Liner cementing

Client Cementing Seminar

Agenda
 Reasons for liners
 Types of liners
 Challenges

Schlumberger Private
 Cementing Techniques
 Slurry Design
Liner
Any string of casing whose top is
located below the surface, hung Previous Casing

inside the previous casing and is

run to its setting depth by drill pipe.

Schlumberger Private
Liner Top

Liner-Casing
Overlap 50-500 ft

Liner Hanger

Open Hole
Reasons for Liners
 Mud weight change:
– Lost circulation
– Over-pressured formation
 Cost:

Schlumberger Private
– Save money (Cost of 1 Joint of casing can be around $3,000)
 Cover:
– Shales or Plastic Formations
– Salt Zones
– Corroded/damaged casing
 Deep Wells:
– Rig Unable to Lift Long String of Casing
Types of liners
 Production liner
– Critical
– Serves as completion string

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 Drilling liner
– Isolates over-pressured or weak formation
– Protects sensitive formation
 Tieback
– Protects previous casing
– Extends into intermediate or back to surface
Liner Components
 Surface component :
– Cement head (including drill pipe Dart)

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Dart
 Sub-surface components :
– Running string (DP / HWDP / running tool)
Liner Cement head
– Liner hanger
– Liner tubular
– Floating accessories

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Liner Sub-Surface Component

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Dart

Wiper plug Dart + wiper plug

Float collar Float shoe assembly

Liner hanger
Running tool

9
Cementing Techniques

Schlumberger Private
Circulate Circulate above: Liner top Tack &
short Reverse or packer Squeeze
Drill out
Challenges
 Small annular clearance especially around liner hanger
 Close pressure tolerances (pore/frac)
 Mud/spacer/cement compatibility

Schlumberger Private
 Mud removal technique
– Flow regime
– Pipe movement
– Centralization
 Friction pressure
 Isolation and compressive strength at top of cement in critical
 Single wiper plug in most cases
Test Temperature
 Tailor schedules to conditions of well and operations
– BHCT
– Pressure
– Time to bottom

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– Include shutdown to simulate pulling running tool
 Use best possible temperature source (BHST)
 API BHCT correlation / CemCADE simulation
– Include all pumping and well parameters
 Temperature at the top of liner is very important to know the compressive
strength of cement in the liner lap.
Liner Overlap
 Sufficient cement excess must be
calculated carefully. Too much cement
above the liner hanger is not
recommended

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 Make sure that “uncontaminated” cement
is present at the liner lap - washes and
spacers / WELLCLEAN II*
 If not, there will be communication from
the annulus to the formation

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Liner-top Packer
 Provides seal in previous casing
 Isolates open hole below
 Prevents hydrostatic pressure transmission

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– Reduces pressure on formation
 Does not provide isolation across gas zones
 May aggravate gas flow
Keys to Liner Cementing (1)
 Good casing point
– Transitions
– Productive intervals
 Cement volume based on caliper

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 Accurate temperature – BHT and TOL
 Appropriate spacer ahead and as part of displacing fluid to prevent compatibility
issues with cement when drill pipe is released
 Good cementing practices
– Centralization
– Conditioning
– Pipe movement
 Correct slurry design
Keys to Liner Cementing (2)
 Adequate mud conditioning prior to cementing
 Control fluid loss in slurry (< 50 ml/30 min recommended)
 Rotation of liner during cementing (special swivel in tool)

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 Batch-mix or process controlled mixing
 Pump according to mud-removal design
 Calculate and measure displacement carefully
– HW DP, different grades DP, internal upsets)
– Fill tanks properly
– Reset displacement volume when dart latches
 Pull drill pipe carefully and keep hole full while pulling pipe
 Conclusion
Liner cementing, although a challenge, can be done with appropriate
attention to details that make cementing successful.

Schlumberger Private
19 WCS
Nov 09