Ijpt forum

A Neutron Logging Method for Locating the Top of

Cement Behind Borehole Casing

Introduction
A few methods are known in the oil industry for determining the top of cement in the annulus around a casing.
Before the advent of electrologging surveys. inflow and
circulation methods provided information on the quality
of cementation jobs. Temperature logging is presently
the technique commonly used for this purpose. The
radioactive tracer survey and sonic log based on the
principle of' 'cycle skipping" also have been used advantageously in selected cases. These surveys indicate only
the presence or absence of cement. The cement bond log,
however, gives additional information with respect to the
bonding of cement to the casing. Grosmangin et al. 1 have
given a comprehensive account for analyzing the quality
of cementation using the cement bond log.
A new technique ~is proposed in this p~per for locating
the top of cement behind the casing using a neutron log.
This method was used successfully in a North Kadi well
in the Cambay basin. India, where temperature survey
control was inadequate and the services of a cement bond
tool were not available.

Discussion
The neutron curve responds primarily to the amount of
hydrogen present in the borehole fluid and the fluid in the
pores of the rocks. The neutron log is also sensiti ve to the
casing, cement sheath, and borehole diameter. However,
the borehole effect is reduced considerably in the SNP
log. Better resul ts are achieved with the CNL log, where
the effects of mud column, mud cake, rugosity, and even
casing and cement are reduced considerably. 2
On a neutron curve, the top of the fluid in a well is
indicated by a "right-hand shift" in the neutron diagram.
This is known as a fluid shift in the neutron log. As the
neutron device is continuously pulled up hole, the device
records the hydrogen content of the rocks of the wellbore
and borehole fluids. Of these two fluids, the borehole
fluid is more effective in slowing down the fast-moving
neutron. 3 Consequently, the intensity of the secondary

gamma ray is reduced. As the tool is pulled farther up,

there is an abrupt increase in the secondary gamma ray
radiation on leaving the borehole fluid. This gives rise to
the fluid shift on the neutron curve. Based on this principle, an anomaly is expected on the neutron log at the
interface of set cement and the overlying fluid zone in a
cemented casing. The geometry of the cemented casing
comprises a cemented and an overlying cement-free fluid
zone sandwiched between the casing and the wellbore.
As the neutron device is pulled up in a borehole against
the cemented zone, the borehole fluid has little influence
on the recording of the log. The effect of the fluid inside
the pipe is insignificant on the neutron log because it is
the common fluid against both the cemented and
cement-free columns in the annulus. As the tool moves
up into the fluid column overlying the set-cement zone,
the borehole fluid slows down the fast-moving neutrons
and reduces the secondary gamma ray intensity, giving
rise to a "left-hand shift" on the neutron curye.
The neutron log in Fig. 1 was recorded with an uncompensated neutron tool in a North Kadi exploratory well.
In this well, the temperature survey did not indicate
conclusively the quality of cementation against the pay
zone. The cemen t bond log could not be recorded because
the tool was not available. Under these circumstances, a
neutron log was planned to check the quality of cementation. In this well, a shift is indicated in the neutron curve
recorded after the production-casing cementation at 840
m. This shift can be explained by the increase in the
hydrogen ion concentration in the fluid column as compared with that of the zone of set cement. This shift is
interpreted to represent the top of cement in the well. To
dispel the concern that any lithological change caused
this anomaly, an analysis was performed with the SP
curve, gamma ray, microlog, and formation density log.
This analysis did not show any significant lithological
break at this depth. Also, the neutron curve recorded
before cementation did not indicate a significant left-

JPT Forum articles are limited to 1,500 words including 250 words for each table and figure, ot a maximum of two
pages in JPT. A Forum article may present preliminary results or conclusions of an investigation that the author
wishes to publish before completing a full study; it may impart general technical information that does not warrant publication as a fulllength paper. All Forum articles are subject to approval by an editorial committee.
Letters to the editor are published under Dialogue, and may cover technical or nontechnical topics. SPEAIME
reserves the right to edit letters for style and content.
SEPTEMBER, 1977

1089

CALIPER LOG

NEUTRON CURVE

CALIPER

LOG
HOLE

SIZE.

CEMENT BONDLOG

NEUTRON CURVE

~ONDING INCREASES

NEUTRON COUNTS

NEUTRON COUNTS

HOLE SIZE

1l~0

900

NOMINAL
DIAMETER -

Fig. 2-Correlation of log responses.

NEUTRON CURVE

Fig. 1-Neutron log recorded with uncompensated neutron tool.

hand shift. This confirmed the interpretation performed

earlier. As a counter check to establish the presence or
absence of cement against the pay zone, the casing was
perforated at 960 m and an injectivity test was carried out
at 150 atm. There was no intake of fluid and, thus, the
presence of cement against the pay zone was established.
For a better understanding of this relationship, the
behavior of the neutron log was correlated with the cement bond log of two wells located in different oil fields.
In these two wells, cement bond logs were recorded
because of doubts about the quality of cementation. Figs.
2 and 3 give a correlation of the response of the neutron
log on the cement-free and cemented zones indicated by
the cement bond log. The tops of cement in these two
wells are clearly indicated by the neutron log. The zones
of poor bondage also are reflected on the neutron curve,
but not so precisely as on the cement bond log.
The interpretation by the neutron curve in locating the
top of cement in a North Kadi well helped to declare this
well as an oil producer without time-consuming workovers. This, in turn, facilitated in upgrading huge oil
reserves and in planning further development wells.

Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank C. Karunakaran of the Oil &
Natural Gas Commission, India, for permission to present this paper. Particular recognition is due S. C.
Roychoudhury, A. N. Thakre, D. N. Awasthi, and R. S.
Cheam for their encouragement. Dr. R. M. Ramanathan
helped in finalization of the figures. The author also
Original manuscript received in Society of Petroleum Engineers office Nov. 23, 1976.
Paper accepted for publication March 17, 1977, Revised manuscript (SPE 6498)
received June 27, 1977.f Copyright 1977 American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical,
and Petroleum Engneers. Inc.

1090

Fig. 3~Correlation of log responses.

wishes to express his appreciation to A. Jageler of Amoco

Production Co. and P. Souhaite of Schlumberger Ltd. for
their helpful suggestions and comments on this paper.

References
1. Grosmangin, M., Kosesh, F. P., and Majani, P.: "A Sonic Method
for Analyzing the Quality of Cementation of Borehole Casings,"
J. Pet. Tech. (Feb. 1961) 165-171; Trans., AIME, 222.
2. "Essentials of Log Interpretation Practices, Services, and Techniques," SchlumbergerWell Services (1972).
3. Moore, C. A.: Handbook ofSubsurface Geology, Harper and Row,
New York (1964).
4. Document No.8, Schlumberger Well Services (1958).

A. E. Ahmed
Oil & Natural Gas Commission
Madras, India
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY