that ranges from 40–80 m with transverse homogeneity show that Aquifers L10 and L11 have been transformed into aquicludes. The reinforcement effect of aquifers with grout is good.

Engineered Composite Lost Circulation Solution to Successfully Cure Total Losses During Drilling Across Naturally Fractured Formations in Ghawar Gas Field, Saudi Arabia

Lost circulation is one of the major challenges while drilling oil and gas wells across the world. It not only results in nonproductive time and additional costs, but also poses well control risk while drilling and can be detrimental to zonal isolation after the cementing operation. In Ghawar Gas field of Saudi Arabia, lost circulation across some naturally fractured formations is a key risk as it results in immediate drilling problems such as well control, formation pack-off and stuck pipe. In addition, it can lead to poor isolation of hydrocarbon-bearing zones that can result in sustained casing pressure over the life cycle of the well. A decision flowchart has been developed to combat losses across these natural fractures while drilling, but there is no single solution that has a high success rate in curing the losses and regaining returns. Multiple conventional lost circulation material pills, conventional cement plugs, diesel-oil-bentonite-cement slurries, gravel packs, and reactive pills have been tried on different wells, but the probability of curing the losses is quite low. The success with these methods has been sporadic and shown poor repeatability, so the need of an engineered approach to mitigate losses is imperative. An engineered composite lost-circulation solution was designed and pumped to regain the returns successfully after total losses across two different formations on a gas well in Ghawar field. Multiple types of lost-circulation material were tried on this well; however, all was lost to the naturally fractured carbonate formation. Therefore, a lost-circulation solution was proposed that included a fiber-based lost-circulation control (FBLC) pill, composed of a viscosifier, optimized solid package and engineered fiber system, followed by a thixotropic cement slurry. The approach was to pump these fluids in a fluid train so the FBLC pill formed a barrier at the face of the formation while the thixotropic cement slurry formed a rapid gel and quickly set after the placement to minimize the risk of losing all the fluids to the formation. Once this solution was executed, it helped to regain fluid returns successfully across one of the naturally fractured zones. Later, total losses were encountered again across a deeper loss zone that were also cured using this novel approach. The implementation of this lost-circulation system on two occasions in different formations has proven its applicability in different conditions and can be developed into a standard engineered approach for curing losses. It has greatly helped to build confidence with the client, as it contributed towards minimizing non-productive time, mitigated the risk of well control, and assisted in avoiding any remedial cementing operations that may have developed due to poor zonal isolation across certain critical flow zones.

Research and Application of Micro-Expansion and Anti-Channeling Cement Slurry System in Agadem Oilfield

The overall liner cementing qualification rate is only 40% in Agadem block of Niger, The cement slurry system used in the field has a UCA transition time of 43min, and an expansion rate of -0.03% in 24h, which result in a poor anti-gas channeling performance. The expansive agent and the anti-gas channeling toughening agent of anti-channeling agent were optimized through experiment study. A novel micro-expansion anti-gas channel cement slurry system which is suitable for Agadem block was obtained through experiment optimization study: 100% G +2 ∼ 4% fluid loss agent +3 ∼ 4.5% anti-channeling agent +1 ∼ 2% expansion agent-100S +0.15 ∼ 0.4% retarder +0 ∼ 0.3% dispersant +0 ∼ 0.25% defoamer + water. This new cement system has a good anti-gas channeling performance, the cement strength is 24.5-35.0MPa after 24hrs, the UCA transition time is 16-18min, and the expansion rate is 1.5-1.7%. At the same time, a cementing prepad fluid suitable for the block and the micro-expansion cement slurry system is selected to ensure the performance of the cement slurry's anti-channeling performance. The field test results proofs the good performance of the new cement system. The cementing qualification rate of Koulele W-5 well is 96%, and the second interface cementation is Good. The cementing qualification rate of Trakes CN-1 well is 100% which second interface cementation is Excellent. This paper has positive guidance and reference for cementing in Agadem block.

Advanced Remedial Hydraulic Isolation by Perforate and Wash Technique

Well Cementing can be divided into two phases – primary and remedial cementing. Primary cementing may have 3 functions: casing support, zonal isolation and casing protection against corrosion. First two functions are commonly recognized while the third one might be a point of discussion, as the full casing coverage with 100% clean cement is not something common in most of the fields. In fact, poorly cemented areas of the casing may become negatively charged and create a zones of accelerated corrosion rate. This paper is about main role of cementing - zonal isolation. The process of primary cementing assumes that cement slurry is being pumped into the casing and displaced outside. After wait on cement time (WOC) it becomes hard, develops compressive strength and creates impermeable seal that ensures hydraulic isolation. Old and well-known technique, it still remains one of the most challenging rig operations. It is unlikely to find a service company that would guarantee 100% cement displacement behind the casing all the way from top to bottom. Main challenges in this region are quiet common for many other fields – displacement in deviated sections, losses before and during cementing, exposure to pressure during cement settling. In case the main target is not achieved (no hydraulic isolation behind the casing) – we may observe behind casing communications resulting in sustainable pressures in casing-casing annuluses. In this situation the remedial cementing takes place. It's function is to restore isolation so the cement can work as a barrier that seals off the pressure source. Despite of the good number of sealants available on the market (time, pressure, temperature activated) that can be injected from surface to cure this casing-casing pressure, Company prefers not to do so unless there is a proven injectivity capability that would allow for the sealant to reach deep enough, to protect aquifers in case of outer casing corrosion. Otherwise that would be just a ‘masking" the pressure at surface. Therefore in general Company prefers rig intervention to cure the pressure across the cap rock in between the aquifers and the reservoir. Those aquifers are illustrated on the Figure 1 below: More details on Company casing design, cement evaluation issues, sustained casing pressure phenomena and challenges have been mentioned previously [Yugay, 2019].

Smart Retarder for Cementing Systems with Accelerated Set and Gel Strength Properties with Potential for Improved Operational Safety

Cement retarders available in the market include the traditional lignosulfonates and synthetic copolymers. Commonly, lignosulfonates lack batch to batch reproducibility which hinders formulation consistency. Both lignosulfonates and synthetic polymers will retard the set of cement. However, their chemistry dictates that they also slow down setting time which increases waiting on cement time, thus increasing rig costs. This paper proposes a new smart cement retarder that overcomes these traditional negatives. A number of polymers were designed and synthesized aiming for a chemical able to retard the set of cement while also acting as an accelerator once the cement slurry was in place. These polymers were tested for cement retardation performance using a high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) consistometer. Static Gel Strength Analyzers (SGSA) measurements were used to determine compressive strength development as well as static gel strength development while curing under downhole temperature and pressure conditions. The new smart cement retarder delivers cement retardation in the 125 - 350°F temperature range and can be used at higher temperatures using a co-retarder. This unique material delivers an accelerated set and attains 500 psi compressive strength very quickly which minimizes waiting on cement time. In addition, this new retarder builds static gel strength rapidly and minimizes gel transition time. Upscaling to field application, the top of the cementing column takes the longest to set. By having this inbuilt accelerator into the system, it allows the top of the column to set as fast as possible gaining the needed compressive strength at the weakest point of the cement column. This should ensure the quality of the cement job in comparison with conventional retarders with significant operating cost savings. The new smart cement retarder will simplify cementing formulations due to its flexibility in dosage range of the retarder within the slurry and improve the quality of the cement jobs. As a result, the proposed smart cement retarder can help with minimizing risk of failures during production and possibly improving safety.

High Performance Tailored Mechanically Enhanced Cement Slurry Helped in Delivering Dependable Barriers Across HPHT Reservoir: Case Study from UAE Offshore

The concept of zonal isolation has evolved recently addressing new industry challenges to provide dependable barriers throughout the life of the well. This helps ensure long term well integrity for safer and more efficient hydrocarbon production, especially for the fields predicted to have a long lifetime. This leads to tailoring of cement slurry designs for superior mechanical parameters to avoid deteriorating them under post cementing operational loads. Following cementing best practices is a key parameter to achieve a successful cementing job, however adequate mechanical properties will help a cement slurry to withstand all the cyclic loads that the well will experience during its lifetime. Determining these properties and tailoring cement slurry designs to meet these properties will help ensure that the cement slurry will still survive these loads, all the way from placement until it has experienced all the post cementing operational loads including but not limited to multiple pressure testing, unloading the well, perforations, various thermal loads during well production, hydraulic fracturing etc. The tailored cement slurry was able to provide an adequate solution of such challenges faced by an operator in Offshore UAE under a high pressure – high temperature (HPHT) environment. Stress modelling was performed for the life of the well considering post cementing operations. This helped in determining optimum mechanical properties required for the cement slurries considered. Specialized testing was performed in both lab and yard to achieve such properties for field execution. Based on various stress and hydraulic modelling, slurries ranging from 13 to 17.5 ppg were designed and pumped successfully in the wellbore. Post cementing bond logs showed adequate placement of a tailored dependable barrier across a complete wellbore including an HPHT reservoir section. This approach can be used for wells with similar challenges around the world for long term zonal isolation.