Course Description

The cement sheath behind the casing is the first barrier between the reservoir and the surface. Any failure, either during the placement or in the first hours following the cement job, can lead to catastrophic consequences related to safety and costs related to safety and environment. The cement sheath integrity is also a key factor controlling the life of the well. The development of fluid migration paths in the annulus or fractures can dramatically shorten the life of the well and reduce its value. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand and control drilling, cementing, and well completion parameters, all of which can affect the integrity of the cement sheath for the entire life of the well.

Various techniques exist to evaluate the cement integrity, either directly or indirectly.  All of these techniques (hydraulic pressure signature, material balance, LOT/FIT, injection tests, and cased hole logs) have their advantages and limitations in the assessment of the cement sheath. An integrated approach towards cement evaluation can result in improved barrier evaluation. The use of these methods, either individually or through an integrated approach, requires an understanding of the data acquisition techniques, including the factors that affect the quality of the measurements.

Course participants will take part in a detailed review of the cementing processes, cement sheath evaluation, and discussion of various measurement methods and interpretation techniques.  Remedial cementing theory and practical application of squeeze methods will be covered so that if the primary cement job is not successful the participants will understand how to repair or correct a cement integrity failure.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, participant will be able to:

• Understand the critical parameters for any cementing operation
• Select displacement rates for effective mud removal
• Understand how to repair or correct a cement integrity failure
• Read and perform interpretation of cement bond logs
• Understand special cement systems
• Identify the proper ways to evaluate a cementing job using non-logging techniques
• Understand and recognize the challenges of any cementing program
• Select casing hardware for successful cementing operations

Who Can Benefit

Drilling, production, and completion engineers.