Top of Cement Determination: Cementing Primary / 10.01.06 / A

Best Practice Global
Cementing / Pressure Pumping

Doc Nr. OPS-GLB-En-103158
Effective Date: 12-Mar-2012
document.management@bakerhughes.com
Top of Cement Determination
Cementing Primary / 10.01.06 / A
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 2
2. Purpose.............................................................................................................................................. 2
3. Scope ................................................................................................................................................. 2
4. Responsibility ................................................................................................................................... 2
5. Background ....................................................................................................................................... 2
5.1. Field Data File ................................................................................................................................. 2
5.2. Treatment Report ............................................................................................................................ 3
5.3. Casing Tally .................................................................................................................................... 3
5.4. Drilling Reports ................................................................................................................................ 3
5.5. Mud Reports .................................................................................................................................... 3
5.6. Other ............................................................................................................................................... 3
6. Setting up CemFACTS ..................................................................................................................... 4
6.1. Simulator Options............................................................................................................................ 4
6.2. Operating Schedule ........................................................................................................................ 5
6.3. Output Windows .............................................................................................................................. 6
7. Using CemFACTS to Pressure Match............................................................................................. 6
7.1. Additional Variables ........................................................................................................................ 6
7.1.1. Increment Stage ...................................................................................................................... 6
7.1.2. Control ..................................................................................................................................... 7
7.2. Simulation ....................................................................................................................................... 7
7.3. Pressure Matching .......................................................................................................................... 8
7.3.1. Service Line Friction Pressure ................................................................................................ 8
7.3.2. Friction Pressure from Mud ..................................................................................................... 9
7.3.3. Hole Size ............................................................................................................................... 10
8. Reporting ......................................................................................................................................... 10
9. References ...................................................................................................................................... 11
10. Glossary .......................................................................................................................................... 11
Revision History
Rev. DCR Amendment Detail Initiator Approval Effective Date
A N/A Initial Release J. Shine R. Martin 12-Mar-2012
© 2011-2011 BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED (UNPUBLISHED WORK). All rights reserved. Terms and conditions of use: By accepting this document, the recipient
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Page 1 of 11
Uncontrolled when printed – confirm the correct revision is used Baker Hughes – Company Confidential
10.01.06 A
1. Introduction
This document guides the Cement Technical Representative in estimating the top of cement
(TOC) using post-job pressure matching. This process will provide the client with an added
level of quality assurance for compliance in lieu of running a cement bond log or similar
logging tools.
2. Purpose
The purpose of the document is to apply a methodology using the CemFACTSTM software to
estimate the TOC post-placement in a given annuli. Ensuring a potential flow zone has
zonal isolation is the main driver for the subject practice. Depending on the well conditions,
a pressure match could serve as an alternative to running a cement bond log, if local and
regional regulations allow, and provide a cost saving to the client.
3. Scope
This document provides the recommended practice and/or methodology to estimate a TOC
using post-job pressure matching with CemFACTS software.
4. Responsibility
The responsible Cement Technical Representative shall ensure that this document is
followed throughout the life of the cementing operations.
The responsible Cement Technical Representative could be the District Engineer; District
Technical Supervisor; Field Engineer; Field Technical Representative; Regional Engineer;
Region Technical Representative; Cement Engineering Manager; Region Technical
Manager; Project Engineer; Senior Engineer, etc.
5. Background
Post-job pressure matching is the process of using the actual recorded data from the
cement unit and comparing it to the calculated pressure from the modeling inputs used to
derive the pre-job simulation. The pressure matching methodology using CemFACTS is an
in-depth process and has proven to be very accurate at providing estimations of TOC in
addition to troubleshooting for job problem investigation.
5.1. Field Data File

Upon completion of the cement job, the cementing service supervisor will ensure that
the data is electronically submitted to the engineering group according to Standard
Practice 2.2 End of Well Report (EOWR). Depending on the cement unit data
acquisition software, whether it is from a 3305 Mini-Monitor, JobMasterTM, or similar
recorder, a “DT” file (data file) will be created to serve as the “post-job” data for
pressure matching.
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10.01.06 A
5.2. Treatment Report

The field treatment report from the actual job will help the Cement Technical
Representative identify key points in the job to create “stages” for the pressure
matching in CemFACTS. The more common key points include the start times of
spacer and cement fluids, displacements, shutdowns, and/or pressure testing.
Consequently the report will denote the actual volumes and average densities of
each stage to ensure there is consistency between the actual and calculated
parameters.
5.3. Casing Tally

Though the final approved cement program incorporated the final casing tally used
for the CemFACTS simulation at the time of the report, it is not uncommon for this to
vary as in the case of using pup joints for spacing out or incorrect interpretations of
the pipe in the derrick when running pipe to bottom in the landing string. As a result,
it is important to obtain the rig’s final casing tally post-job to ensure the inputs for the
model are accurate.
5.4. Drilling Reports

Depending on the type of well sensitivity, the customer may furnish the daily drilling
reports for the previous 24 hours or length of the cement job. The Cement Technical
Representative should always ask for drilling reports associated with the job to verify
and compare to the data received on the treatment report from the field. In addition,
there could be information left out of the treatment report that would improve the
estimation of the pressure matching using CemFACTS.
5.5. Mud Reports

The mud report is another tool the Cement Technical Representative should use to
evaluate the cement job. Though the latest mud report should have been used for
the final program generation as per Standard 2.1CemFACTS and WellTEMP and
Best Practice 10.01.01 Roles and Responsibilities for Offshore Cementing
Engineers, it is not uncommon for an updated report to be issued during the cement
job which could yield data that differs from the latest at the time the final program
was written. The mud report is readily accessible from the client.
5.6. Other
The Cement Technical Representative should verify all background information as
well including, as an example, receipt of the latest directional survey and/or final
locations of any wellbore restrictions to ensure the model has the most
representative information.
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10.01.06 A
6. Setting up CemFACTS
Using the data in Section 5, a new CemFACTS data (CFD) file should be created from the
final CFD file used to generate the final program. For consistency, the file name should
replicate the final job file name but with the addition “PM” denoting the pressure match file.
6.1. Simulator Options

In the Setup file menu, click “Simulator Options” which will take the user to the
following screen. Select the “DT” option. This will prompt the user to identify on their
computer the DT file from the job to be used for the pressure matching. This DT file
is the Field Data File referenced in Section 5.1 of this document.
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10.01.06 A Effective Date: 12-Mar-2012
Another window (Signal Data) opens and asks the user to select the parameters
from the actual job data file to use in the simulation.
Then another window asks the user to assign the actual job parameters to a
corresponding available parameter in CemFACTS.
When this setup is complete, the user can run through the different modules updating
the information as described in Section 5.0 of this document
6.2. Operating Schedule

In the “DT” option, the operating schedule uses the column named “Actual Volume”
whereby the information gathering in the previous sections is used to override the
calculated volumes from the previous module of “Volumes and Quantities”. In
addition, if there are any prolonged time periods of no activity (pressure testing,
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waiting, etc.), these stages should be added as “Shut Down” to avoid incorrectly
selecting a stage during the simulation. It is a good practice to have this as the very
first stage.
6.3. Output Windows

It is important to modify the simulator windows to include the new parameters for the
pressure matching. The parameters available to the user are now denoted by the
original name (Pressure, Density, etc.) and a new name with a prefix of “Calc” (Calc
Pressure, Calc Density, etc.). The “Calc” parameters are the simulators expected
values based on the post-job data and the original parameters are now the values
from the actual job file. Therefore, the user will be pressure matching “Pressure”
versus “Calc Pressure”.
7. Using CemFACTS to Pressure Match

Upon successful completion of Section 6.0, the user will begin the pressure matching
methods to identify an estimate for the TOC in a given annulus. There are also additional
variables in CemFACTS to discuss while using the “DT” option and will be defined below.
7.1. Additional Variables

During the “DT” file run iteration the “Increment Stage” and “Control” buttons become
available for use.
7.1.1. Increment Stage

Upon initiation of the job simulation, the “Increment Stage” button becomes active
as shown below. This corresponds to the operating schedule as per Section 6.2
where the user must manually define the stages during the simulation. It is highly
recommended immediately upon initiation of the simulation to “pause” the file to
allow time to define parameters with the “Control” button (see Section 7.1.2
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below). Using "pause" followed by the "Control" button delays the elapsed time
and ensures that proper stage times are captured.
7.1.2. Control
The “Control” button is used to manually override values for a given parameter in
the simulation. As it is highly unlikely that the cement unit will be able to measure
the density and rates of fluids pumped by the rig pumps, the user will use the
control button to account for these parameters. If the control button is not used,
the simulator will read from the data file which generally denotes “0” causing
inaccurate modeling of parameters (e.g., Mud Density of 0-ppg, Rig
Displacement Rate of 0 bpm).
The figure below shows the “Control” button in the simulator screen:
7.2. Simulation
Start the simulation as the user would for normal job optimization. Listed below are
the steps to aid the user with the iterations. The steps can be modified as they apply
to each unique job, but generally this should aid the user with the best practices for
the pressure match simulation. Depending on the number of stages for each
cementing fluid (2 spacers, 2 cements, 2 displacement fluids, etc.), the procedure
should repeat the associated steps for that stage until each fluid number (#) has
been captured.
Step 1: Start Simulation

Step 2: Pause Simulation
Step 3: Define mud density using the “control” button
Step 4: Pause Job, Stage to Spacer Fluid #1
Step 5: Define spacer density using the “control button”
Step 6: Define pump rate of the spacer if not pumped by the cement unit
Step 7: Un-pause job, watch volume to stage
Step 8: Pause Job, Stage to Cement Fluid #1
Step 9: Using the “control” button, set the density to the default value
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Use the default value if the job was mixed on the fly or select the batch mixed
cement density if not recorded with a densimeter. If any other parameters were
manually overridden, return to the default value.

Step 11: Pause Job, Stage to Displacement Fluid #1
Step 12: Using the “control” button, set the density of the displacement fluid
Step 13: Define pump rate of the fluid if not pumped by the cement unit
7.3. Pressure Matching

Upon completion of Section 7.2, there should be two pressure plots on an X-Y plot:
calculated pressure (Calc Pressure) and pressure (Actual Job Pressure). It is likely
that both pressure trends should behave similar but have some magnitude of
difference whether the calculated pressure is higher or lower than the actual
pressure from the job. The next sub sections guide the user in optimization of the
pressure matching.
7.3.1. Service Line Friction Pressure

The first step in the process is to match the service line friction. As detailed in
Standard 2.1 CemFACTS and WellTEMP, the service line or treating line friction
pressure is controlled in CemFACTS using the “service line length” and “service
line ID”. Depending on the calculated pressure trend varying from the actual
pressure, the friction should be increased or decreased accordingly. After an
adjustment is made, it is highly recommended not to change any other variables
and to re-run the simulation to quantify the step change.
Before running the simulation, it is important for the user to change the
“Simulator Options” to “Playback” mode as seen in Section 6.1 of this document.
Subsequently to re-run the simulation, a simulator window will ask to playback a
file. In “DT” mode, the software generates a playback file for each run attempt
(PLA, PLB, PLC, so forth).
In the graphics below, the first payback file will be in the 000 slot. If there was a
second run it would be in the 001 slot and so forth. Therefore, the user should
make sure they capture the correct playback file to use.
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The simulator will replay the job with the fixed stages defined in the playback file
and plot the new pressure trends. After each replay, the friction should be
adjusted to a point where there is the best or closest match to the actual
pressure. This will now define the treating line pressure for the pressure
matching.
7.3.2. Friction Pressure from Mud

The next step in matching the wellbore friction pressure, which makes up the
“Calc Pressure” parameter, to the actual job pressure (“Pressure”) is to slightly
modify the mud rheologies in an effort to close the gap between the two trends.
The more common way to model this is to make small changes to the 6 and 3
RPM readings which affect the yield stress or drag forces of the mud. The values
should not be modified more than a notable step change in the resultant Yp more
than 20%. If small changes to the mud do not close the gap between the trends,
as long as the trends parallel each other, the user has optimized the friction
pressures as best as possible.
It should be noted that the displacement stage or lift pressure trends should be
the final determination for the accuracy of the pressure matching as seen below.
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7.3.3. Hole Size

The hole size should be the last parameter used to optimize the estimation for
the top of cement in the annulus. As noted in the graphic above, the slope of the
pressure plot is a direct function of the hole size. In most cases the slope of the
“Calc Pressure” may vary from the “Pressure” indicating the cement height is
also varying. To perform a best match of the slopes, the hole size is usually
increased slightly to account for washouts, however, it is not uncommon to have
an under gauged hole where the hole size might have to be decreased slightly.
The average hole size should be modified by ±5% increments to optimize the
slope matching resulting in the best estimate of the TOC.
8. Reporting
Reporting the TOC determination is a best estimate using modeling software to pressure
match and/or provide a best fit to the actual data. The estimation process should be used
with caution when providing recommendations to the clients and/or government entities as
the preferred method would be a logging tool method including temperature logs, ultra-sonic
imaging, acoustic measurements, etc. This methodology can be a technical substitute in
lieu of preferred logging methods as mentioned above.
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9. References
The following references are used in this document.
TM TM
1 Standard 2.1 CemFACTS and WellTemp , Lotus Notes database, Job Design Engineering
2 Standard 2.2 End of Well Report (EOWR), Lotus Notes database, Job Design Engineering
3 Best Practice 10.01.01 Roles and Responsibilities for Offshore Cementing Engineers, Lotus Notes
database, Cementing Engineering Support Manual
10. Glossary
The following acronyms are used in this document.
CFD CemFACTS Data File

DT Job Data File
EOWR End of Well Report
JDE Job Design Engineering
st
PLA CemFACTS Playback File 1 Run
nd
PLB CemFACTS Playback File 2 Run
rd
PLC CemFACTS Playback File 3 Run
RP Recommended Practice
TOC Top of Cement
Page 11 of 11

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Best Practice Global

Cementing / Pressure Pumping

5.1. Field Data File

Doc Nr. OPS-GLB-En-103158

5.2. Treatment Report

5.3. Casing Tally

5.4. Drilling Reports

5.5. Mud Reports

Doc Nr. OPS-GLB-En-103158

6.1. Simulator Options

6.2. Operating Schedule

6.3. Output Windows

7. Using CemFACTS to Pressure Match

7.1. Additional Variables

7.1.1. Increment Stage

Step 1: Start Simulation

Step 10: Un-pause job, watch volume to stage

7.3. Pressure Matching

7.3.1. Service Line Friction Pressure

7.3.2. Friction Pressure from Mud

7.3.3. Hole Size

CFD CemFACTS Data File

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