CEMENT BOND LOGGING - CBT & CET

INTRODUCTION

This paper is meant to be a brief summary of bond logging, with emphasis on field
quality control. Bond logs are highly interpretive and as such they should be
dealt with carefully. Production history with corresponding bond log
information for a group of wells should be compared to the bond log data from
your well, before operational decisions resulting from the log run are made.
Generally, bond logs are requested to be run by the PE department, when
there is concern over the quality and length of the cement sheath behind the
liner, around a particular pay interval. This bond information is important prior
to making engineering decisions concerning stimulation treatments.

SAFETY

Follow the E-LINE WELL ENTRY PROCEDURES and the PRESSURE CONTROL
PROCEDURES in the PE Manual.

Refer to the ALASKA SAFETY HANDBOOK

No unusual hazards exist for Cement Bond Logging.

THE BOND LOG TOOL

Bond log tools are acoustical devices which propagate an acoustical signal, a
cylindrical compressional wave train of about 20 kHz, from a transmitter, and
measures travel time and amplitude of the signal at both a near and far
receiver, after it has passed through the surrounding multi-media. The
acoustic arrival at the receiver is converted to a millivolt signal, using a
piezoelectric material, and the corresponding amplitude curve is generated
on the log. The larger the amplitude, the greater the millvolt signal. The
early arrivals of the signal, waveform, are indicative of the quality of the bond
between the casing and cement. The later arrivals tell us more about the
bond between the cement and the formation, as well as the acoustic travel
time of the formation itself. The near receiver is used as a quality control
point, measuring only the amplitude and travel time of the first wave. If the
tool becomes decentralized for some reason in the liner, it will affect the travel
time and amplitude of the first wave. A decentralized tool produces worthless
data.

The old style bond log tool, CBT or Cement Bond Tool, has largely been replaced
by a segmented ultrasonic acoustical, 270 - 650 kHz, tool, CET or Cement
Evaluation Tool, which incorporates from 6 to 8 transducers, spaced evenly
around the circumference of the tool. It also has a separate transducer that
measures borehole fluid transit time and attenuation in the borehole fluid.
This type of tool provides more detailed information about the cement bond
quality between the casing and cement sheath and is used primarily to detect
mud channels in the annulus. The information from each segment is
presented side by side on the log to provide an oriented, referenced to high

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 side of the pipe, circumference cross section display of data for channel
detection.

The standard cement bond tool, CBT, measures an average of the circumference
and thus is unable to detect the azimuthal position of an uncemented area in
the annulus. All segmented tools include a CBL presentation since both are
required for a complete evaluation. The newest tool called the USIT or
Ultra Sonic Imaging Tool, is available and is discussed in a separate section.
It has a single rotating ultrasonic transducer which provides precise indication
of cement distribution as well as internal/external pipe diameters, resulting
wall thickness and pipe wear indications.
The USIT is replacing the CET. Either is combinable with the CBT

The tools basically take the received signal and compare it against the known value
for that size and weight of pipe. Example: 7", 26# liner has a free ringing
value of 62.5 millivolts. For example; if a particular interval has a value of 30
mv the pipe is poorly bonded while 5 to 10 mv would be well bonded pipe.

In conjunction with the bond log, CBT, most service companies also present a ,VDL,
Variable Density Log. This presentation is derived by displaying high
acoustical peaks from the long spaced receiver as black line segments and
the low peaks as white line segments. The display is presented on the right
hand track of the log. A good cement job is normally reflected in strong
formation arrivals in the VDL. The first arrivals displayed on the VDL are
generally casing arrivals, the next are the formation arrivals, and finally the
mud arrivals. This sounds simple, but in fact it is easily complicated by a
micro annulus, fast formations, tool eccentricity, etc. Acoustical analysis is
very complex. The VDL is used to assess the cement to formation bond and
helps to detect the presence of channels and the intrusion of gas. The
ultrasonic tool, CET, presents an oriented cement map as well as gas flags
and relative bearing.

Consider running both tools as they are affected differently by downhole conditions,
microannulus, it and can help in the interpretation of the cement quality,
which is the ultimate goal. They can be run on one trip although the top tool,
CBT, misses the bottom part of the hole equal to the length of the lower tool,
either the CET or USIT.

EVALUATION

Terminology:

Transit time- is the time span between when the transmitter emits a signal, To, and
the same signal at the receiver has reached a preset detection level.

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Gate- the time period over which a particular signal is measured. This is a
necessary feature of acoustic measurement to reduce the data properly. The
"fixed gate" can be set by the operator to open a set time after the transmitter
emits a signal, or can be allowed to float, and trigger measurement only when
a certain amplitude level is reached. Both types of gates are normally used
for analysis purposes.

Cycle Skipping- an acoustic wave cycle is missed due to a different arrival time
than the fixed gate, or it arrives with an amplitude below the level of detection
set by the operator.

Fast Formations- A rare occurrence in which sound travels faster in the rock than
in the steel casing.

Micro Annulus- a minute gap, 0.004 in., between the casing and the cement
sheath which is really too narrow to affect vertical hydraulic isolation in the
annulus however gas migration will not be impeded. The acoustic coupling is
lost between the steel and cement and can be erroneously interpreted as lack
of cement behind pipe. Ultrasonic tools are relatively unaffected by micro
annulus.

Free Pipe- a section of pipe which is not cemented. If the fluid density behind the
casing in the free pipe section is known, a better analysis of the bond log can
be performed.

Tool Eccentricity- the logging tool is simply not running in the center axis of the
pipe. This has an extreme effect on the quality of the log and makes the
correct interpretation impossible.

Common problems associated with evaluating bond logs:

1. Is a micro annulus present allowing the pipe to ring and thus give the log an
over-pessimistic view? Pressure up the well, normally 1000 psi, to eliminate
this effect. Run an ultrasonic tool to minimize the effect.

2. Are the strong formation arrivals the result of acoustic coupling from the pipe
resting on the low side of the hole or is the pipe fairly well cemented?

QUALITY CONTROL

1. Discuss with the logging engineer the purpose for running the log, initial, pre-
stimulation, etc.

2. Make sure data such as casing size, wt/ft, wellbore fluid properties, mud weight
when drilled, gas/oil/water contacts, intervals of particular interest, deviation,
static temperature, and known anomalies are also made known.

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3. Critical cement job details such as: density of mud flush used ahead of cement
job, cement type, cement density, cement volume, pumping time, estimated
cement setting time, how long ago the cement job occurred, and any
problems the cement job might have had.

4. Review of the open hole logs, with particular attention to any logs that have a
caliper device run with them. Check for any wash outs or other hole
anomalies. If the drilling record is available, check for any problems running
the casing. Determine the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid used to displace
the cement.

5. Make sure enough centralizes, of the correct size, are used. Be sure the tool
calibration is not out of date. Ensure the constants entered by the logging
engineer are correct.

6. It is often necessary to run the bond log under pressure, typically 1000 psi, to
eliminate the
unknown of whether the well has a micro annulus or not. As a minimum, the
wellhead
pressure should be high enough, to provide an equivalent bottom hole
pressure equal to
the hydrostatic pressure of the fluids used to displace the cement. Ex: 9.2
ppg mud was
used to displace the cement and diesel is in the hole to the tailpipe with
produced water
from the tailpipe to TD. (9.2-6.7) x .052 x 8000, TVD of tailpipe + (9.2-8.5) x .
052 x 800
= 1069 psi. Run a 0 psi WHP repeat pass, if a positive WHP log is run. You
may want to
stop in a suspected micro annulus interval and increase the wellbore
pressure in stages, to
see if the amplitude decreases, indicating that not enough wellbore pressure
is being used.

If the well is unperforated and full of fluid, a down & dirty method to
pressure the well
is to keep the pack-off on relatively tight while RIH. Tool and line
displacement will
pressure up the well, usually around 1000 psi. After a pressure pass you
can bleed off the
well as necessary for other passes.

7. While viewing the logging passes on the screen, note any anomalous area and
request a repeat pass across that section. Any critical intervals should also
be repeated. A lack of repeat could be a centralization problem.

8. After the logging run, make sure the header, scales , legends, and comments are
complete and correct. The engineer should include all incidents in the
comment section which could have an effect on log quality including the
cementing data.

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