Best Practices in Unconventional (Shale)

Well Cementing

Bucharest, March 11th, 2013

Bill Hunter
Technical Manager
Europe & Sub Saharan Africa Cementing
 Agenda

 The Well Construction Process

 The Well Cementing Process
 Quality Assurance
 Cementing Placement & Evaluation
 USA Shale Well Experience
 Basin Specific Shale Best Practices

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 Well Construction

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 The Well Cementing Process
“Oil well cementing is the process of mixing a slurry of
cement and water and pumping it down through steel
casing to critical points in the annulus around the casing
or in the open hole below the casing string.”

Source: Society of Petroleum Engineers, Cementing Monograph Volume 4, 1990

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 Reasons to Use the
Cementing Process
• Restrict fluid movement
between formations
Water Aquifer • Manage formation
pressures
• Seal off zones (i.e.
water, thief,
producing)
Hydrocarbon Zone
• Bond and support
the casing
• Protect from
Hydrocarbon Zone
corrosion
• Protect from shock
loads
Source: Society of Petroleum Engineers, Cementing
Monograph Volume 4, 1990
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 Purpose of Conventional Cementing

 Wellbore stability
 Zonal isolation
– E.g., Seals annular space to provide hydraulic isolation
(especially between fracture stages)

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Cementing Process Goal:
Deliver Seal for the Life of the Well

BENEFITS OF LIFE-OF-THE-WELL
CEMENTING

Long-Term Zonal
Isolation

Help Increase
Production and
Drilling minimize the occurrence
Completion of sustained casing
pressure
Help Minimize Remedial
Production Costs

Help Reduce
Environmental Impact

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 Key Elements of the Well Cementing Process

– Materials
• Portland Cement (powder)
• Cementing Additives
• Water

– Equipment
• Cement Mixing
• Well Service Pumps
• Cement Transport

– Process Components
• Clean drilling fluid from
the hole (displacement)
• Avoid contamination of the cement
• Cement slurry placement down hole – retain fluid characteristic
• Quickly form a seal / harden once pumping has stopped –
mechanical property development
• Retain a seal for the life of the well
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 Cement Placement Planning Considerations
Cement Zonal Isolation at Risk
Channel

 Condition the Drilling Fluid

 Centralize the Casing
 Utilize Spacers & Flushes
Uncentralized
Casing  Move the Pipe
 Maximize Displacement Rate
Cement
 Design Slurry for Well Temperature
Desired
Zonal Isolation
 Design Cementing System
 Test the Cementing Composition

Centralized
Casing
(OGJ July 2001)
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Cementing Quality Assurance Standards

Cement slurries are designed using

standards and procedures located in:
 ISO Standards
 ISO10426-2 Testing of well cements
 ISO 10426-3 Testing of deepwater well
cement formulations
 ISO 10426-4 Preparation and testing of
foam cement slurries at atmospheric
pressure
 ISO 10426-5 Determination of
shrinkage and expansion of well
cement formulations at atmospheric
pressure
 ISO 10426-6 Methods for determining
the static gel strength of cement
formulations

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Cementing Quality Assurance Testing
Laboratory Testing
Thickening Time
Compressive Strength
Foam Compressive Strength
Free Water
Fluid Loss
Rheology
FYSA Rheology
Transition Time
Stability
Mud Balance Density
Slurry Mixability
Spacer – Mud Compatibility
Spacer wettability – conductivity
Spacer wettability – glass rod

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 Cement Placement: Operations / Equipment

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 Cementing Placement
Implement Operational Plan

Maximize Pump Rate

 Mud Displacement Efficiency
Drill Pipe
 Dependent on drilling fluid (SPE 14198)

Hole Cleaning & Mud Properties Spacer Selection

 Density, Viscosity, Volume
 Remove cuttings, Use Sweeps
 Compatibility/Wettability
 Optimize Mud Properties
 Tuned Spacer IV & V

Mechanical Aids Temperature Determination

 Rotation, Reciprocation  WELLCAT™ Software, iCem® service, W. Logs
 Multiple bottom plugs  DTS Fiber Optics

Centralization
 Isolation between stages, Perf initiation
 Getting casing to bottom

ISO/API Standards & Applicable Management Systems

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 Results Evaluation
Poor Cement Excellent Cement
Bond Log Bond Log
Poor Cement Excellent Cement
Placement Placement
Cement Cement

Channel

Poor cement
placement can
require remedial
cementing operations

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 US Shale Play Characteristics – High Level Overview
Eagle Ford Woodford Haynesville Bakken Marcellus Leonard

Hydrocarbon Type Oil - Gas Oil-Gas Gas Oil Gas Oil

TVD (ft) 4,000-14,000 6,000-9,000 10,000-13,500 9500-11000 4,000-8,000 5,000-10,000

Thickness (ft) 50-200 100-220 60-300 10-60 50 - 250 750 – 1,000

Horizontal section 5000-6000 1500-4000 4000-5000 4000 - 10000 2500-5000 2500-6000

Wellbore Orientation NW - SE N-S N-S EEN-WWS NW - SE N-S

Well Trajectory 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D

Production hole 8 ½” - 8 3/4" 8 3/4" 6 1/2" - 6 3/4" 6" 8 3/4" 6 1/8” - 7 7/8"

DLS deg/100ft 12 - 16 10 - 15 13-18 10 -15 8 - 12 10 - 18

Mud Type OBM OBM OBM OBM KCl KCL / FW

All Shale Plays are Different – Influences Cementing Solution

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 Shale Resource – Well Construction Plans

 Horizontal
 Well Construction wellbores
Plans
 More detailed
 Well Completion Type completion plans
 Various Well Operational Activities
 Greater fracture complexity
 Production Parameters
 Contact as much rock as possible
All Influence Choice on Cementing Solution

Frac Valves

Plug-and-Perf
(P-n-P)

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 Cementing Solutions – Shale Cementing

 Conventional Cement

 Tuned® Light Cement

 Latex Based Cement

 Acid Soluble Cement

 ZoneSeal® Isolation Process

 WellLife® Cement

 WellLockTM Resin System

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 Eagle Ford Shale Cemented RapidSuiteTM
Completion Tools
RapidStage™ System enabled 75% time savings and has resulted in
Results:
higher initial production rates.

Current Capability: RapidStage: 2-7/8” thru 7”, 26 Intervals

Current Capability: RapidFrac: 4-1/2” & 5-1/2”, 25 Intervals

Run History: 570+ RapidSuite™ Tools cemented; 215+ with ASC; 10+ Customers

For more info. on Cemented Sleeves reference “SPE-158490 “

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Presenting at SPE ATCE; San Antonio, Oct. 2012
Haynesville Shale and Latex Cement
 Deep, hot, extended reach horizontals
 Bridging issues across the region
– Optimize fluid velocity through simulations
TABLE 5—WELLBORE PROPERTIES FROM JOB
Measured depth (ft) 19,315
True vertical depth (ft) 13,400
Previous casing 7.625 in. 39 lb/ft at 12,344 ft
Open hole (in.) 6.25
Production casing 5 in. 23.2 lb/ft at 19,315 ft
BHCT (°F) 335
Mud type Oil-based mud
Mud weight (lbm/gal) 15.4
Top of cement (ft) 5,800
Openhole excess (%) 15
Hole inclination at TD (°) 89
Pore pressure (lbm/gal) 15.4
Fracture gradient (psi/ft) 1.0
SPE 152730 “Latex-Based Cement Design: Meeting the Challenges of the Haynesville Shale,”
presentation at Americas Unconventional Resources Conference, June 2012
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Shale Well Construction Globally

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Shale Well Construction Globally

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 Best Practices in Shale Well Cementing

Well Construction/Cementing

Quality Assurance

Experience

Best Practices

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 THANK YOU

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