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Innovative Cement Enhancements

Proven Techniques for a Successful Cement Job: Planning, Testing
and Evaluation
Halliburton, the industry leader in cementing innovation, offers proven solutions for every
cement job. And to improve cementing effectiveness, logging data is used in planning and
evaluating the cementing process. Halliburton can call upon many logging services to help
improve job design and evaluate cement placement and effectiveness. Add the one-of-akind laboratory testing to improve cementing processes and materials and you have a
total solutions package with the full range of Halliburton services behind every cement
job.
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Improved zonal isolation

Reduced need for remedial cementing
Enhanced job efficiency through improved cement evaluation techniques
Lower well costs

Openhole log data to help evaluate cementing results

Porosity and permeability
are two of the most
important factors in
planning the cement job.
Formations with high
porosity and permeability
will often result in cement
evaluation logs that appear
to show poor bond. Studies
attribute this to the high
fluid loss rate (with respect
to surrounding formations)
along with formation
compaction during cement
curing. Halliburton's full
wave sonic, spectral density
and dual-spaced neutron

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tools can be used to determine these formation characteristics.

Gas zones In high pressure gas formations with good porosity and permeability, the
cement slurry can become gas-channeled, again resulting in poor bond appearance.
Halliburton has a full suite of openhole tools that can determine formation porosity and
permeability and help identify gas zones in which gas-channeled cement may be a
problem. Halliburton can also calculate gas flow with its Gas Flow Potential Factor
program. Based on the gas flow potential factor, additives such as GasStop and
GasChek can be added to the cement slurry to help reduce gas channels.
Hole size Thin cement sheaths, especially those less than 0.75-inch thick, present
another problem. Pipe attenuation signals are reduced, resulting in pipe amplitudes higher
than expected and free pipe signals in the acoustic waveform plot. Thin cement sheaths
can even result in pipe amplitudes that read above the 100% bond value even when the
pipe is indeed 100% bonded. Caliper logs, part of the standard suite of openhole logging
services, identify small pipe to formation annuli where these results can be expected.
Standard devices include the four-arm caliper (FACT) tool and the six-arm dipmeter
(SED) tool. Both can be fitted with scratchers on the pads to get an accurate caliper
measurement, even through mud cake deposits.

Proven cementing
techniques help
ensure success
Halliburton has over 80
cement laboratories
worldwide to design and
test slurries for wells
cemented. These labs act as
contact points for new
additives and procedures.
Our labs contain the
necessary equipment to
complete basic API tests
and other tests unique to
Halliburton. The equipment
also helps simulate the

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individual well conditions so that the proper slurry is selected for each well, whether
critical or routine.
The Multiple Analysis Cement Slurry Analyzer (MACS Analyzer), for example,
measures slurry and mud gel strength development, information critical for controlling gas
migration in the well. Other techniques and equipment include:
The Ultrasonic Cement Analyzer (UCA) system continuously monitors the strength
development trend of cement compositions while the cement is curing. This is performed
inside a special pressure/temperature test chamber and is completed without the
destruction of the cement sample. Ultrasonic velocity measurements are started while the
cement sample is in the fluid state and continues through the initial set period.
Compressive strength values are continuously derived and displayed in real time.
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Provides information on when to run associated operations such as temperature

surveys, perforating, and drill out
Decreases WOC time
Increases quality control of the different cements used in remedial work
Provides cement transit times for cement bond logs
Indicates precise time when the sample reaches 50 psi and 500 psi compressive
strength

Slurry Density Once the UCA determines the transit time of a specific slurry, the
impedance can be calculated by knowing the slurry's density. On every cement job
Halliburton records the density with radioactive densometers -- the most accurate in the
industry. Knowing the impedance of the individual cement provides the logging engineer
with additional parameters for quality control when evaluating the cement job.
Halliburton's Displacement Facility is unique to the industry. A large scale test model
employs equipment and materials to simulate actual cementing conditions. Here, methods
and techniques are that affect cementing efficiency, including:
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Drilling fluid condition

Pipe movement and centralization
Displacement rates
Spacers and flushes
Displacement fluid quantity
Density differences between cement and drilling fluid
Deviated and horizontal well cementing

The FMCEM program helps plan foam cement jobs. It permits determination of the
required gas injection rate per barrel of cement, and the total volume of cement slurry

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required. With FMCEM, density can be controlled to just below the hydrostatic breakdown
point of the formation, even as pressure and circulation factors change.
CJOBSIM simulator allows the job to be designed and simulated to identify potential
problems before pumping starts. Pumping rates can be optimized for maximum mud
displacement efficiency without exceeding fracturing pressures.

Post-job cement
evaluation to verify
job success
Cement Bond Log (CBL)
tools evaluate cement
bonding to pipe and
formation by measuring the
changes in sound waves
traveling through casing,
cement, and formation. Log
presentations include a pipe
amplitude curve and a MicroSeismogram display, which
presents the entire acoustic
wavetrain in the form of light
to dark shades. Halliburton's
digital Full Wave Sonic tool
can be used to provide the
highest degree of bond
accuracy available for
cement evaluation.
CAST-V The newest
generation Circumferential
Acoustic Scanning Tool, the
CAST-V, is a rotating ultrasonic pulse echo tool which
yields unprecedented radial
analysis for both cement
evaluation and casing inspection services. With multiple scanner sizes to optimize
wellbore conditions, downhole digital processing, built-in navigation information, and real-

Innovative Cement Enhancements (Data Sheet)

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time processing, the CAST-V provides instant downhole analysis. Wellsite analysis is
enhanced by 3D presentation capabilities available immediately after logging.
Pulse Echo Log (PET) The Pulse Echo tool uses eight ultrasonic transducers mounted
in a double helical array to survey the casing circumference at 45 intervals. The PET
evaluates the cement bond around the casing, and also deter-mines the thickness of the
casing. A solid state accelerometer package is included to measure the inclination and
relative bearing of the tool.
Halliburton's Statistical Variation Plot (SVP) interpretation package provides
accurate evaluation of complex and lightweight slurries in cementing operations. The SVP
process distinguishes fluid from cement regardless of the impedance value of either. And,
since SVP is not dependent on the compressive strength of the cement it can be used in
new or old wells where cement data is not available. Another plus -- real-time results are
available at the wellsite.
Halliburton's Heat Suite of logging tools provide quality measurements in the harshest
downhole conditions, including temperatures of up to 500F and pressures of 25,000 psi.
The Hostile Full Wave Sonic tool is used to obtain cement bond information under these
extreme wellbore conditions. Its 2 3/4-inch OD provides slimhole capability in addition to
the high temperature and pressure features.

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