Rotary Drilling

CASING
AND
CEMENTING
Third Edition
Unit II, Lesson 4
 ROTARY DRILLING SERIES

Casing and
Cementing
Unit II, Lesson 4
Third Edition

By William E. Jackson

Published by
PETROLEUM EXTENSION SERVICE
Continuing & Extended Education
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas

in cooperation with
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF DRILLING CONTRACTORS
Houston, Texas
2001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Feder, Judy, 1950

Casing and cementing / by Judy Feder. 3rd ed.
p. cm. (Rotary drilling series ; unit 2, lesson 4)
ISBN 0-88698-191-3 (alk. paper)
1. Oil well casing. 2. Oil well cementing. I. Title. II. Series.
TN871.22.F44 2001
622'.3381dc21 2001000765
CIP

2001 by The University of Texas at Austin

All rights reserved
First Edition published 1968. Second Edition 1982.
Third Edition 2001. Second Impression 2007
Printed in the United States of America
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form with
out permission of Petroleum Extension Service, The University of
Texas at Austin.
Brand names, company names, trademarks, or other identifying sym-
bols appearing in illustrations and/or text are used for educational
purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement by the author
or the publisher.
Catalog no. 2.20430
ISBN 0-88698-191-3

No state tax funds were used to publish this book.

The University of Texas at Austin is an equal opportunity employer.
Figures
Tables viii
v
Contents
Foreword vii
Acknowledgments ix
Units of Measurement x
Introduction 1
Casing 3
Casing Strings 4
Types of Casing 5
Conductor Pipe 6
Surface Casing 7
Intermediate Casing 7
Liner String 8
Production Casing 10
To Summarize 11
String Design 12
Design Criteria: Primary Forces 12
Design Criteria: Secondary Forces 15
Design Criteria: Downhole Environment 15
To Summarize 16
Setting the Casing 17
Preparation 17
Running the Casing 22
Stabbing, Making Up, and Lowering 27
Landing 32
API Standards 36
To Summarize 41
Casing Threads and Couplings 42
Proprietary or Premium Connections 45
To Summarize 48
Changing Technology 49
Cementing 51
Primary Cementing Basics 52
To Summarize 54
Oilwell Cements and Additives 55
Additives 57
Special Cements 62
To Summarize 64
Mixing 66
Water Quality 66
Water Quantity 66
Types of Mixers 67

iii
 Pumping 70
Displacing the Drilling Mud 70
Pumping the Cement 71
Casing Accessories 73
To Summarize 79
Cement Volume Requirements 81
Calculating Open-Hole Capacity 82
To Summarize 83
Considerations After Cementing 84
Waiting on Cement 84
Checking the Cement Top 85
Pressure Testing 87
To Summarize 87
Glossary 89
 1. These joints of casing are ready to be run into the well, where
they will serve at least seven important functions. 3 Figures
2. Most wells require several strings of casing, each of which
serves a specific purpose important to the completion of the
well. 5

3. Conductor pipe in offshore operations extends the hole
from the seafloor, up through the water, to a point in the air
just below the drilling deck. 6
4. A liner is a relatively short string of casing that extends from
the bottom of the open hole, up into another string. 8
5. Liner strings are nearly always suspended from the upper
string by means of a liner hanger. 8
6. A tie-back string from the liner to the surface may be used if
an existing casing string has been weakened by drilling. 9
7. Whether on or offshore, preventive maintenance is key to
protecting casing as it is prepared to run into the well. 17
8. A thread protector should be in place any time a joint of cas-
ing is handled. 18
9. Casing resting on stringers 19
10. Before casing is run, threads are inspected for damage that
may have occurred during shipping and racking. 20
11. Pipe is tallied three times: when it is shipped, when it arrives
at location, and after the casing string has been run. 22
12. Running casing 23
13. Stabbing casing 24
14. Special bucket and sling arrangement raise a joint of casing to
the rig floor 27
15. Thread compound may be applied over the entire surface of
the casing threads just before stabbing. 28
16. Hydraulic power tongs are placed around a joint of casing to
make it up to a predetermined torque. 29
17. Casing elevators and casing spider support the casing as it is
being lowered into the well. 31
18. Landing the casing involves transferring the casing string
weight to the wellhead, usually with a casing hanger that
seats in the casinghead and seals the annulus between the
outer and inner strings. 32
19. Downhole casing hangers are used to relieve some of the load
on the casinghead. 35
20. Casing with a coupling (A) and a threaded end (B) 42
21. Examples of API-threaded connections 43
22. Examples of premium-threaded connections 45

v
 23. Halliburton cementing equipment from the 1920s 51
24. Primary cementing is performed immediately after the casing
has been run in the hole, to seal and separate each zone, and
to protect the pipe. 53
25. Cementing trucks transport dry cement blends to the well
site. 55
26. High-energy recirculating mixers provide thoroughly mixed
slurries at a wide range of densities and rates. 67
27. Internal operation of a recirculating mixer 68
28. The demands and expense associated with offshore opera-
tions have led to the development of sophisticated, high-tech
mixing and data acquisition systems. 68
29. Internal operation of a batch mixer 69
30. A primary cementing job 71
31. Wiper plugs are placed in the cementing head to wipe mud
off the inside of the casing and keep it separated from the ce-
ment. 72
32. A typical casing string with accessories 73
33. A guide shoe 74
34. An automatic fill-up shoe 74
35. A float collar prevents backflow of cement during the cement-
ing operation. 75
36. Multistage cementing devices are used to cement two or more
separate sections behind a casing string. 76
37. Bow (A) and solid body (B) centralizers 77
38. Scratchers (A) and wipers (B) help remove filter cake and
gelled mud from the well as the casing is run. 78
39. Temperature survey showing the top of cement outside the
casing 85

Tables 1. Fluid Displacement of Casing 25

2. Volume Gains in the Mud Pit from Casing Displacement 25
3. API Length Ranges of Casing 36
4. Specification for Casing and TubingAPI Casing List 37

5. Specification for Casing and TubingTensile and Hardness

Requirements 39
6. Distance Between Plates for Electric Weld Flattening
Tests 40
7. Effects of Some Additives on the Physical Properties of
Cement 58

vi
 Foreword

F or many years, the Rotary Drilling Series has oriented new

personnel and further assisted experienced hands in the
rotary drilling industry. As the industry changes, so must the
manuals in this series reect those changes.
The revisions to both the text and illustrations are exten-
sive. In addition, the layout has been modernized to make the
information easy to get; the study questions have been rewrit-
ten; and each major section has been summarized to provide a
handy comprehension check for the reader.
PETEX wishes to thank industry reviewersand our readers
for invaluable assistance in the revision of the Rotary Drilling Series.
Casing and Cementing introduces rig crew members to the
concept of casing string design and the procedures for properly
handling pipe while it is on the rack, being picked up, made
up into a string, and cemented in the hole. This manual covers
types of pipe usually employed, string design considerations,
running techniques, cementing procedures, casing liner use,
liner setting, and cement strength determination.
Although every effort was made to ensure accuracy, this
manual is intended only as a training aid; thus, nothing in it
should be construed as approval or disapproval of any specific
practice or product.

Ron Baker

vii
 Acknowledgments

T he author expresses a sincere appreciation to the numerous

people who have helped with the preparation of this edition
of Casing and Cementing. In particular, special thanks go to Rick
Covington of Halliburton Energy Services, and Ed Banker of
Marubeni Tubulars, Inc. Their time and patience reviewing the
manuscript and updating information was invaluable.
Thanks also go to Monte Montague, Betsy Mott, and Dave
Rees of Halliburton, as well as Anjali Prasad and John Greenip
of Hydril, for locating and providing illustrations and photo-
graphs for use in the manual. John Greenip was most helpful
in providing assistance in reviewing the text.
All who have contributed time, thought, and effort into
this book have worked to make this new edition a success in
providing the most complete information about casing and
cementing.

ix
 Units of Measurement

T hroughout the world, two systems of measurement dominate:

the English system and the metric system. Today, the United
States is almost the only country that employs the English system.
The English system uses the pound as the unit of weight, the
foot as the unit of length, and the gallon as the unit of capacity.
In the English system, for example, 1 foot equals 12 inches, 1
yard equals 36 inches, and 1 mile equals 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards.
The metric system uses the gram as the unit of weight, the
metre as the unit of length, and the litre as the unit of capacity.
In the metric system, for example, 1 metre equals 10 decimetres,
100 centimetres, or 1,000 millimetres. A kilometre equals 1,000
metres. The metric system, unlike the English system, uses a
base of 10; thus, it is easy to convert from one unit to another.
To convert from one unit to another in the English system, you
must memorize or look up the values.
In the late 1970s, the Eleventh General Conference on
Weights and Measures described and adopted the Systme
International (SI) dUnits. Conference participants based the
SI system on the metric system and designed it as an interna
tional standard of measurement.
The Rotary Drilling Series gives both English and SI units.
And because the SI system employs the British spelling of many
of the terms, the book follows those spelling rules as well. The
unit of length, for example, is metre, not meter. (Note, however,
that the unit of weight is gram, not gramme.)
To aid U.S. readers in making and understanding the
conversion to the SI system, we include the following table.

x
 Introduction

C asing and cementing are essential to drilling oil and gas wells.
Lining a hole with casing keeps it from caving in after it is
drilled, sealing the wellbore from encroaching fluids and gasses.
Cementing the casing in place attaches it firmly to the wellbore wall
and stabilizes the hole. Casing and cement both serve additional,
important functions in the well. These functions will be addressed
later in this manual.
Casing and cementing procedures have grown more sophis-
ticated in recent years as the search for new hydrocarbon-bearing
reservoirs takes wells deeper and into more hostile environments
(i.e., deep water, high pressures and temperatures, and sour gases).
Engineers and metallurgists work continually to refine casing or
cementing designs and procedures to handle the challenges as-
sociated with offshore and remote locations, extreme depths, and
severe conditions.
During the days of cable-tool drilling, numerous strings of
casing had to be set as a well was drilled. With the advent of rotary
drilling came better quality muds with greater ability to control
well pressures. As a result, much more open hole could be drilled.
Casing is now generally set to serve a specific purpose and is neither
arbitrary nor compulsory for any hole conditions.

1
 Casing

C asing and tubing account for 15 to 20 percent of the com-

pleted cost of a welloften the greatest single item of expense
on the well. Failure of casing or tubing results in expensive rework
and may lead to loss of the well, or worse, loss of life. Selecting
casing sizes, weights, grades, and types of threaded connections
for a given situation presents an engineering and economic chal-
lenge of considerable importance.
Casing is strong steel pipe used in an oil or gas well to ensure a
pressuretight connection from the surface to the oil or gas reservoir.
Casing serves at least seven important functions in the well (fig. 1):
1. It prevents the hole from caving in or washing out.
2. It protects freshwater sands from contamination by
fluids from lower zones.
3. It keeps water out of the producing formation.
4. It confines production to the wellbore.
5. It contains formation pressures and prevents fracturing

Figure 1. These joints of casing are ready to be run into the well,
where they will serve at least seven important functions.

3
 Cementing

O ilwell cementing is the process of mixing and placing a

cement slurry in the annular space between a string of casing
and the open hole. The cement sets, bonding the casing to the wall
of the wellbore for additional stability.
The practice of cementing began around 1903 in California.
Early methods of mixing cement and placing it in the hole were
quite crude. Modern cementing practices debuted in 1920, when
Erle Halliburton cemented a well in Oklahomas Hewitt Field for
W.G. Skelly (fig. 23). Today, the Halliburton jet mixer remains a
basic device for rapid mixing of drilling mud, although it is seldom
used for mixing cement slurry.
In 1903 there was only one type of cement and no additives.
Today there are eight classes of cement and more than 40 different
additives. Bulkcement handling is standard practice, and blends
are tailored to specific jobs. Waitingoncement time has been
reduced from 10 days to less than 24 hours.

Figure 23. Halliburton cementing equipment from the 1920s (Courtesy of Halliburton)

51
 Glossary

accelerator n: a chemical additive that reduces the setting time of cement.

See cement, cementing materials.
A
additive n: 1. in general, a substance added in small amounts to a larger
amount of another substance to change some characteristic of the latter. In
the oil industry, additives are used in lubricating oil, fuel, drilling mud, and
casing cement. 2. in cementing, a substance added to cement to change the
cement characteristics to satisfy specific conditions in the well. A cement
additive may work as an accelerator, retarder, dispersant, or other reactant.
API gravity n: the measure of the density or gravity of liquid petroleum
products in the United States; derived from relative density in accordance
with the following equation:
API gravity at 60F = [141.5 relative density 60/60F] 131.5
automatic fill-up shoe n: a device that is installed on the first joint of casing
and that automatically regulates the amount of mud in the casing. The valve
in this shoe keeps mud from entering the casing until mud pressure causes
the valve to open, allowing mud to enter the casing.
axial compression n: pressure produced parallel with the cylinder axis when
casing hits a deviation in the hole or a sticky spot and stops. The force push-
ing down on the pipe causes axial compression.

bending n: occurs when tension is increased on one side of the pipe while
compression is increased on the other.
B
billet n: a solid steel cylinder used to produce seamless casing. The billet is
pierced lengthwise to form a hollow tube that is shaped and sized to produce
the casing.
boot n: a tubular device placed in a vertical position, either inside or outside
a larger vessel, through which well fluids are conducted before they enter the
larger vessel. A boot aids in the separation of gas from wet oil. Also called
a flume or conductor pipe.
bottom wiper plug n: a device placed in the cementing head and run down
the casing in front of cement to clean the mud off the walls of the casing and
to prevent contamination between the mud and the cement.

89
 rotary drilling series

Unit I: The Rig and Its Maintenance

esson 1:
L The Rotary Rig and Its Components
Lesson 2: The Bit
Lesson 3: Drill String and Drill Collars
Lesson 4: Rotary, Kelly, Swivel, Tongs, and Top Drive
Lesson 5: The Blocks and Drilling Line
Lesson 6: The Drawworks and the Compound
Lesson 7: Drilling Fluids, Mud Pumps, and Conditioning Equipment
Lesson 8: Diesel Engines and Electric Power
Lesson 9: The Auxiliaries
Lesson 10: Safety on the Rig

Unit II: Normal Drilling Operations

esson 1:
L Making Hole
Lesson 2: Drilling Fluids
Lesson 3: Drilling a Straight Hole
Lesson 4: Casing and Cementing
Lesson 5: Testing and Completing

Unit III: Nonroutine Operations

esson 1: Controlled Directional Drilling
L
Lesson 2: Open-Hole Fishing
Lesson 3: Blowout Prevention

Unit IV: Man Management and Rig Management

Unit V: Offshore Technology

esson 1:
L Wind, Waves, and Weather
Lesson 2: Spread Mooring Systems
Lesson 3: Buoyancy, Stability, and Trim
Lesson 4: Jacking Systems and Rig Moving Procedures
Lesson 5: Diving and Equipment
Lesson 6: Vessel Inspection and Maintenance
Lesson 7: Helicopter Safety
Lesson 8: Orientation for Offshore Crane Operations
Lesson 9: Life Offshore
Lesson 10: Marine Riser Systems and Subsea Blowout Preventers
 To obtain additional training materials, contact:

PETEX
The University of Texas at Austin
Petroleum Extension Service
1 University Station, R8100
Austin, TX 78712-1100
Telephone: 512-471-5940
or 800-687-4132
FAX: 512-471-9410
or 800-687-7839
E-mail: petex@www.utexas.edu
or visit our Web site: www.utexas.edu/ce/petex

To obtain information about training courses, contact:

PETEX
Houston training center
The University of Texas
2700 W. W. Thorne Blvd.
Houston, TX 77073
Telephone: 281-443-7144
or 800-687-7052
FAX: 281-443-8722
E-mail: petexhtc@www.utexas.edu
or visit our Web site: www.utexas.edu/ce/petex
 2.20430
0-88698-191-3