Liner Cementing

Section 6

Printed: 04/11/23

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liners

 Definitions
 Types of Liners
 Why Run Liners
 Liner Equipment
 Liner Slurries
 Slurry Volumes
 Common Problems
 Sample Procedure
Slide 2

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner Definition

 Liner
 String of pipe which is suspended downhole
and normally does not come back to surface
 Drilling Liner
 Tie-Back Stub Liner
 Production Liner
 Tie-Back Casing *
 Scab Liner *
* Do not fit the general definition of a liner

Slide 3

EDC, Tomball, TX
Typical Deep Well
Casing Program
Conductor
Conductor
40' to 1,500'

Slide 4

EDC, Tomball, TX
Typical Deep Well
Casing Program
Surface Casing
Conductor
40' to 1,500'
Surface
100' to 5,500'

Slide 5

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Typical Deep Well
Casing Program
Intermediate Casing
Conductor
40' to 1,500'
Surface
100' to 5,500'

Intermediate
4,000' to 16,000'

Slide 6

EDC, Tomball, TX
Typical Deep Well
Casing Program
Drilling Liner
Conductor
40' to 1,500'
Surface Drilling Liner:
100' to 5,500'
• Liner set before TD
Intermediate • Permits deeper drilling
4,000' to 16,000' • Also called
“Protection Liner”
Drilling Liner
5,000' to 20,000'

Slide 7

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Casing

Liner
Hanger

Drilling Liner Drilling

Liner

New
Hole

Slide 8

EDC, Tomball, TX
Typical Deep Well
Casing Program
Production Liner

Production Liner:
• Set at TD
Intermediate • Isolates production zone
4,000' to 16,000' • Produce well through

Drilling Liner
5,000' to 20,000'
Production Liner
6,000' to 25,000'
Slide 9

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Casing

Liner
Hanger

Drilling
Liner

Production Liner Liner

Hanger

Production
Liner

Production
Zone

Slide 10

EDC, Tomball, TX
Typical Deep Well
Casing Program
Tie-back Stub Liner

Tie-back
Stub Liner Tie-Back Stub Liner:
• Short liner
Intermediate • From previous liner top
4,000' to 16,000' • Seals liner top

Drilling Liner
5,000' to 20,000'

Slide 11

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner
Hanger

Stub
Liner

Seal
Nipple

Stub Liner Previous

Liner Top

Slide 12

EDC, Tomball, TX
Typical Deep Well
Casing Program
Tie-back Casing

Tie-back Tie-Back Casing:

Casing
• Not a liner
Intermediate • From previous liner top
4,000' to 16,000' • Ties-back to surface
• Protects set casing
Drilling Liner
5,000' to 20,000'
Production Liner
6,000' to 25,000'
Slide 13

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Tie-Back
String

Seal
Nipple
Tie-Back Casing Previous
Liner

Slide 14

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Scab Liner

 Scab Liner*
 Short section of smaller
ID casing used as last
Scab resort “casing patch”
Liner  Not usually cemented
Hole * Does not fit the general definition of a
In liner.
Casing
Seals

Slide 15

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Compression
Packer

Damaged
Scab Liner Casing

Hanger
Packer

Slide 16

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Scab Liner
(cont.)
Question!
What is a significant
Now, What Do We drawback to using a
Do? Scab Liner?

Hole In Casing

Slide 17

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Why Run Liners?
 Cost
 Less pipe, Faster running time
 Wellbore conditions
 Isolate problem intervals (Drilling Liners)
 high pressure zones, lost circulation zones
 Sloughing or plastic zones
 Casing & Liner top leaks (Scab & Stub Liners)
 Increase pressure rating of well (Tie-backs)
 Wellbore hydraulics for drilling
 Larger annulus, Higher rates, less friction
Slide 18

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner Equipment
 Setting Tool & Collar
 Liner Hangers
 Landing Collar
 Float Equipment
 Plugs
 Cement Heads
 Centralizers
 Tie-Back Sleeve
Slide 19

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Setting Tool & Collar
 Setting Tool
 Retrievable connection
between the Setting Collar
and the drill pipe.
 Hollow Liner Wiper Plug is
pinned to the bottom of the
Setting Tool.

Setting
Tool
Liner
Setting Top
Collar Packer Slide 20

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Setting Tool & Collar
 Setting Collar
 Connected to Liner Hanger
 Contains:
 Profiles for liner rotation
 Profile for cement bushing
 Bushing provides a liner to
drill string seal
 Directs cement down the
liner and out of the shoe
 Polished bore receptacle for Setting
Tool
future tie-back operations Liner
Setting Top
Collar Packer Slide 21

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Setting Tool & Collar
 Liner Top Packer
 Combines all the features
of the Setting Collar
 External pack-off
 Liner to casing seal at the
liner top
 (after the cement job)
Setting
Tool
Liner
Setting Top
Collar Packer Slide 22

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner Hanger
 Liner Hanger
 Run between Setting Collar (or Liner
Packer) and liner casing.
 Suspends liner from previous casing
 Slip/cone arrangement.
 Mechanical Hanger
 Requires manipulation of the string to set
hanger
 Hydraulic
 Pressure activated hanger
 Rotating Hangers
 Allow rotation of liner after setting
 Either mechanical or hydraulic
Mechanical Rotating
Hydraulic
Slide 23

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Mechanical Set
Liner Hanger
RH J LH J
 “J” and Lug system
 Lug is part of Hanger Mandrel
 “J” slot part of slip assembly cage
 Bow Springs, attached to the cage,
provide a friction contact with the AUTO J OPEN J
outer casing allowing the cage to
remain stationary, while
manipulating the mandrel.
 Various configurations
 Operate with the same basic format
Slide 24

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Mechanical Set
Liner Hanger

RUN IN PICK UP ROTATE SLACK OFF

RIGHT Slide 25

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Hydraulic Set
Liner Hanger
Shear Pin Sleeve
 Hydraulic Set
 Applied Pressure
passes through
the port and acts
on the area of the
piston. When
sufficient force is
achieved to shear
the pin, the sleeve
moves up
pushing the slips
up onto the
cones. Pressure Piston
Port Slide 26

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Landing Collar

 Landing Collar (Mechanical Set)

 Run one joint above the Float
Collar
 Provides a seat for liner wiper
plug set to bump and latch
 Landing Collar (Hydraulic Set)
 Houses shearable ball seat
 Pressure transferred to hanger
 Additional pressure shears seat and
Mechanical Hydraulic
allows circulation for cementing Slide 27
EDC, Tomball, TX
 Float Equipment

 Set Shoe
 Float shoe with solid lugs on bottom
 Helps prevent pipe from turning when using
mechanical set liner hanger
 Regular Float Shoe
 Used for hydraulic set and rotating liners
 Float Collar
 Run one or two joints above shoe
 Can be Manual or auto fill type.
Slide 28

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Cementing Plugs
 DP Pump Down Plug or “Dart” Drill Pipe
Pump
 Dropped from surface, follows cement Down
 Wipes ID of drill pipe Plug
 Isolates displacement fluid from cement
 Liner Wiper Plug
 Attached to bottom of setting tool inside
the liner hanger
 Pump Down Plug latches into Liner Wiper Liner
Plug Wiper
 Plug
Shear off together
 Displaces cement, wiping ID of Liner
 Latch to Landing Collar

Slide 29

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Lift
Liner
Upper
Valve
Nipple
Cement Manifold
Pump
Down  Manifold Operation
Plug  Pump cement through lower valve
Lower
Valve Plug  Pull plug retainer pin
Retainer  Open upper valve, close lower
Pin valve
 Pump 5 - 10 bbls displacement
fluid
 Open the lower valve
Fluid  Allow trapped cement to be
input Ball flushed out of valve.
Dropping
Sub

Swivel

Slide 30

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Top Drive
Cement Manifold
Swivel  Manifold Operation
 Pump cement via By Pass
 Open Plug Retainer Valve,
Stiff Arm close By Pass Valve
 Pump 5 - 10 bbls
Fluid
input Pump displacement fluid
Down  Open By Pass Valve
Plug  Allow trapped cement to
Plug be flushed out of valve.

By Pass Retainer
Valve Valve

Slide 31

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Centralizers
 Centralizers
 Due to usually tight annuli, centralizers are run
sparingly. They are either of the slim hole type or
the solid, positive-standoff type.
 Scratchers are almost never run on deep liners.

Slide 32

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Tie-Back Packer
INTERMEDIATE
CASING
TIE-BACK PACKER

DRILLING
LINER
GAS MIGRATION

HIGH PRESSURE GAS ZONE

Slide 33

EDC, Tomball, TX
Tie-Back Sleeve and Seal
Nipple

SEAL NIPPLE

TIE-BACK SLEEVE
Slide 34

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner Procedures

 RIH Liner on Drill Pipe

 Set the Liner Hanger
 As the liner hanger is set (activated), the weight of
the liner casing string is transferred to the last
casing string.
 The liner is "hung off" of the upper casing.
 The setting tool is released, but not pulled out.
 Hydraulic seal is maintained.
 Mud is circulated, the hole is cleaned up
 Pump Cement Job

Slide 35

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner Procedures (cont.)
 Pumping the cement job
 Pump weighted chemical spacer and cement slurry.
 The drill pipe wiper plug (dart) is released from the plug-
dropping head behind the slurry.
 The dart is displaced with mud.
 Reduce rate as dart reached hollow liner wiper plug (in the
setting tool).
 Dart latches into and shears out the liner wiper plug
 The event should be recorded on the pressure chart. Adjust
displacement volume to eliminate any discrepancy between the
drill pipe's calculated and actual capacity.
 Bump the liner wiper plug set on the landing collar.
 Test.

Slide 36

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner Procedures (cont.)

 Retrieve Setting Tool

 Set the external casing packer (if used).
 Remove the Setting Tool (POOH).
 Some operators reverse out the drill pipe after the liner
cementing is done. Others do not reverse, as this could
cause contamination of the cement around the top of the
liner.

Slide 37

EDC, Tomball, TX
RIH Set Hanger Release Tool Displace DP Displace Liner POOH
Slide 38

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner Slurry Volumes

 Liner slurry volumes

 Most deep liners are from
1,000 to 5,000 feet in length
 Overlap (or liner "lap") in the
range of 50 to 500 feet.
 Cement can be circulated
above the top of the liner.
 To be drilled out later

Slide 39

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Common Problems in Liner
Cementing
 Annular clearance
 Lack of pipe movement
 Mud contamination of cement

Beware of traps when

cementing liners . . .

Slide 40

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Common Problems in Liner
Cementing:
Annular Clearance
 Primary problem in liner operations
 Example: 7" casing, 6-1/8" hole, 5" OD liner
 9/16" clearance if liner perfectly centered
 Tight annulus
 High friction and pump pressures
 Danger of fracturing formation and lost circulation.
 Tight clearance
 Liner should be run slowly
 Piston effect
 Small clearance
 Mud contamination of the cement slurry
 Bypass mud
Slide 41

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Common Problems in Liner
Cementing:
Lack of Pipe Movement
 Second major difficulty
 Pipe movement during circulation and cementing is
an important factor in mud removal
 Not feasible with most liners
 Rotating Liners do exist but are not commonly used

Slide 42

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Common Problems in Liner
Cementing:
Mud Contamination of Cement
 Result of tight annular clearances and lack of pipe
movement.. SLURRY CONTAMINATION
 Low final compressive strength of contaminated slurry
 Mud “Channels”
 Mud-cement interface can flocculate and become
viscous and hard to pump
 Raises pump pressures and pressure drop in the annulus.
 Excessive fluid loss and bridging in the annulus.
 Fracture any weak zones.
The best known method of avoiding mud contamination of the cement
slurry is by the use of a good weighted spacer, with a minimum of 10 minutes
contact time with the formation. Slide 43

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner Slurries

 Slurries often critical due to:

 high temperature differentials with dual
retardation requirements
 Shoe and top of liner
 total gas flow control needs
 very low fluid loss requirements
 zero free water properties
 zero settling tolerances
 very high density common
 high compressive strengths desired
Slide 44

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner Slurries (cont.)

 Usually one slurry only

 Relatively small volumes
 Batch mix for high QC
 Contain no LCM
 Small clearances
 35% excess often used
 may be 100%

Slide 45

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Other Liner Cementing
Methods
A

 Planned Squeeze
 Another method is to "tack the
bottom" of the liner only, then B

immediately squeeze the top of the

liner with a different blend of cement. C
This is called a planned top-of-liner
squeeze, or "planned squeeze".
 Typically utilize a special packer (so-
called "Champ" packer) which is run in
D
the drill string above the liner when the
liner is run and cemented.
Slide 46

EDC, Tomball, TX
Planned Squeeze

Slide 47

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Sample Procedure for Running
and Cementing Liners

Well Name: ______________________

Location: ______________________

1. Trip to condition hole for running liner.

Temperature subs should be used where BHCTs
are unknown. Drop hollow drift (rabbit) to
check drill pipe ID for pump down plug. Strap
drill pipe to be used for running liner. Tie off
other drill pipe on opposite side of board.
Slide 48

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Sample Procedure for Running
and Cementing Liners (cont.)
2. Run _____ feet of _____ liner with set shoe and
float collar spaced _____ joints apart. Run plug
landing collar _____ joint(s) above float collar.
Volume between float shoe and plug landing collar
is _____ barrels. Run thread-locking compound
on bottom 5 to 8 joints. Sandblast lower 1,000'
and upper 1,000' of liner. Pump through first few
joints to make sure float equipment is working.
3. Fill each 1,000' while running, if fill-up type floats
are not used.
Slide 49

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Sample Procedure for Running
and Cementing Liners (cont.)

4. Install liner hanger and setting assembly. Fill

dead space (if pack-off bushing is used in lieu
of cups) between liner setting tool and liner
hanger assembly with inert gel to prevent
foreign material from settling around setting
tool.

Slide 50

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Sample Procedure for Running
and Cementing Liners (cont.)

5. Run liner on _____ (size, joint) _____ (grade)

drill pipe with _____ pounds minimum over-pull
rating. Run 1 to 2 minutes per stand while in
casing and 2 to 3 minutes per stand while in
open hole. Circulate last joint to bottom with
cement manifold installed. Shut pump down.
Hand liner 5' off bottom. Release liner setting
tool and leave 10,000 lb of drill pipe weight
resting on setting tool and liner top.

Slide 51

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Sample Procedure for Running
and Cementing Liners (cont.)

6. Circulate bottoms-up at _____ bpm to achieve

_____ fpm annular velocity (approximately
equal to previous drilling rate).

Slide 52

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Sample Procedure for Running
and Cementing Liners (cont.)

7. Cement liner as follows:

A. If unable to continue circulation or
cementing due to plugging or bridging in
liner-open hole annulus, pump on annulus
between drill pipe and casing to maximum
of _____ psi and attempt to remove bridge.
Do not over-pressure and break down
formation. If unable to break circulation,
pull out of liner and reverse any cement
remaining in drill pipe.
Slide 53

EDC, Tomball, TX
Sample Procedure for Running
and Cementing Liners (cont.)

B. Slow down pumps just before pump down

plug reaches the liner wiper plug, _____
bbls is drill pipe capacity. Watch for plug
shear, then recalculate or correct cement
displacement and continue plug
displacement plus _____ barrels maximum
over-displacement.
C. If no indication of plug shearing, pump
calculated displacement plus _____ barrels
(100% + 1 to 3%).
Slide 54

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Sample Procedure for Running
and Cementing Liners (cont.)

D. Pull out 8 to 10 stands or above cement,

whichever is greater, and hold pressure on
top of cement until cement hardens, to
prevent gas migration.
8. Trip out of hole.
9. Wait on cement _____ hours.
10. Run _____ inch OD bit, drill cement to top of
liner. Test liner overlap with differential test, if
possible. Trip out.
Slide 55

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Sample Procedure for Running
and Cementing Liners (cont.)

11. Run _____ inch OD bit or mill, drill out cement

inside liner as necessary. Displace hole for
further drilling, spot perforating fluid (if in
production liner) or other conditioning
procedures as appropriate.

Slide 56

EDC, Tomball, TX
 Liner Equipment references

 http://www.tiwtools.com
(graphics courtesy of TIW)
 http://www.weatherford.com
 http://www.siismithservices.com
 http://www.bakerhughes.com

Slide 57

EDC, Tomball, TX