REVIEW OF CEMENT SLURRY CONSISTENCY AND THICKENING TIME IN OIL AND

GAS WELL CEMENTING

BY

ELUWA FAVOUR

A PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

PETROLEUM ENGINEERING, FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
OWERRI, IMO STATE, NIGERIA.

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD

OF BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (B.ENG) IN PETROLEUM
ENGINEERING.

SUBMITTED TO

DR. N P. OHIA

April,2017
 PROPOSAL

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Oil well cementing is the process of placing cement slurry in a well to achieve

several objectives; including cementing the casing strings and liners, placing

cement plugs, and performing remedial cement procedures.

The process involves mixing a cement slurry which is composed of dry powdered

cement, water and chemical additives used to control the cement properties.

Specialized equipment is used to mix the cement slurry to a predetermined slurry

density measured in mass per volume units (E.g., lbm/gal US, kg/m 3, etc.). The

slurry is then pumped down hole into the well using high pressure pumps.

In the oil industry, time is money and effort is usually made to ensure that

operations are executed within optimal time. For the cementing process, the

thickening time is very vital.

Accurate control of the thickening time, that is the time after initial mixing when

the cement can no longer be pumped, is crucial in this process. If the thickening

time is too short, the cement fails to reach its required placement, whilst too long a

thickening time leads to costly delays (J.Billingham, 2005). Operational problems

as a result of short thickening times are especially dramatic because the cement can

set prematurely in the casing or pumping equipment (Coveney, 1996).

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Cementing operation plays a very important role during completion because it

creates secure conduit to bring the precious oil/gas to the surface and a place to

install completion jewelry. During cementing operation lost circulation can be one

of the serious problems that arise. Circulation is said to be lost when the cement

slurry pumped flows into one or more geological formations instead of returning

up casing annulus. This is due to sum of hydrostatic pressure and friction pressure

is exceeding fracture gradient. The pressure must be maintained to ensure that the

cement holds and that the formation is not fractured.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

I. The aim of this study is to investigate effect of cement slurry consistency

toward friction pressure during oil/gas cementing operation.

II. The work also studies the effect of variables (additives) on thickening time

of cement.
1.4 METHODOLOGY

Formulation of slurry design.

Preparation of equipment and apparatus.

Measuring of slurry material
Mixing
Filling of metal cup with slurry.
Computation of consist meter i.e. conditioning it to the required temperature
and pressure.
Installation of slurry cup into the consist meter.
Waiting for testing period.

Obtaining the Result

1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY

The analysis on the cement thickening time will be carried out considering the

various factors that affect the cement (rheology, viscosity, etc.).

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The engineering and economics considerations of a primary cementing job cannot

be overemphasized. A poor cementing job can result in a failure to isolate zones

and can be very costly in the productive life of any well. Failure to isolate between

producing zones can lead to ineffective stimulation treatments, improper reservoir

evaluation, annular communication with unwanted well fluids and accumulation

gas in the annulus (American Petroleum Institute, (2002).

This research has utilizes a new method to determine the effect of cement slurry

consistency change because of thickening time to friction pressure (Bannister C.E.,

(1980). This method is applicable for oil/gas well cementing job that has negligible

free fall effect and pump at below turbulence rate inside a concentric annulus
 REFERENCES

American Petroleum Institute, (1997). Recommended Practice for Testing Well

Cements. API Dallas, Tex.

American Petroleum Institute, (2002). API Recommended Practice 10A:

Specification for Cements and Materials for Well Cementing. Washington,

D.C., pp: 95-112.

Bannister, C.E., (1980). Rheological evaluation of cement slurries: Methods and Commented [g1]: same

models. Proceeding of the SPE Annual Technical Conference and

Exhibition, September 21-24, Dallas, Texas.

J. Billingham, D.T.I. Francis and A.C. King, A.M. Harrisson (2005). A multiphase

model for the early stages of the hydration of retarded oil well cement, J.

ENG MATH, 53(2), 99-112.

P. V. Coveney, P. Fletcher, and T. L. Hughes (1996). Using Artificial Neural

Networks to Predict the Quality and Performance of Oil-Field Cements, AI

Magazine, Volume 17 (4), 41-53.